Models Of Payment For Watershed Ecological Services In China

Watershed provides us a lot of important environmental services, such as clean water, aquatic products, hydropower, shipping, entertainment, wood production, carbon storage, and as well as noncommercialized services such as water and soil maitaince, waterhead self-restraint, bio-diversity, purification, etc. However, more demands for environmental services that watershed can provide along with the population growth, but the amount of environmental services is decreasing and the quality is declinging, along with the development of economy. Thus, the watersheds are under great preasure. As a result, the degradation of watershed environment places negative impacts on economy and society. It has been proved that, it bears too much cost if we set priority on economic development over pollution control, which inturn does no good the sustainable development of society, economy and environment. Therefore, to pay for environmental services (PES) is our best choice to protect the watershed ecosystem, and it should be put on the agenda.Based on the research work over the payment for watershed services in China that has been done by specialists like Lubiao Zhang and Haixia Zheng, we did a further quatitive and qualitative study on this issue. We analyzed the demand and supply for watershed services in China by referring some related study from outside country. A case study on Jinhua River in Zhejiang province has been carried out, and we found the two payment mode, i.e. water right trade and development in another site are very successful. By using methods such as contingent valuation method (CVM) or willingness to pay (WTP), opportunity cost and investment cost, we identified four major payment criteria: WTP criteria, opportunity cost criteria, investment criteria and water quantity criteria. Among those four criterions, the PES based on water quality and quantity is 39.4 million RMB per year, or 49.7 yuan per capita per year, which is acceptable for the downstream. At the same time, we also analyzed the environmental, economic and social impacts of PES in Jinhua River.Through the study, we suggest the modes of water right trade and development in another site be the orientation and alternative for the watershed PES in China, scince the market for environmental services is immature at the present. These two modes provide us an example for the solution of upstream and downstream conflicts. We can co-manage and protect watersheds through negotiation and agreement. We believe, through our efforts of improving and solving the problems like legislation and law system, supervision and mornitoring, funds for PES, we surely will make progress in PES in China. Meanwhile, it implicates great poteintials in the market for envirionmental services, especially watershed services.