Social preferences and economic valuation in the sustainable management of protected natural areas: the Segura river and its environment in Cieza (Region of Murcia)
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Abstract
Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) are areas to be conserved because of their capacity to generate goods and services that benefit the whole population. The anthropic pressure produced by the increase in socio-recreational activities in these areas creates the need to implement measures for their management and conservation. The objective of this work is to economically evaluate the social preferences of the management measures in a NPAs of the Segura river and its surroundings as it passes through Cieza (Region of Murcia, Spain), which has been suffering from a high and growing anthropic pressure. A representative survey of the population of the region where this space is located shows the high acceptance of the new management measures proposed for it. Within these measures, grouped according to the three main sustainability areas (social, economic and environmental), the population shows a greater preference for those of an economic and environmental nature applied in the mountainous area of the NPA.