What is the price of wetlands? Educational experience of economic valuation in Chile

Abstract

Abstract Coastal wetlands are important habitats for human well-being due to their ecosystem services, which require tools to ensure their conservation. Environmental management proposes to estimate the economic value of environmental resources that make decisions in both the ecological and economic spheres. A learning experience was carried out in the context of postgraduate students, addressing the contents of the Economic Aspects of Sustainable Development subject, to then give way to the implementation of two economic valuation methods. The valuation of El Culebrón Wetland was carried out using Contingent Valuation (CV) and Defensive Expenditure (DE) estimation methods in an academic framework. The 20-year valuation results were US$5,750,000 (CV) and US$3,050,009 (DC). The experience allowed us to estimate the economic value of wetlands and reflect on the opportunities and complexities that the application of these methodologies implies, linked to decision-making with an emphasis on the conservation of these vulnerable and productive ecosystems, leaving ethical questions about economic valuation.