Economic valuation of the Rio Tocantins stretch regarding the Sebastião Miranda Slide, Marabá/PA

Abstract

The inappropriate management and use of the water resources generate negative externalities to population and, in order to internalize the problem, the watercourses economic valuation is used. This work aimed to determine the economic value of the Tocantins River stretch along Sebastião Miranda waterfront, in Marabá – PA. The used method was the deductive, with quantitative and qualitative scope, associated with bibliographic survey between 2012 and 2018. The primary data were collected through the application of 169 forms during informal interviews, from the contingent valuation method, with the use of the willingness to pay, and the simple open-ended approaches and referendum, for the pilot research (40 forms) and final research (129 forms), respectively.  The obtained data analyze indicated, in the pilot research, a huge agreement among the 40 interviewed (n = 28; 70%) in paying an annual value for improvements in the river conservation, with a mean tax of R$ 22, 75 per year. In the final research, the data analyze from the willingness to pay indicated that, most of the street vendors (n = 45; 77, 6%) would pay for this maintenance; the other group, of the commercial establishments and service providers, have shown similarities (n = 23; 60, 5%), just as the riverside population (n = 28; 84, 8%). The total willingness to pay (DAPT) value calculated was R$ 3.467,907 per year for the total population, and R$ 178.902,326 per year, when Marabá Pioneira district was considered. Thereby, the community is willing to participate in the watercourse conservation and these data can be useful in public policies development for the area.