Operationalisation of ecological compensation – Obstacles and ways forward

As an effective means to coordinate cost–benefit allocation of ecological protection between upstream and downstream cities, ecological compensation is often used to improve collaborative basin-wide freshwater resources management. Yet, due to the complex relationships between upstream and downstream ecosystem services, calculating eco-compensation is not an easy task. We used ecological spillover (the amount of local ecosystem services not used in the region and thus flows to downstream areas) and emergy analysis to determine the amount of eco-compensation that the city of Xuchang should pay to the upstream city of Xinzheng (Qingyi River Basin, China) from 2010 to 2014. Eco-compensation was determined by deducting the emergy of the local, self-supplied ecosystem services of Xuchang City, calculated using an ecological-water-footprint-based analysis, from the emergy of the total ecosystem services used in Xuchang, and monetized accordingly. The results showed that the self-supplied ecosystem services decreased from 2010 to 2014 and, thus, Xuchang relied more on the ecological spillover services flowing from Xinzheng. As a result, eco-compensation increased from 990 million Chinese Yuan (¥) in 2010 to ¥509 billion in 2014, mostly due to increased demands for water purification and reduced precipitation around Xuchang. This method can be further enhanced by introducing larger datasets and can be replicated elsewhere to accurately determine ecological compensation, ensuring basin-wide collaboration towards the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

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Cost Analysis of a Novel Method for Ecological Compensation—A Study of the Translocation of Dead Wood

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6075

Author(s):

Ola Lindroos ◽

Malin Söderlind ◽

Joel Jensen ◽

Joakim Hjältén

Keyword(s):

Cost Efficiency ◽

Dead Wood ◽

Road Transportation ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Work Time ◽

Delivery Times ◽

Novel Method ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

The Cost

Translocation of dead wood is a novel method for ecological compensation and restoration that could, potentially, provide a new important tool for biodiversity conservation. With this method, substrates that normally have long delivery times are instantly created in a compensation area, and ideally many of the associated dead wood dwelling organisms are translocated together with the substrates. However, to a large extent, there is a lack of knowledge about the cost efficiency of different methods of ecological compensation. Therefore, the costs for different parts of a translocation process and its dependency on some influencing factors were studied. The observed cost was 465 SEK per translocated log for the actual compensation measure, with an additional 349 SEK/log for work to enable evaluation of the translocation’s ecological results. Based on time studies, models were developed to predict required work time and costs for different transportation distances and load sizes. Those models indicated that short extraction and insertion distances for logs should be prioritized over road transportation distances to minimize costs. They also highlighted a trade-off between costs and time until a given ecological value is reached in the compensation area. The methodology used can contribute to more cost-efficient operations and, by doing so, increase the use of ecological compensation and the benefits from a given input.

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Ecosystem services and ecological compensation of world heritage: A literature review

Journal for Nature Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.jnc.2021.125968 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 60 ◽

pp. 125968

Author(s):

Yuanyuan Fu ◽

Kangning Xiong ◽

Zhenzhen Zhang

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Literature Review ◽

World Heritage ◽

Ecological Compensation

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Effects of Value Perception, Environmental Regulation and Their Interaction on the Improvement of Herdsmen’s Grassland Ecological Policy Satisfaction

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18063078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 3078

Author(s):

Mingyue Li ◽

Pujie Zhao ◽

Lianbei Wu ◽

Kai Chen

Keyword(s):

Environmental Regulation ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Incentive Regulation ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Positive Role ◽

Value Perception ◽

Environmental Value ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

Ecological Conservation

Sustainable utilization of grassland resources was an important topic concerned by worldwide countries and regions, and ecological compensation had gradually become the main policy tool for grassland environmental management and ecological protection. This study adopted face-to-face interviews and questionnaires, and multiordered Logit model was then used to explore herdsmen’s satisfaction with Grassland Ecological Conservation Subsidy and Reward Policy (GECSRP) focusing on identifying the key factors behind it. Results showed that herdsmen were not satisfied with GECSRP on the whole, while value perception, environmental regulation and their interaction played a positive role on improving the satisfaction. Specifically, economic benefits had the strongest promotion impacts, followed by social identity in the two-dimensional variables of value perception. The guiding regulation had stronger promoting impacts, followed by the incentive regulation in the two-dimensional variables of environmental regulation. Interestingly, incentive regulation played an enhanced interaction on the influence of economic benefits and environmental value on herdsmen’s satisfaction, yet the interaction between guiding regulation and environmental value was not significant. These indicated that herdsmen paid more attention to substantial subsidies and rewards in the process of ecological livestock husbandry, and environmental regulation formulated by government had a phenomenon of “relative system failure”. Thus, the grassland ecological environment policy should be further adjusted and improved to promote the economic development of pastoral areas.

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