Research and application of GEP------China's experience in natural capital accounting---a review

Under the background of global climate change and the human activities, the stock of natural capital and the the ability of ecosystem services are facing increasing pressure, and the contradiction between natural capital protection and people’s livelihood development is also increasing. Therefore, it is urgent to integrate ecosystem value estimation into the development decision-making of countries all over the world. As a new ecosystem research method, ecosystem gross product (GEP) accounting is widely used in China, and often used to reflect the effectiveness of regional ecological protection and the coordination relationship between development and protection. We found that : (1) GEP accounting can reflect the overall situation of ecological environment and service quality, and help decision-makers and managers formulate and implement sustainable development strategies and ecological protection policies. (2) The contradiction between the depletion of global ecosystem capital and the development of people’s livelihood continues to intensify. About 68.7% of developing countries facing “low-low development model” (low GEP and low GDP). (3) We have constructed the path model of GEP working system and the path model of ecological protection compensation mechanism in China. The GEP accounting system of “from point to area, from top to bottom”, the parallel evaluation strategy of GDP and GEP and the comprehensive ecological compensation system of “vertical and horizontal combination” implemented can be popularized to countries all over the world.

Download Full-text

Advancing environmental-economic accounting in the context of the system of economic statistics

Statistical Journal of the IAOS ◽

10.3233/sji-200707 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 629-645

Author(s):

Carl Obst ◽

Alessandra Alfieri ◽

Bert Kroese

Keyword(s):

Environmental Economic ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Economic Statistics ◽

The World ◽

Stocks And Flows ◽

Natural Capital Accounting ◽

Ongoing Development ◽

Beyond Gdp ◽

Clear Support

Natural capital and its increasing scarcity have been at the heart of concerns over sustainability for many decades. This paper highlights the significant advances in accounting for the stocks and flows of natural capital that have taken place in the statistical community through the ongoing development and implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). Through description of the history and key components of the SEEA and through presentation of various examples of accounting from around the world, this paper demonstrates not only the theoretical advances but also the feasibility and relevance of SEEA based accounts to policy making. The increasing recognition of the threats of climate change and the importance of halting biodiversity loss and maintaining healthy ecosystems which provide essential contributions to people, make the implementation of the SEEA extremely timely and relevant in supporting policies that take into account the environment. There is now clear support from the official statistics community and a clear role for national statistical offices in using the SEEA to go “beyond GDP”. We can no longer afford to ignore our dependence on the environment, our natural capital. Accounting for it is part of the pathway forward.

Download Full-text

What Are the Impacts of a Coastal Zone Protection Policy on Farmers’ Livelihood Capital? Empirical Analysis From the Perspective of Farmer Participation

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.689182 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Peng Cheng ◽

Han Wang ◽

Xin Nie ◽

Siyang Zhu ◽

Zhoupeng Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coastal Zone ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Beibu Gulf ◽

Sustainable Livelihood ◽

Farmer Participation ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Protection Policy ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

Compensation Mechanisms

To restore and protect the ecosystem service function of coastal zones, some farmers have changed their certain original production methods and lifestyles and some have even relinquished a portion of the economic benefits that could be obtained directly. What impacts do the coastal zone ecological protection policies bring to the livelihoods of coastal farmers? The strict coastline protection of Beibu Gulf, Hepu County, Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, is taken as an example. Combined with the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF), this paper set up an evaluation index system for the livelihood capital of farmers in the Beibu Gulf coastal zone, obtaining 568 valid questionnaires through a field survey, and use the propensity score matching and difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) method to study the impacts of a coastal ecological protection policy on the livelihood capital of coastal farmers from the perspective of farmer participation. The results show that (1) the coastal ecological protection policy had a significant impact on the natural capital and social capital of coastal farmers that actively participated in coastal ecological protection, which increased by 0.181 and 0.052, respectively. (2) However, it did not have a significant impact on the total livelihood capital, human capital, physical capital or financial capital. Therefore, this paper presents policy suggestions for constructing coastal ecological compensation mechanisms and for promoting active participation by coastal farmers in coastal ecological protection efforts.

Download Full-text

Reference carbon cycle dataset for typical Chinese forests via colocated observations and data assimilation

Scientific Data ◽

10.1038/s41597-021-00826-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Honglin He ◽

Rong Ge ◽

Xiaoli Ren ◽

Li Zhang ◽

Qingqing Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northern Hemisphere ◽

Global Climate ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

C Sequestration ◽

Research Network ◽

Soil Biology ◽

Area Index ◽

Ecosystem Research ◽

Organic C ◽

C Cycle

AbstractChinese forests cover most of the representative forest types in the Northern Hemisphere and function as a large carbon (C) sink in the global C cycle. The availability of long-term C dynamics observations is key to evaluating and understanding C sequestration of these forests. The Chinese Ecosystem Research Network has conducted normalized and systematic monitoring of the soil-biology-atmosphere-water cycle in Chinese forests since 2000. For the first time, a reference dataset of the decadal C cycle dynamics was produced for 10 typical Chinese forests after strict quality control, including biomass, leaf area index, litterfall, soil organic C, and the corresponding meteorological data. Based on these basic but time-discrete C-cycle elements, an assimilated dataset of key C cycle parameters and time-continuous C sequestration functions was generated via model-data fusion, including C allocation, turnover, and soil, vegetation, and ecosystem C storage. These reference data could be used as a benchmark for model development, evaluation and C cycle research under global climate change for typical forests in the Northern Hemisphere.

Download Full-text

Emergy Analysis and Ecological Spillover as Tools to Quantify Ecological Compensation in Xuchang City, Qingyi River Basin, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w13040414 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 414

Author(s):

Huiqin Li ◽

Cuimei Lv ◽

Minhua Ling ◽

Changkuan Gu ◽

Yang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Effective Means ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Emergy Analysis ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Freshwater Resources ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

Complex Relationships

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.

Download Full-text

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.

Download Full-text

From natural capital accounting to natural capital banking

Nature Sustainability ◽

10.1038/s41893-021-00747-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael J. Vardon ◽

Heather Keith ◽

Peter Burnett ◽

David B. Lindenmayer

Keyword(s):

Natural Capital ◽

Natural Capital Accounting

Download Full-text

Relationship Analysis between the Response to Participate in Eco-Compensation and Livelihood Assets: A HeiHe River Basin Example

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.113-116.317 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 113-116 ◽

pp. 317-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fang Su ◽

Hai Yang Shang

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Local Governments ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Physical Capital ◽

Heihe River Basin ◽

Heihe River ◽

Ecological Compensation ◽

Relationship Analysis ◽

Livelihood Assets ◽

Physical Assets

For a long time, these are deeply entrenched in people’s thinking and the institutions or policies of economic activities that the resources are unlimited and the environment exists priceless. Environmentally augmented household livelihood assets were collected from 300 sample households within the HeiHe River Basin. Results show that physical assets possess a maximum value (0.609) and natural assets possess relatively low values (0.241). The human capital, natural capital, physical capital, financial capital and social capital are all important factors to influence the responses. An increment of one unit should reduce the occurrence to participate in ecological compensation for natural capital. Therefore, the local governments should actively introduce the relevant supporting measures in order to provide more non-agricultural employment opportunities for farmers.

Download Full-text

Envisaged transfer projects: New technologies in the water sustainability

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1466 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Naseer Ahmed Abbasi ◽

Xiangzhou Xu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

New Technologies ◽

Global Climate ◽

Water Shortage ◽

Environmental Aspects ◽

Water Shortages ◽

The World

Abstracts: Influenced by global climate change, water shortages and other extreme weather, water scarcity in the world is an alarming sign. This article provides evidences regarding the Tunnel and Tianhe project&#8217;s feasibility and their technical, financial, political, socioeconomic and environmental aspects. Such as how to utilize the water vapour in the air and to build a 1000 km long tunnel project to fulfill the goal of solving water shortage in China. The projects are promising to solve the problem of water, food and drought in the country. In addition, the telecoupling framework helps to effectively understand and manage ecosystem services, as well as the different challenges associated with them. Such efforts can help find the ways for proper utilization of water resources and means of regulation.Key words: Sustainability; water shortage; transfer project

Download Full-text

Natural capital accounting for better policy

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-018-1107-y ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (7) ◽

pp. 714-725 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Arjan Ruijs ◽

Michael Vardon ◽

Steve Bass ◽

Sofia Ahlroth

Keyword(s):

Natural Capital ◽

Natural Capital Accounting

Download Full-text

“Mathematics maybe, but not money”

Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal ◽

10.1108/aaaj-06-2017-2963 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 1459-1480 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Sian Sullivan ◽

Mike Hannis

Keyword(s):

Land Use Planning ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Economic Values ◽

Content Type ◽

Experimental Implementation ◽

Natural Capital Accounting ◽

Ecological Accounting ◽

The Uk ◽

Biodiversity Offset ◽

Policy Texts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider and compare different ways of using numbers to value aspects of nature-beyond-the-human through case analysis of ecological and natural capital accounting practices in the UK that create standardised numerical-economic values for beyond-human natures. In addition, to contrast underlying ontological and ethical assumptions of these arithmetical approaches in ecological accounting with those associated with Pythagorean nature-numbering practices and fractal geometry. In doing so, to draw out distinctions between arithmetical and geometrical ontologies of nature and their relevance for “valuing nature”. Design/methodology/approach Close reading and review of policy texts and associated calculations in: UK natural capital accounts for “opening stock” inventories in 2007 and 2014; and in the experimental implementation of biodiversity offsetting (BDO) in land-use planning in England. Tracking the iterative calculations of biodiversity offset requirements in a specific planning case. Conceptual review, drawing on and contrasting different numbering practices being applied so as to generate numerical-economic values for natures-beyond-the-human. Findings In the cases of ecological accounting practices analysed here, the natures thus numbered are valued and “accounted for” using arithmetical methodologies that create commensurability and facilitate appropriation of the values so created. Notions of non-monetary value, and associated practices, are marginalised. Instead of creating standardisation and clarity, however, the accounting practices considered here for natural capital accounts and BDO create nature-signalling numbers that are struggled over and contested. Originality/value This is the first critical engagement with the specific policy texts and case applications considered here, and, the authors believe, the first attempt to contrast arithmetical and geometrical numbering practices in their application to the understanding and valuing of natures-beyond-the-human.

Download Full-text