Can ecological compensation based on the transfer of development rights (TDR) improve ecosystem service value? A multi-scenario simulation

Abstract

The contradiction between economic development and environmental protection is becoming increasingly serious, and innovative ecological compensation policy is a key measure to solve this problem. The impact of the transfer of development rights (TDR) as an emerging ecological compensation model on the ecological environment is controversial, and there is a lack of empirical studies on this issue. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify whether TDR’s ecological compensation can improve the quality of the regional ecological environment. In this study, four scenarios of natural development, land use control, government compensation, and TDR compensation are constructed and simulated using the CLUMondo model in the coastal area of Beibu Gulf, Guangxi. The impact of ecological compensation policies on ecosystem service value (ESV) is systematically evaluated using the equivalent factor method. The results reveal that land use control and ecological compensation have an overall positive effect on ESV, and the combination of both is more advantageous. Among different ecological compensation models, TDR compensation can increase ESV to the greatest extent by approximately 2.79 × 109 Yuan. This study is beneficial to further enrich the theory and practice related to the study of TDR as an ecological compensation model and provide optimization suggestions for enriching the connotation of ecological compensation policies.