The Incentive Mechanism Of Payments For Ecosystem Services Based On Enterprise Perspective

In view of increasingly serious ecological and environmental problems,enterprises have to find effective solutions for sustainable development.As an innovative approach to improve natural resource management,payments for ecosystem services(PES)has received substantial attention both in academic and policy circles.Enterprises as the biggest beneficiary of natural resources play a vital role in PES.However,most previous studies discuss the incentive mechanism of PES from the macro level.Thus,this study discusses how to design the optimal incentive mechanism of PES based on enterprise perspective.First,this paper comprehensively understand the external environment and status of enterprises in PES through clarifying the horizontal eco-compensation framework.Second,by constructing game models,this paper examines how the market-based PES mechanism works,and the impacts of different incentive modes and power structures on the behavior of stakeholders.Third,the paper analyzes the factors influencing landholders’ participation in PES by using the micro data of the Grain-toGreen Program in the Wolong National Nature Reserve,China,which can provide a reference for enterprises to improve the performance of PES programs.The results demonstrate the following.First,participating in PES is an effective way for enterprises to realize sustainable development and has great potential.Incomplete market mechanism,hysteretic laws and regulations,sole compensation modes,and the lack of effective supervision and assessment are major problems of existing eco-compensation.There are two types of power structures in PES,namely the external power structures shaped by incentive discourses and the internal power structures determined by decision-making positions.Landholders will benefit from unequal power structure and provide more ecosystem services when they have more decision-making power.At the same time,enterprises’ profits are found not decline,and can improve profits by increasing the output efficiency of investments.In addition,enterprises should also consider other factors including incentive from governments,payments and the output elasticities of efforts can also affect stakeholders’ strategies.Opportunity cost,income structure and energy structure are key factors for the efficiency of PES programs.Among them,there is an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between opportunity cost and landholder participation rate.The dependence of landholders on cropland income is inversely proportional to their participation in PES.Moreover,the fuelwood-based energy structure negatively affects the participation of landholders in PES.