Characteristics and Measurements of Ecological Compensation in Ecosystem

This research was to introduce the characteristics of and countermeasures for ecological compensation. From the analysis of the current situation of ecological compensation, a series of characteristics of ecological compensation in resource exploitation and economic development were elaborated. The principles and practical issues are complex in ecological compensation, and the corresponding object, entity, financial system of ecological compensation are the keys to set up compensation mechanism, and studying of ecosystem service function and ecological footprint calculation are important ways to quantitatively assess ecological compensation, and are also important foundations for establishing calculation system of green GDP. Advocating the benefit compensation mechanism of ecological economy and enclosing ecological compensation principle are important ways for establishing the new environmental management pattern and manifesting social justice and the ecological civilization ideas. This research proposed some views of and approaches to ecological compensation mechanism for constructing natural resource development and utilization.The establishment of ecological compensation is an important approach to prevent the imbalance of resource allocation, the system guarantee for sustainable development, and the important basis of saving resources.

Major Problems and Countermeasures for the Establishment of Ecological Compensation Systems for National Key Ecological Function Areas

At the end of the 1990 s China started to construct an ecological compensation system for national key ecological function areas. An eco-compensation system focusing on the ＂Transfer Payment of National Key Ecological Function Areas＂ has been established. The current eco-compensation system has played a positive role in improving the ecological environment of national key ecological function areas; but the ecological effect is weakening due to existing problems in the eco-compensation system such as unreasonable calculation of compensation standards, poor expression of rights and interests of stakeholders, simple sources of capital and modes of compensation. For better development, the eco-compensation system should be improved by（i） adhering to the combination of vertical compensation（oriented） and horizontal compensation（auxiliary） on the whole and establishing a transfer payment system of eco-compensation at national scale;（ii） defining the compensation standard according to ecological protection costs, development opportunity costs and ecological service values and adding indicators that reflect economic green transformation to evaluate compensation effects;（iii） gradually building a utilization system of eco-compensation funds in which multi-stakeholders participate and establishing a green development-oriented system to evaluate the performance of local governments; and（iv） cultivating a new business pattern where ecological services are the product, to grow the ecological service industry.

Negotiation System of Ecological Compensation of Water Source Areas

In view of no generally accepted ecological compensation standards and methods at present,this paper discusses the introduction of the negotiation system to the process of ecological compensation for water source areas.That is,the government in water source areas and the downstream regions of river basins should confirm their respective rights and obligations and then establish their compensation standards through negotiations according to the different purposes of water use.The amount of compensation should be determined in the comprehensive consideration of the quality,quantity and compensation price of water.Through open and fair negotiations,an institutional arrangement will be set up,which can make the water source areas and the downstream regions of river basins fully express their true preferences and their independent choices on the ecological environment.

Performance evaluation of ecological compensation policy for cultivated land in China

The paper evaluates the changes in the ecological environment of cultivated land in the major crop-producing areas major crop-producing areas in the past 20 years by constructing an ecological pollution index;and quantitatively analyzes the effects of the existing policies and their main influencing factors by applying the PSM-DID method based on the frequency of policy enactment.The results are as follows:first,the existing ecological compensation policies for cultivated land are effective but not significant in improving the ecological environment in the major crop-producing areas.The economic development level and grain cultivation area of the major crop-producing areas are significantly and positively correlated with the improvement of the arable land ecological environment,while the level of agricultural infrastructure construction is significantly and negatively correlated with the improvement of the arable land ecological environment.Second,the reason for the ineffectiveness of the current arable ecological land compensation policy in protecting the arable land ecological environment in the main grain-producing regions is that the existing arable ecological land compensation policy in China has its own institutional defects and needs to be further improved.At the same time,the level of environmental pollution of cultivated land in the main grain-producing regions is positively correlated with the level of income from cultivated land and cultivated area.

Study on Consistent Agricultural Compensation Standards for Ecosystem and Ecological Value

Chinese and international studies on agricultural ecological compensation standards fall into two categories:While some focus on the cost of ecological protection,others proceed from the value of ecological services.Cost and value are two aspects of an integrated input-output system,but most existing studies on both types of compensation standards are independent of each other.Drawing upon the reasonable elements from both types of studies to overcome each other’s one-sidedness,this paper has created a“model of consistent compensation standards for the ecosystem and ecological value,”integrating the research approaches for both types of compensation standards under the same analytical framework.Through the application and analysis of this model,this paper has verified the model’s theoretical and practical significance in correcting the one-sidedness of each type of research.The principles and methodologies for creating the model may be further extended to research on agricultural ecological compensation standards under different conditions.In some circumstances,the ability of relatively redundant resources to create ecological value is overlooked.To address this problem,this paper employs a linear programming(LP)sensitivity analysis instrument to correct the model’s initial optimal solutions and arrive at consistent compensation standards that satisfy the consistency between ecosystem and ecological value,thus perfecting the theoretical and methodological system created by this paper for research on agricultural ecological compensation standards.

Quantitative Research on Ecological Compensation among Every City of Guangdong Province Based on Ecological Footprint and Ecological Carrying Capacity

Based on the relative theories and methods of ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity,and according to practical conditions of Guangdong Province,this paper tried to put forward the determinant standard for ecological compensation through calculating the ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity of every city in Guangdong Province. The results indicated that the ecological footprint of each city was in the status of deficit and the deficit level decreased gradually from developed regions of Pearl River Delta to the outlying regions. The cities which belonged to development areas of Pearl River Delta needed to pay ecological compensation,such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen and so on. In contrast,the cities which accepted compensation were underdeveloped areas,such as Heyuan and Jieyuan and so on.

A discussion on compensation of forest ecological engineering benefit

On the basis of analysis of the present situation of the ecological benefit compensation in China and foreign countries, this paper discusses the necessity, principle and approach of establishing the compensation mechanism of forest ecological benefit, as well as compensation standard in order to provide scientific basis for further perfecting the compensation mechanism of forest ecological engineering benefit in China. It is suggested that setting up the compensation mechanism of forest ecological benefit can not only provide the steady funds source of managing and protecting forest resources, but resolve radically the dynamic and mechanism problems of commonweal forest ecological engineering construction, which will produce a widespread and profound influence on China forestry and ecological construction.

Connotation and principles of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas based on the theory of externality

Understanding the connotation and principles of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas is the basis and guarantee for establishing and improving the ecological compensation mechanism of water source reserve areas.First,this paper reviews the three stages of ecological compensation research progress.Based on the review,using the theory of externality,the ecological environment system of water source reserve areas is then analyzed.This paper argues that the connotation of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas is a kind of institutional arrangement,which is designed to internalize externalities.Finally,based on the understanding of the connotation of ecological compensation in water source reserve areas,five principles for establishing and improving the ecological compensation mechanism are proposed,including the principle of fairness and justice,the principle of equivalence of equality and responsibility,the principle of flexibility and effectiveness,the principle of "earmark funds,and implementation by law," and the principle of government compensation supplemented with market compensation.

Suggestions on Forest Ecological Compensation—Taking Mudanjiang City as an Example

The forest ecological compensation is an important factor to balance the interests of different areas for sustainable development and environment protection. Mudanjiang City in Heilongjiang Province of China is rich of forest resources. The forestry coverage rate reached 62.3% in 2014, after forestry conservation program from 2002. The authors explored the factors impacted on forest ecological compensation in Mudanjiang City, which was a demonstration as a case study, through experts＇ evaluation scores and AHP methodology to analyze the forest ecological compensation factors and lay the foundation for the establishment of ecological compensation mechanism. At the same time, we provided an example to explore the effective way and speed up the establishment of ecological compensation mechanism. The study found that the main factors that determined forest ecological compensation in Mudanjiang City were ecology and natural resources. Based on the analyses, some suggestions were put forward to promote the mechanism in a sustainable way.

Study on Development Process and Mechanism of Ecological Compensation in Beijing and Hebei Province

The problem of water resources has become a bottleneck for the sustainable development of Beijing and Hebei Province (the two regions together are called "Jingji Region" for short).It is imperative to establish an effective and equitable water resources ecological compensation (eco-compensation) mechanism.The three stages of water resources eco-compensation are expatiated here namely the eco-compensation missing stage,ecocompensation start stage and the eco-compensation development stage.Through the establishment of eco-compensation game model based on the game theory,the reasons of the formation for the three stages were analyzed,as well as the conversion conditions from non-cooperative game to cooperative game among the related stakeholders including the central government,the water recipient government and the water source government.Furthermore,this study pointed out that the water resources eco-compensation in Jingji Region was not established based on the institution,but formed and developed in coping with the challenges of water crisis.However,institution construction is quite essential in game process for the water recipient government and the water source government.Finally recommendations in four areas including legalization of eco-compensation mechanism,setting up compensation standards,leading industrial upgrading and developing related incentives and constraints were concluded.

Ecological compensation mechanism for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on footprint balance and footprint deficit

Construction of the ecological compensation mechanism is an important approach to put the“Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Plan”into practice and improve the ecological environment of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.This paper constructs an ecological compensation mechanism for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on the footprint balance and footprint deficit after clarifying ecological governance objectives.First,this paper proposes to establish a uniform,hierarchical and classified supply mechanism of ecosystem services according to the classification of land resources,water resources and forest resources for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Then,the“Authority with Corresponding Responsibility”for the supply of ecosystem services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region can be realized through a footprint balance and footprint deficit indicator circulation mechanism.Finally,the scientific and rational ecological compensation standard can be guaranteed through establishing the integrated governance mechanism for ecological compensation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and improving the“ecological compensation standard”.The results of this paper can provide sound theoretical support for effectively promoting the improvement of ecosystem services and human well-being in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Analysis of marine ecological compensation for environmental risk caused by chemical spill based on game theory

The problem of marine environmental risk is ultimately the result of game theory between the marine en vironmental managers and the enterprise of potential environmental risk.This paper analyzes the internal economic relationship that whether the"protection"policy is applied between the protection action of marine environmental managers and the chemical enterprise.The result shows that the key factor whether the enterprise adopt the"protec tion"policy or not is the amount of penalty and the government's cost of execution,and the compulsive ecological compensation is obligatory from the angle of stimulating the enterprise of canonical action and adopting the"protec tion"policy.To build the ecological compensation mechanism based on the environmental risk will effectively improve the level of management in sea area and decrease the probability of chemical spill.

Estimation of Ecological Compensation Standards in the Yellow River Basin

It is crucial to establish a reasonable ecological compensation mechanism for the Yellow River Basin.This study uses a calculating model to estimate the value of the total cost of ecological protection in the upstream.On this basis,an apportion model is used to reach the ecological compensation standard value of each province in the midstream and downstream.The results provide a scientific reference for the ecological compensation standards in the Yellow River Basin.

Ocean ecological compensation mechanism in Liaoning area from the angle of ecological civilization——based on analysis of Dalian's cooperative governance

How to speed up the establishment of marine ecological compensation and the ecological compensation system is inevitable choice from ocean country to marine power.Therefore,construction of marine ecological compensation mechanism is the effective means which incentives marine ecosystem services supply,improves the quality of marine ecology,and promotes the ocean to the green transformation.Combined with Dalian maritime case study in Liaoning Province,three dimensional interactive marine ecological compensation mechanism,the compensation frame work,path and operation mechanism were built up.Suggestions on accelerating the legislation process;perfecting the management system;establishing proper system for both incentive constraint and reward-punishment;increasing the source of Ocean Ecological Compensation funds;accelerating On the study of the Ocean Ecological Compensation Mechanism in Liaoning Area from the Angl-e of Ecological Civilization Based on Case Analysis of Dalian.

Public Policy Supply for Successful Practice of the Xin’anjiang River Ecological Compensation Mechanism

The ecological protection of the inter-provincial river basin of Xin’anjiang River takes the ecological compensation mechanism as the starting point and achieves good results.The success of the mechanism is best reflected in its innovation of public policy supply,which is not only a vivid practice of Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought in the new era,but also establishes a model for absorption,transformation and export of policy supply.The effective supply of public policies on ecological environment is the realistic choice for the construction of ecological civilization in the new era.

Exploration on Ecological Compensation Mechanism of Family Farm

Family farm is a new type of agricultural operation,and the research on ecological compensation for its production behavior is conducive to consolidating the basic position of agriculture and protecting agricultural resources and environment.By summarizing and drawing lessons from the domestic research results in related fields,the family farm is selected as the object,and the opportunity cost method is used to analyze the setting of the ecological compensation standard of the family farm.The basic framework of ecological compensation mechanism of family farm is constructed from three aspects:ecological compensation responsibility determination mechanism;compensation object establishment mechanism;compensation standard determination and mode selection mechanism.The operation mechanism of ecological compensation of family farm is analyzed from three aspects:farmer;farm production;resources and environment.The results show that the family farms'pursuit of agricultural products and ecological services is the response mechanism of ecological compensation for their production behavior.On the basis of this,this paper puts forward some measures and suggestions to ensure the ecological compensation mechanism of family farms from three aspects:perfecting the land use system;widening the compensation channels;constructing the green GDP accounting.

Initial Exploration on the Ecological Compensation Mechanism of Baiyangdian Watershed

Establishment of the ecological compensation mechanism is one important way for solving a series of issues in Baiyangdian Watershed, including environment pollution, ecological deterioration, unsustained water supplement, rural pollution aggravation and ecological migration. Based on the principles of main functional area, public goods, welfare economics, financial transfer payment and watershed management, we put forward the construction framework of ecological compensation mechanism in Baiyangdian Watershed. Compensation subject is governments at all levels and beneficiary within watershed. Compensation object is governments at all levels, eco-builder and victim within watershed. Compensation way in- dudes government-led and market-oriented and game-negotiation types. Compensation standard includes financial transfer payment, compensation between upstream and downstream of the watershed, rural environmental protection with collections of management fees and subsidies to co-gov- ernance, ecological migration and inter-basin section. The safeguard measures of implementation for ecological compensation mechanism in Baiy- angdian Watershed are setting legal system and status of the ecological compensation, ensuring special usage of the ecological compensation fund, carrying out performance evaluation index system, building social management system of the ecological compensation and promoting the reform of watershed manaQement structure.

Core Issues in Design of Tibetan Grassland Ecological Compensation Mechanism

Scientific grassland ecological compensation mechanism is favorable for improving the grassland ecological environment and promote the sustainable development of animal husbandry. Combined with actual situations of Tibet,this paper discussed core issues in the design of grassland ecological compensation mechanism,including compensation purpose,compensation subject,compensation object,compensation standard,and compensation method. It pointed out that the design of mechanism is a complex and systematic project. Each issue is complex and varied. The government at all levels should be cautious and make scientific treatment,and should not apply a single solution for all issues.

Case Study of Marine Ecological Compensation Criteria Based on Environmental Risk

This paper forecasted and identified the environmental risks and ecological effect caused by chemical spill by simulating the xylene spill in Xiamen waters. The evaluation objects of ecological damage include four parts ： marine ecosystem services, sea water quality, marine biological resources （plankton, benthos, nekton, etc. ）, and beach habitat. The ecological compensation criterion was confn-med as 1.73 million Yuan per year in the short term and 8.09 million Yuan in the long term. And an ecological compensation mode was suggested to be that if the chemical spill does not occur this year, the compensation will return to the enterprise next year; while if chemical spill occurs, the compensation will not be returned. The encouragement mechanism ＂returning compensation if no spill＂ might motivate enterprises to improve the environmental risk management and avoid the risks.

Perfecting the Market-Oriented Ecological Compensation Mechanism of Ethnic Minority Areas: A Case Study of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

The construction of the market-oriented ecological compensation mechanism in China is complicated system engineering. China's ecological compensation funds are mainly derived from the public finance, lacking market-oriented operation. That not only increases the financial burden of the government, but also leads to the incomprehensive compensation scope. Moreover, China's ecological compensation lacks market mechanism so that it is difficult to set compensation standards and calculate offsets. This paper takes Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as an example to analyze the market-oriented ecological compensation system of ethnic minority areas from the perspective of market economy, so as to provide a theoretical basis and a reference point for the establishment of efficient and reasonable ecological compensation mechanism and policies in ethnic minority areas and provide environmental protection for the sustainable development of economy and society of ethnic minority areas.