Economic valoration of the natural park «Los Calares del Mundo y de la Sima» (Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha)

Abstract

The economic valuation of non-market goods, such as protected natural areas, contributes valuable information for management to make decisions on policies for protecting and preserving the environment, as well as those concerning recreational use by visitors. With the aim of determining the value to visitors of the recreational use of the Calares del Mundo and Sima Nature Reserve, 410 surveys were conducted in August, 2009. The contingent valuation method was used and the park entrance fee was taken as the vehicle for payment. Analysis of the results shows that visitors' maximum willingness to pay for entrance to the park was 4.02 € and that the value of the recreational use of the reserve was 1,108,358.22 €. These figures are closed to the results obtained by other authors concerning recreational use of natural areas in Spain.