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Study On Ecological Compensation For Agriculture In China

Posted on:2012-10-14Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:J S JinFull Text:PDF
GTID:1101330332497391Subject:Population, resource and environmental economics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Ecological compensation for agriculture is a kind of institution arrangements that to stimulate farmers into maintaining agro-ecosystem services; that to regulate the relations between preservers and beneficiaries and destroyers of agro-environment; that to internalize the externality of rural activities; that to achieve sustainable development, by using economical methods , such as finances, taxes and marketing. Starting from its trial of turning cultivated land back into forests and grasslands in 1999, China's eco-compensation for agriculture has gone through more than 10 years. Now, we have obtained obvious ecological benefits and social benefits. The farmers'consciousness of ecological protection has been enhanced, agricultural eco-environment has been improved, also farmers' income has been increased and resources allocation has been optimized in a part of region in china。Overall, the eco-compensation for agriculture is still in its infancy, has not formed a complete system of compensation yet. First, compensation standards are lack of flexibility and diversity, incentive function is restricted; second, financing approach is single, national fiscal burden is heavier; third, the compensation mode is single, long-term mechanism has not been built; and the running mechanism is in defect, operation is inefficient. In short, the positioning of objective, operation model, framework, support systems have to be studied and perfected.Based on the issues analysis of eco-environment for agriculture in China, this paper expounds the necessity and feasibility of eco-compensation for agriculture. After reviewing eco-compensation practice sources in China briefly, this paper applies the public goods theory, environmental externality theory, as well as ecological system service theory and ecological capital theory, etc., analyses the highlight problem and causes in-depth that have occurred in China's eco-compensation for agriculture process, summarizes the experiences that America,EU and Japan have practiced in agricultural eco-compensation. Then this paper sets forth the basic thoughts about construction of eco-compensation mechanism for agriculture, designs preliminary framework of the eco-compensation and the support systems, At the end, to perfect China's eco-compensation mechanism for agriculture. some countermeasures and recommendations are suggested. There are some conclusions in this paper, these are: Firstly, the essence of eco-compensation for agriculture is an incentive arrangements or system designs, it aims at sustainable development by undertaking fiscal incentives, taxes and marketing means. it guides farmers maintaining and conserving agro-ecosystem service, it regulates the relations between preservers and beneficiaries and destroyers of agro-environment; it internalizes the externality of rural activities. As a specific form of eco-compensation, eco-compensation for agriculture has its own characteristics , such as multiplicity of compensation goals, governmental tendency of compensation subjects, role multiplicity of compensation objects, certain limits of compensation scope, as well as diversity of compensation modes.Secondly, although the accomplishments on better environment and more incomes and resources allocation optimization, the projects of eco-compensation has encountered some problems mainly concerning lack of long-term mechanism, heavy national fiscal burden, as well as coexisting of "over compensation" and "low compensation", and high management costs. There are many reasons for that.⑴Expected interests deviated between central government, local government, and farmers, this increases the difficulty of compensation policy implementation.⑵Determining compensation standard was lack of strictly economical foundation, not considering marginal external benefits produced by forest, also not considering area differences, so, "over compensation" and "low compensation" phenomenon coexist.⑶Because of the lack of scientific definition of forest's public goods attribute, the implementation of compensation policies and management efficiency are affected. In fact, ecological forest and economic forest are of different public goods attribute, they should be compensated by different standard.⑷Being lack of farmers'participation policy and the related mechanism, farmers'enthusiasm of environment protection are impacted.Thirdly, there are many lessons in eco-compensation for agriculture that the United States, EU, Japan have practiced, these lessons are worthy for us to learn from. (1)Improving the system of agricultural environmental laws and regulations, this is the basic premise of the effective implementation of environmental management. (2)Paying attention to cost-effectiveness of eco-compensation project. We should reduce the costs of information collection, as well as policy implementation costs, through the use of competitive bidding mechanism and considering regional differences. (3)Constructing compensation running mechanisms to ensure the interests of compensation objects. That will attract farmers broadly to participate in the ecological projects of agricultural environmental protection. (4)Attaching importance to scientific design and strict supervision of the compensation projects. Expected environmental and economic goals will be achieved by perfecting the project itself and improving the management level. (5) Importance of environmental education is combined with economic incentives, the function of economic incentive should be enlarged through ecological ethics education and environment-friendly production technology training.Fourthly, construction of eco-compensation mechanisms for agriculture must be positioned to realize the strategic goals of agricultural sustainable development. Compensation framework should be designed according to five principles: the needs combined with realities, government orientation combined with marketing orientation, equity, long-term forward-looking, and wider participation principles; and complying with three criteria: efficiency, operated ability and acceptability criteria. As far as the subjects of ecological compensation for agriculture, government should be the main subject, social compensation should be encouraged, self-compensation should be advocated. As far as the objects of compensation, farmers should have the right to choose, system and selection mechanism should be designed scientifically and rationally to stimulate farmers'enthusiasm and initiative of ecological protection. As far as the eco-compensation scopes for agriculture, eco-compensation for agriculture includes not only the ecological environment governance projects (behavior), but also ecological and environmental damage prevention projects (behavior). As far as compensation standards, according to the reality of the ecological environment states, the tasks that need to complete, and the principles of long-term combined with short-term interests, the standards may be identified differently in two phases. first phase named"cost-recovery phase", next is"benefit compensation phase". As far as the eco-compensation approaches for agriculture,direct approaches such as financial or physical compensation are forms with a simple, direct, fast, easily accepted, so they are the main modes. In the long run, indirect ones such as policy and intelligence should be developed steadily, and become more important. As far as the compensation paying modes, public payment will be the most important one, eco-certifies products should be promoted as a high priority marketing mode, open trading and one-to-one transaction are the important ways to be exploited and used in the future. As far as the compensation funds collection, in addition to relying on public finance input, capital marketing financing channels should also be extended, gradually forming a wide range of financing mechanisms.Fifthly, to perfect the eco-compensation mechanism for agriculture, we have to strengthen the scientific planning of ecological compensation for agriculture, accelerate the pace of construction of eco-compensation system for agriculture, at the same time deepen the scientific researches of eco-compensation for agriculture related topics further. (1)Unified planning is necessary, and eco-compensation for agriculture projects are divided into two categories: priority projects and optional project, the range of eco-compensation will be expanded gradually. (2)We must adhere to the guiding principles that the government plays a leading role with the extra help of marking. (3)We must establish the operating mechanism of stakeholders participation; (4)We should speed up the pace to perfect agricultural eco-certification system.(5)We have to research deeply about the theories of agricultural ecosystem services, eco-compensation systems involved in, related organization and management technique of eco-compensation and environment-friendly technologies.
Keywords/Search Tags:ecosystem, eco-compensation for agriculture, turning cultivated land back into forests and grasslands, ecosystem services
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