Emilia María Bocanegra

Valoración económica de los servicios ecosistémicos de una Laguna del sudeste bonaerense (Argentina)

The evaluation of ecosystem services is a widely debated subject, one which is in constant production. In Argentina there is little empirical evidence about the use of methodologies that tend to give economic value to the benefits associated with specific ecosystems. This paper explains the environmental situation of an endorheic lagoon in the southeast of the province of Buenos Aires and the economic valuation of some ecosystem services associated with it. Laguna de Los Padres is a major local wetland because of the ecosystem services it provides and also it is a recreational area of symbolic sociocultural value for the community. Modelling, because of its synthetic character and explanatory capacity, helps distinguish the system and the selection of four ecosystem services (SE): water supply, CO2 sequestration, soil erosion and the existing value of biodiversity. Considering the availability of information, the physical and economical aspects of this service can be evaluated. Economic valuation generally undervalues the environment; however, it can be a useful policy tool for environmental planning and management decisions because it brings the discussion to the monetary level. General Pueyrredon is a municipality that covers an area of 1,453.44 km2 and 619,000 inhabitants (Institute of Statistics and Censuses [INDEC], 2010). The sum of the environmental services considered helps estimate the Total Economic Value (TEV) that is equivalent to 4.6% of the 2014 annual Municipal budget.