It is sustained that use values of natural resources must be complemented by investigations about the importance that common citizens attribute to ecosystems. This leads to the computation of the existence value, which involves subjective cultural components. Applying the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), complemented by the component of voluntary work, the text presents an estimate of the existence value of an ecosystem, comparing Willingness to Pay with the Willingness to Work voluntarily in favor of the recovery and/or preservation of the Itaipu lagoon, in Niterói, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The figures reached were US$2,225,328.00, by using Willingness to Pay, and US$7,992,000.00, by using Willingness to Work voluntarily. The implication is that taking into account the predisposition to voluntary work adds a significant difference to the value attributed to the lagoon.
valuation of natural resources; Itaipu lagoon; Niterói (Brazil); voluntary work; coastal ecosystems; contingent valuation method
