The Economic Benefits of The Atoyac Basin’s Restoration in Puebla, Mexico

Unesco reports that more than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreat- ed; polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas. This contami nation reduces water availability and creates a public health risk. Restoring water resources is far from a priority in developing countries; however...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gloria Soto Montes de Oca, Alfredo Ramírez Fuentes
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:México
Institución:Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
Repositorio:Redalyc-UAM
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:419551034004
Acceso en línea:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=419551034004
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4195/419551034004/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4195/419551034004/html/
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4195/419551034004/419551034004.epub
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/4195/419551034004/movil
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias Sociales)
Water quality
distance decay
Puebla in Mexico
river restoration
contingent valuation
Descripción
Sumario:Unesco reports that more than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreat- ed; polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas. This contami nation reduces water availability and creates a public health risk. Restoring water resources is far from a priority in developing countries; however, recently emerging countries, such as Mexico, have shown greater con- cern about the importance of reducing water resource pollution. The Mexican government es- tablished the ambitious objective of treating 60% of wastewater for 2012. In this context, the federal and local authorities are assessing a large -scale project for cleanup of the River Atoyac and Dam Vals equillo, which crosses the city of Puebla. This paper presents the re- sults of a large scale Contingent Valuation survey to estimate households’ willingness to pay ( WTP ) as an input for a cost -benefit analysis. Results confirm that people are concerned and are familiar with the water pollution problem in the area and its consequences. WTP is deter- mined by variables suggested by economic theory; particularly the distance decay effect which provides a validity criterion. Households are willing to pay on averag e up to 3.3% of their income, while, in fiscal terms, aggregate WTP figures show that authorities could collect the resources necessary to fund this project.