Ecological and socioeconomic effects of China's policy for grassland eco-compensation

To reverse the continuous deterioration of grassland ecology and to improve the well-being of herders, China has been formulating many national policies on payments for grassland ecological conservation. One of them, the Grassland Eco-compensation Policy(GEP), is the biggest program for grassland protection in China since 1949. The GEP conserves natural grassland by paying herders cash subsidies. It also has worldwide significance because it can increase vegetative cover, improve the ecological balance, increase carbon sequestration and lessen the amount of dust reaching other countries through inhibiting soil erosion. Overall, we find that its ecological and socioeconomic effects are beneficial and further benefits may be observed in the future because while the socioeconomic effects usually appear quickly, ecological effects may take longer to manifest. 2015 is the last year for the first round of the GEP policy implementation and the extended policy for the GEP will be approved and continued by the central government. To make the policy more successful, we suggest coordinated planning, a comprehensive overview, higher compensation and collaborative study. Efficient implementation of the GEP could also provide valuable experience for other eco-compensation programs in China and numerous other regions of the world.

Policy of giving rewards and subsidies for grassland ecological conservation in Tibetan Plateau

This paper aims to explore the impact of policy of giving rewards and subsidies(GRS) for grassland ecological conservation in Tibetan Plateau implemented by the Chinese government since 2009.Taking Gerze County in Ngari Prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region(TAR) as an example,it discusses the objective,implementation and outcome of that policy with regard to the ecological reconstruction and problems that have ensured.Located in the northern part of the Qiangtang Plateau,Gerze is the largest county in Ngari Prefecture.It covers more than 7.8 million acres of pastureland,of which 6.2 million acres are usable for pastoralism; 3.4 million acres,however,lack water source.In recent decades,due to the increased population and other reasons,pastures of the area have shown signs of overgrazing,thus leading to serious degradation,desertification and salinization of the grassland.Since 2009,when neighboring Coqin County was chosen as a pilot site for the national ecological incentive and subsidy policy(or: ecological compensation policy),Gerze has also started to adopt this policy and brought ful implementation in 2010.Its purpose is to solve the problem of overgrazing.But like other policies carried out in Gerze,its implementation is faced with many challenges.First,it is difficult to define the types and scopes of the incentives and subsidies,which have become a major source of complaints of the local herdsmen.Second,the local herdsmen are also concerned with the fairness of assigning rewards and subsidies.Third,the high cost of the policy's implementation and supervision reduces its effects.Fourth,the fact that the herdsmen are not willing to reduce livestock population makes it difficult for the policy to achieve actual results.The author thinks it's necessary to revise and improve the current ecological incentive and subsidy policy.

Assessing effect of grassland resources policies using AHP and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation:A case study of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,China

In order to quantitatively analyze grassland resources policies of Ningxia,the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)was used to establish the evaluation index system,and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was adopted to make a comprehensive evaluation.The results indicated that the current grassland resources policies in Ningxia are in upper-middle level,and the relevant policies need to be improved.Finally,the corresponding suggestions were put forward in the hope of promoting the sustainable development of grassland resources in Ningxia.