Determining the Ecological Compensation Standard Based on Forest Multifunction Evaluation and Financial Net Present Value Analysis: A Case Study in Southwestern Guangxi, China

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is growing concern that public benefits from forests are underprovided in current forest management regimes and need to be increased through policy and economic measures that promote conservation. Ecological compensation is a type of institutional arrangement for the sustainable use of ecosystem services achieved by adjusting the distribution of costs and benefits among different stakeholders using economic measures. However, how to accurately and reasonably determine the compensation standard for ecological services has not been guided by scientific methods and theories. This study provides an estimation of the compensation standard for forest ecological services based on the forest multifunction evaluation and financial net present value analysis, and a case study was performed in Southwest China. The results showed that most forest types brought some economic loss to the managers but contributed great ecological benefits to the public when they were managed as ecological forests. It is crucial to incentivize forest managers to participate in voluntary conservation programs through ecological compensation. The results of this analysis can potentially guide sustainable forest management by both accurate quantification of the value of forest ecosystem services and an improved understanding of the costs of voluntary forest conservation schemes currently in use in many countries.