Rentabilidad social de la protección de la naturaleza. El caso de las Illas Cíes y sus atributos

In this work, the author carries out an analysis of efficiency of public interventions in natural parks. Contrary to the customary context of quantifying with a contingent method of assessment the value that the park represents for the visitors, here the author defines a novel hypothetical market scenario that collects both the benefits of public intervention in that environment, and a separate analysis of each of its attributes. A closed question and follow-up format is used to take advantage the information from the second answer, in those cases in which both answers could be considered equal, and only that from the first answer when both answers differ. The author works with a sample of visitors and a sample of non-visitors. The results denote a considerable social profitability, with certain social benefits that are 8.2 times bigger than current management costs. Furthermore, the analysis carried out illustrates how the potential of the method of contingent assessment can be amplified in public decision-making by combining an adequate definition of the stage of valuation with basic information on the management of a natural park.