Abstract
Watershed ecological compensation (WEC) is a popular and effective policy instrument for promoting the coordinated development of environment protection and the regional economy in river basin areas. WEC affects the regional economic differences between upstream and downstream regions, as well as between protected areas and areas surrounding upstream regions. Thus, it is necessary to quantify these changes to ensure the balanced development of regions after the implementation of ecological compensation. In the present study, we established two types of Theil indexes for between-group inequalities (THH and THS) and an intervention analysis model in order to evaluate and predict the effects on regional economic differences caused by WEC in the Xin’an River basin. The results showed that the intervention comprising WEC affected regional economic differences, where the economic gap widened between Huangshan City in the upstream region and Hangzhou City in the downstream region, as well as between Huangshan and its surrounding cities. However, the impacts of the intervention gradually decreased in the later pilot period. Considering the fairness of regional social development, we recommend increasing the compensation for protected areas in order to improve the self-development capacity of upstream regions.
Highlights
Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is considered one of the best market-based instruments for achieving environmental outcomes, and it has been widely implemented around the world [1,2].China has implemented many PES equivalent initiatives during recent decades, and it is often known as ecological compensation (EC) [3]
The actual path in the figure shows that the regional economic difference between Huangshan City and Hangzhou City generally increased, but the upward trend differed significantly before and after 2012
The implementation of the EC widened the economic gap between the compensated area and the beneficiary area, as well as widening the economic gap between the compensated area and the surrounding prefecture-level cities
Summary
Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is considered one of the best market-based instruments for achieving environmental outcomes, and it has been widely implemented around the world [1,2]. China has implemented many PES equivalent initiatives during recent decades, and it is often known as ecological compensation (EC) [3]. A successful PES or EC program may pursue ecological goals, but it needs to facilitate socioeconomic development in the target areas [4]. Watershed ecological compensation (WEC) is used to mediate the ecological and economic conflicts between upstream and downstream areas in a river basin, and social equity and economic factors are very important for ensuring the reasonable allocation of responsibilities and obligations in these processes [5]. It is necessary to explore the socioeconomic effects of WEC to achieve sustainable watershed development
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