The Watershed Ecological Compensation In Shiyang River Basin Based On Full Valuation Method

Ecological compensation is an institutional arrangement using the economic measures to regulate the relationships of stakeholders. Its main purpose is to protect and make sustainable use of ecosystem services, promote the harmonious development of man and nature. Watershed ecological compensation is the most important and representative issue in this field. Based on the ecosystem full valuation method and from the angle of optimality for the whole society, this dissertation constructs the framework of watershed ecological compensation in Shiyang River Basin. Hopefully the research will provide the theoretical and empirical basis for the relevant study for realizing the protection and restoration of watershed ecosystem service functions and its sustainable development.The first chapter is the introduction part, which begins with the research background, the research objectives and the research meanings. Then the concepts, stakeholders and the standards of ecological compensation are reviewed. According to the content of the dissertation, the research method and technological route are chosen. The probable innovation points are generalized.The second chapter of the dissertation summarizes the theoretical basis of watershed ecological compensation, analyzes the concept, composing and model of ecosystem service value, introduces the main methods of ecosystem service valuation and sums up the basic principles of watershed ecological compensation and common methods of ecological compensation standard determination. This part provides the theoretical basis and analysis framework for the following chapters.The third chapter is the analysis of the present situation of watershed ecological compensation. On analyzing the present situation of watershed ecological compensation in China, the main problems and the reasons are given. Then the existing problems of government buying projects and the water rights systems in Shiyang River Basin are summarized. The necessity of ecological compensation in Shiyang River Basin is generalized from two aspects.The main body of the dissertation is from chapter four to chapter six, which studies the ecological compensation in Shiyang River Basin based on full valuation method from three aspects. In chapter four the dissertation constructs the research framework of the watershed ecological compensation in Shiyang River Basin, including the subjects, the standard, the modes and the patterns of the compensation and their relationships. In chapter five, using the full valuation method the watershed ecological compensation standard in Shiyang River Basin is calculated. And the difference of Willingness to Pay(WTP) among urban and rural residents in Shiyang River Basin is compared. In chapter six, the modes and the patterns of Shiyang River Basin are summarized. The market way of water rights trading systems in Shiyang River Basin is focused, including the initial allocation, trading parties and objects, trading modes and trading prices of water rights.The seventh chapter is the conclusion and policy suggestion part. On the basis of drawing lessons from the practice of watershed ecological compensation abroad, the supporting policies and guarantee measures in Shiyang River Basin are proposed in the dissertation.In chapter eight, the research findings, shortcomings and prospects are given.The basic research conclusions are as follows:(1) The paying subjects of ecological compensation in Shiyang River Basin are the households in the middle reaches of Shiyang River, even the households in the whole country. The receiving subjects are the households in upper reaches(Tianzhu County and Gulang County), which are the provider of the watershed ecosystem services and the lower reaches(Minqin County) of Shiyang River Basin, which are the injured parties.(2) Among all the ecological and environmental attributes, the residents in Shiyang River Basin have the highest willingness to pay(WTP) for the attribute of landscape ratio. The attribute of forest coverage is the second. And the attribute of grassland coverage is the third. The average WTP for the improvement scenario of the households in Shiyang River Basin is 572.62 Yuan per household and the overall WTP for the whole River Basin is 2.8×108Yuan. So the compensation standard in Shiyang River Basin should be 2.8×108Yuan per year.(3) There exists WTP difference for the eight ecological and environmental attributes in Shiyang River Basin.Urban residents have higher WTP than rural residents in all the attributes. The attribute of forest coverage is most preferred by urban residents. And for rural residents, the attribute of landscape ratio is most preferred. The Compensating Surplus(CS) for the urban residents in Shiyang River Basin for the improvement scenario is 769.42 Yuan/household and 504.72 Yuan/household for rural residents.(4) According to the real situation in Shiyang River Basin, it is better to choose the combination of the blood-transfused compensation and blood-generating compensation, which means the combination of cash compensation, technology compensation and industrial policy compensation.(5) Because of the importance of the ecosystem functions and its public goods nature in Shiyang River Basin, the pattern of government paying should be used most of the time. In the case of the clarity of property rights, the users paying pattern of the market trading has higher efficiency. So we should be careful to correctly handle their relationships and combine these two types to ensure the ecological compensation effect.(6) The influence factors of water rights price include: supply and demand, economic issues, trading period, water ecological function, policy systems, etc. The water rights price in Shiyang River Basin is the function of water rights value embodying Provisioning Services, water rights value embodying Regulating Services, water rights value embodying Cultural Services, water rights value embodying Supporting Services and the quantity of water rights trading.The supporting policies and guarantee measures in Shiyang River Basin are provided in the dissertation. These suggested proposals and measures are mainly in the field of management systems, law systems, water rights systems, industrial policies, finance policies, supervising and evaluating systems, propaganda and education systems and public participation systems, etc.