Economic Valuation of Environmental Impacts of a 2D Seismic Survey in the Marañon River Basin, Peru

Abstract

This study seeks to estimate in monetary terms the impacts on the ecosystem services of a 2D seismic Project in the rainforest region of Peru. Economic valuation of the environmental impacts of land use projects is an important part of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in Peru. EIAs are used to establish a social and environmental base line, identify impacts, and establish mitigation measures and compensations. Legislation is very broad in regard to the goals and ways to conduct economic valuations. Assessments are not comparable and/or use overly general secondary data. In this context, this study proposes a way to both standardize and improve the economic valuation methods for EIAs in Peru by using local data on the impacts on the ecosystem services and on the economy of the people that depend on them and accounting for the impacts after the project has ended. The impact of the project on the carbon capture and storage are calculated through valuation of carbon stocks, deforestation carbon flux loss, and reforestation carbon flux. The impacts on the economic activities that depend on ecosystem services are also estimated for agriculture, hunting and fishing. The results of this analysis vary largely from the ones obtained for the same project using overly generalized data from literature reviews and research conducted in other parts of the world. This shows the bias that overly discretionary guidelines generates; it is also a call to the environmental authorities to establish a common ground for economic valuations in EIA and the benefits that this could represent for the authorities, local communities and the companies that conduct projects in Peru. The first part of this document provides an introduction to the topic, followed by a description of the methods applied and an identification of the project’s impacts. These impacts are then assessed by prevention and mitigation measures in the fourth part. The impacts are classified in potential and residual impacts. The residual impacts after the mitigation plans are valued using data from local sources, forest inventories, household surveys and relevant literature.