Abstract
As an effective means to coordinate cost–benefit allocation of ecological protection between upstream and downstream cities, ecological compensation is often used to improve collaborative basin-wide freshwater resources management. Yet, due to the complex relationships between upstream and downstream ecosystem services, calculating eco-compensation is not an easy task. We used ecological spillover (the amount of local ecosystem services not used in the region and thus flows to downstream areas) and emergy analysis to determine the amount of eco-compensation that the city of Xuchang should pay to the upstream city of Xinzheng (Qingyi River Basin, China) from 2010 to 2014. Eco-compensation was determined by deducting the emergy of the local, self-supplied ecosystem services of Xuchang City, calculated using an ecological-water-footprint-based analysis, from the emergy of the total ecosystem services used in Xuchang, and monetized accordingly. The results showed that the self-supplied ecosystem services decreased from 2010 to 2014 and, thus, Xuchang relied more on the ecological spillover services flowing from Xinzheng. As a result, eco-compensation increased from 990 million Chinese Yuan (¥) in 2010 to ¥509 billion in 2014, mostly due to increased demands for water purification and reduced precipitation around Xuchang. This method can be further enhanced by introducing larger datasets and can be replicated elsewhere to accurately determine ecological compensation, ensuring basin-wide collaboration towards the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilRiver basins are typical freshwater sources for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and major sources of freshwater for humans
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the eco-compensation that Xuchang City, Qingyi River Basin, China, should pay to upstream basin areas, using the ecological spillover of freshwater ecosystem services as a proxy
To calculate the ecological spillover used by the downstream areas, we evaluated the local, self-supplied economic, social, and ecological ecosystem services in the Qingyi River Basin downstream stream areas
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilRiver basins are typical freshwater sources for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and major sources of freshwater for humans. Conflicts often arise among a basin’s human communities on the protection and sustainable use of these natural resources: (i) upstream areas are responsible for protecting vegetation, ecosystems, and freshwater resources, and this often restricts their development; (ii) downstream areas are provided with upstream high-quality water, and are, developed more rapidly, compared to the upstream ones. To account for this unbalanced development between upstream and downstream communities, downstream communities are required to pay an ecological compensation (eco-compensation; taxes, fees, subsidies) to upstream ones to iations
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