University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. Environmental Science Department. Coastal Environment Course.

1. Economic valuation of
recreational and tourism
activities in estuarine
services to the community at
Martín Peña Channel
Team:
Elvis Torres Delgado
Ana Trujillo
Xian Wang

2. Background
Research Motivation, Main Goal
Objectives and Methods
Questions

3. Backgroun
d
The Martín Peña Channel (MPC) takes place in San Juan, Puerto
Rico with around 26,000 inhabitants divided in 8 communities.
Since 1930 the MPC began to change its morphology because
the area was filled with debris and trash to build housing units
and other concrete structures along the channel.
The quick and poorly planned urbanization process has sparked
water pollution, coliform bacteria (no system sewage), and low
quality of food (fishing), along other public health problems.

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6. Research Motivation
MPC could be a great place for tourism and
aquatic activities.
This area was used before for fishing and
recreation.
Several attempts have been done to restore the
channel and use it as a tourist attraction, but the
level of deterioration of this place has made it
impossible to get the necessary permissions.

7. Some Abbreviations
G: Goal we pursue.
M: Method; how are we going to tackle it.
H: Hypotesis

8. Objectives and Methods
• G: Describe the process of how the ecosystem
structure and process has changed during the last 30
years.
• M: Do an analysis using remote sensing techniques
that allows to see the changes in the channel's land use
or find and analyze literature in which those are
already documented.
• H: The channel’s land use has changed a lot along the
years and these have affected water flux, which has in
turn affected water quality. (We know it).
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9. Objectives and Methods
• G: Confirm that the MPC has a bad state of water quality
and that it is the main barrier in using this area as a
touristic zone.
• M: Evaluate existing information for previous water
quality studies in which they have found a increasing
concentration of coliform bacteria during the years and
compare the state of the MPC with other areas in which
they offer aquatic activities.
• H: MPC water quality will be worse than the others and if
it was to improved, many more touristic services could be
offered.
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10. Objectives and Methods
• G: Evaluate how to improve aquatic and touristic
activities that are and could be offered in the channel if it
was in a better condition.
• M: Study the recreational and touristic activities offered
in nearby water bodies, like San Juan Bay, which could
be offered at the MPC.
• H: With better water condition, we would be able to add
better and more profitable aquatic and touristic activities.
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11. Objectives and Methods
• G: Compare the economic value that similar places get
offering similar services like those that could be done in
the channel.
• M: Ask companies representatives that offer these
services for an estimate income of the different activities.
• H: Companies make a rational profit from touristic
activities that can also be implemented on the MPC.
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12. Objectives and Methods
• G: Identify the areas that have best touristic potential
(high economic gain without much monetary investment)
and how can these be adapted for it.
• M: Spatial analysis (buffer analysis) to select the sites.
Identify those activities that could be attractive to tourists
and study the initial investment and later gains and
evaluate the most cost-effective activities.
• H: There will be cheap but profitable activities that can be
implemented on the MPC.
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13. Objectives and Methods
• G: Do an economic valuation of the actual and potential
touristic activities at the channel.
• M: Make surveys to evaluate the interest of locals into
visiting the area and participate in the activities and the
amount of money people will be willing to pay to do
certain activities.
• H: Locals will be willing to pay to participate in
recreational activities along the MPC.
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14. Questions?
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15. Gracias ！！！