On the Ecological Compensation Standard of Cultivated Land Under the “Separation of Three Rights”: From the Perspective of Contract Rights

The ecological compensation of cultivated land could also be called paying for the ecological service of cultivated land. It means that based on comprehensive consideration of the cost of the protection of the cultivated land and the value of the ecological service, the benefited area would implement the ecological compensation to the damaged area to motivate the actors of the protection behavior to protect the cultivated land better. A fair and reasonable cultivated land ecological compensation mechanism is critical in motivating cultivated land protection subjects’ active participation in cultivated land protection. However, most of the currently measured cultivated land ecological compensation standards are only determined from the perspective of a single interest, ignoring the participation and negotiation of cultivated land protection stakeholders, resulting in insufficient pertinence, low compensation standards, and low compensation efficiency. Therefore, by introducing a market mechanism, this study constructs a non-cooperative bargaining model and solves three stages of the game equilibrium solution under the condition of comprehensive consideration of interests of farmland ecosystem service providers and consumers. In this study, the Yangtze River Economic Belt is taken as the research area to provide empirical analysis of a cultivated land ecological game compensation standard between the subject and object of cultivated land ecological compensation in the area. The study found that, under the ecological compensation standard for cultivated land determined by the bargaining game, the cultivated land ecological compensation subject and object in the area meets the “KaldorHicks” resource allocation criterion, and the standard can take into account the interests of both parties. Meanwhile, the river basin horizontal ecological compensation quota determined by the game standard will neither cause a financial dilemma in the payment area due to the excessive compensation quota, nor financial “windfall gain” in the compensated area due to ecological finance transfer of cultivated land. The cultivated land ecological compensation standard based on the game between the two parties is reasonable and accurate for the cultivated land ecological compensation object, which not only functions as an economic incentive, but maintains long-term effectiveness of policy. Therefore, it is necessary to actively promote the determination of ecological compensation standards based on negotiation means, and to establish a sustainable ecological protection compensation mechanism involving government predomination, social engagement, and market-oriented operations, to drive marketization of cultivated land ecological compensation.

The ecological environments of nature reserves with desert ecosystems are fragile, and it is necessary to implement scientific and effective ecological compensation strategies. However, the development of an ecological compensation theory for desert ecosystems is relatively immature, and no proprietary, theoretical basis or system has yet been formed. When formulating compensation standards for ecological protection, it is usually necessary to draw on other types of compensation theories to formulate ecological compensation strategies. This study focuses on three nature reserves located in different desert climatic zones as the research object—a hyper-arid desertification area, an arid desertification area, and a semi-arid desertification area—which serve as the main bodies for evaluating ecological assets. Considering the direct costs and opportunity costs of the ecological protection of nature reserves, we can estimate appropriate ecological compensation standards. The study’s results show that the ecological asset value per unit area and the ecological compensation standard are the greatest in the semi-arid desertification climate area. The ecological asset value per unit area of Haba Lake nature reserves is 6.59 × 104 CNY/hm2, and the ecological compensation standard is 1.18 × 104 CNY/hm2. The cost of ecological protection of Anxi nature reserves is 8204.09 × 104 CNY/hm2, and the ecological compensation standard is 0.15 × 104 CNY/hm2. The cost of ecological protection is the greatest, and the standard of ecological compensation is the lowest, in the hyper-arid desertification climate area. The ecological compensation coefficients of the hyper-arid, arid, and semi-arid desertified areas were 0.181, 0.183, and 0.180, respectively. The research results could provide a scientific basis for the formulation of differentiated ecological protection compensation standards for nature reserves with desert ecosystems, and they provide an effective theoretical basis and technical support for the construction of other types of ecological protection compensation models.

Quantification of the coupling relationship between ecological compensation and ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

IntroductionChina’s main grain-producing areas (MGPA) have made outstanding contributions to cultivated land protection and food security. Integrating cultivated land use with socio-economic activities and constructing a horizontal ecological compensation mechanism under the virtual cultivated land (VCL) framework are important measures for achieving the “Trinity Comprehensive Protection” of quantity, quality, and ecology cultivated land.MethodsWe used the North China Plain (NCP) as the research area and the multiregional input–output model to analyze inter-regional VCL flow, and ecological compensation standard was calculated based on the ecosystem services value. Results(1) VCL flowed from economically underdeveloped regions (e.g., Hebei, Shandong, and Henan) to economically developed regions (e.g., Beijing and Tianjin). As a net outflow region, the NCP provided VCL for the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas (2) The compensation standards ranged from 2192–18406 yuan/hectare. Net inflow regions were payment areas, and net outflow regions were receiving areas. Beijing and Tianjin should pay 3.04 and 0.70 billion yuan for other provinces. The NCP should obtain 17.35 billion yuan from other regions in China.DiscussionThe research framework provides a basis for division of responsibility for cultivated land protection and offers ideas and frameworks for horizontal ecological compensation of cultivated land.

This study examines the content of the compensation standard measurement for cultivated land protection to effectively address the imbalance between local economic development and cultivated land protection. The empirical analysis relies on a value-added benefit model. Using the grain supply and demand balance method, 14 prefectures (cities) in Xinjiang were divided into cultivated land deficit/surplus areas, and based on the theory of value-added benefits of converting cultivated land to construction land, a compensation standard measurement system for cultivated land protection was established, and correction coefficients such as potential urban development intensity and government payment capacity were introduced to accurately determine the realistic compensation standard for cultivated land protection in areas that are paid and receive compensation. The results of the study found that the total surplus area of cultivated land in Xinjiang is 271.57 × 104 hm2, which is in surplus overall, while within Xinjiang, four states (cities) are cultivated land deficit areas, which are also the areas that need to pay compensation amounts, and 10 states (cities) are cultivated land surplus areas, which receive compensation payments. The average compensation standard for cultivated land protection in Xinjiang is 24.27 × 104 RMB/hm2, while the compensation standard for cultivated land protection in each state (city) is mainly influenced by the benchmark land price and the comprehensive value of cultivated land, of which the benchmark land price is the core factor affecting the compensation standard. In terms of the total amount of compensation, the total amount of compensation paid for cultivated land protection in Xinjiang is 5,323.93 × 108 RMB, which is paid by the provinces where cultivated land is scarce, and in terms of the provinces, by the four compensation areas to the remaining 10 reimbursement areas, for which we put forward policy suggestions such as adopting diversified forms of compensation, alleviating financial pressure, financing through multiple channels, securing sources of funding, establishing cultivated land protection compensation standards, dynamic measurement platforms, and supervision and management mechanisms to realize long-term compensation mechanisms for cultivated land. The study is conducive to clarifying the rights and responsibilities of cultivated land protection, mobilizing the motivation of the main actors in cultivated land protection, and promoting balance and harmony between regional economic development and cultivated land protection.

基于化肥施用控制的稻田生态补偿标准研究——以南京市溧水区为例

This paper aims to explore how to develop reasonable ecological compensation standards to improve the effectiveness of water diversion projects. Watershed ecological compensation is an important means to coordinate watershed protection and development and, additionally, compensation standard accounting is the core issue of ecological compensation. The previous literature has mainly calculated watershed ecological compensation standards from a single perspective, such as the main headwater or receiver areas, meaning the interests of another under-appreciated area would inevitably be ignored. The calculation results of different perspectives and methods vary greatly, directly affecting the implementation of watershed ecological compensation mechanisms. In this paper, the world's largest water diversion project, the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, was selected as the study area. The total cost correction model was selected from the perspective of the main headwater areas. The water resources input-output model was selected from the perspective of the receiver areas to evaluate the ecological compensation criteria and compare the differences between the two models. The results show that the ecological compensation standards based on the perspective of water source areas are mainly influenced by the ecological construction expenditures and industrial opportunity cost losses in the watershed, with higher compensation costs in the early period but a more moderate growth trend in the later period. The ecological compensation standards based on the perspective of the receiver areas increase with the annual increase in project water diversion, with a low compensation cost in the early period, but a faster growth trend in the later period. The ecological compensation standards calculated by different perspectives and methods differ significantly; the main contribution of this paper is to enrich the ecological compensation research on cross-basin water diversion projects from multiple perspectives.

Ecological compensation (EC) is an important way to solve the imbalance of cross-regional economic development and realize regional coordinated development. How to quantify the standard of EC has become a hot research topic. Firstly, this paper selected the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) as the study area, and constructed a cross-regional spillover ecological value measurement model based on the extended emergy analysis. From the perspective of the “ecology–economy–society” complex ecosystem, this paper used emergy to reflect the social, economic, and ecological function and service value of the TGRR, and estimated the ecosystem emergy supply and consumption in the TGRR. Then, comparing the watershed ecosystem emergy supply and consumption, we can judge the status of the ecological surplus and deficit of the TGRR, and transfer the spillover ecological emergy to spillover ecological value (SEV) by using the emergy currency ratio (ECR). Finally, combined with different actual payment level coefficient, we can obtain a relatively objective and robust compensation standard. The results show that the SEV of the TGRR in 2016 is 2.70 × 1011 USD, which indicates that the TGRR is in the state of ecological surplus. The TGRR should get EC about 2.85 × 1011 USD according to the ECR. Based on the research results, it is suggested to expand the transfer payment to the TGRR. At the same time, it is suggested to formulate different ecological compensation standard (ECS) according to regional differences, which has important practical significance to establish the allocation standard of EC, and provides a typical case basis for other large reservoir areas or typical reservoir areas.

Cultivated land protection is an important way to mitigate land pollution and realize the sustainable development of agriculture. To reveal the key factors influencing farmers’ behavior of adopting cultivated land protection techniques (FBACT) from the perspective of land fragmentation and farmland transfer and to analyze the differences, a multivariate probit model is adopted to quantitatively analyze the impacts on FBACT based on field research and questionnaire surveys conducted in Jiangsu Province, China. The results show that farmland transfer promotes FBACT and that large areas of transfer-in land encourage it. Transfer-in land from outside villages reduces FBACT. The willingness of farmers to adopt protection techniques is affected by their age, their education level, family labor and the agricultural labor price, and it is hindered by land fragmentation. Encouraging farmers to transfer-in land from local villages and increasing their expectations of benefits from cultivated land protection will inspire them to adopt protection techniques. To increase the farmland transfer rate and to alleviate land fragmentation, the government should enhance the management of farmland transfer contracts and strengthen the stability of farmland use rights in farmland transfer. Promoting the transfer and integration of adjacent plots and appropriately expanding plot size will help improve FBACT.

Since 2000, the Yangtze River Delta region has undergone a period of rapid urbanization in China. A large area of cultivated land has been converted into construction land, which greatly affects food security. The decrease in cultivated land caused by urbanization is also very serious in Jiangsu Province, one of the main grain-producing areas in the Yangtze River Delta region. Based on the remote sensing data of Jiangsu Province in 2000, 2010 and 2020, this paper analyzes the land use changes occurring in 13 regional cities in Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2020 by using the transfer matrix. Spatial and temporal geographical weighted regression models were used to analyze the differences in the economic, social and policy impacts of land use change across the province. The results show that the cultivated land area is decreasing, and the closer to the urban center, the faster the decrease in cultivated land in Jiangsu Province. Cultivated land was mainly transferred out to construction land, waters and woodlands. The human factors affecting the change in cultivated land area in the province can be divided into a population growth factor, economic development factor, rural development factor and land policy factor. Among them, population growth and economic development had a negative effect on cultivated land protection, while improvements in the agricultural production level and cultivated land protection policy had a positive effect on cultivated land protection. According to the analysis of spatial-temporal heterogeneity of cultivated land area change, the growing urbanization rate had the greatest impact on the cultivated land area in Southern Jiangsu, and the impact of real estate development on cultivated land has been reduced in small cities. The conclusion of this paper has important policy implications for promoting cultivated land protection and ensuring food security.

In this study, the determinants of participation in contract farming by small-scale maize farmers were investigated. The probit model was used to estimate the coefficients in the empirical model. The results indicated that for farmers with access to information, training, farming systems, extension visits, membership in farmer organisations, and household income, and the probability of participating in contract farming was high and significant. However, for farmers with remittances and post harvest losses, the probability of joining contract farming was low and significant. Policy implication suggested educating farmers who receive remittances about the extra benefits in contract farming to integrate them into the marketing chain. Again, the study suggested policies that provided adequately trained and equipped extension officers for dissemination of technologies that have the potential to reduce post harvest losses to assist farmers to obtain enough farm income to expand their areas of operation and attract firms offering contract farming. Key words: Panel data, contract farming, probit model, small-scale farmers.

An ecological compensation standard based on emergy theory for the Xiao Honghe River Basin.

Ecological footprint in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration: Evolution characteristics, driving mechanism, and compensation standard

Exploring the elements that affect farmers’ willingness to protect cultivated land is the key to improving the ecological compensation mechanism for cultivated land protection. The purpose of this study was to analyze regional differences in ecological compensation for cultivated land protection, and to explore the influence of different external environments on farmers’ willingness to engage in cultivated land protection. Based on the Profitable Spatial Boundary Analysis theory (PSBA), GIS spatial analysis technology was used to analyze regional space differences and assess ecological compensation for urban and rural cultivated land protection at the micro scale. The results show that the willingness of farmers to participate in cultivated land protection is affected by the external environment and the ecological compensation offered. The trend of the comprehensive benefit of cultivated land protection ecological compensation (B) is “Λ” from the first layer to the third layer. The B value of the urban–rural junction area is the highest value. This shows that the external environment is favorable for ecological compensation in this area, which has a positive effect on farmers’ willingness to protect cultivated land. B < 0 in the first and third layer, which has a depressant effect on farmers’ willingness to protect cultivated land. The study results contribute to the understanding of the impact of regional differences in the external environmental on ecological compensation and farmers’ willingness to engage in cultivated land protection.

Ecological compensation is an important part of ecological civilization which has gained widespread attention in academia in recent years. This study uses the knowledge graph tool CiteSpace to identify and analyze the literature related to ecological compensation research published in academic journals in the CNKI database, in order to provide an objective and scientific reference for the research in this field. The results show that the domestic research on ecological compensation began to appear around 2000, and the first research boom was ushered in starting in 2009. Most studies have explored ecological compensation from the connotation of ecological compensation, compensation subjects and objects, compensation standards, compensation methods, compensation supervision and evaluation of compensation effects, etc., and the articles on ecological compensation standards are relatively more abundant. At the same time, ecological compensation research is often linked to the realization of ecosystem service value and ecological product value. In the future, researchers should focus on establishing and improving the ecological compensation standard accounting system, exploring the market-based ecological compensation mechanism, attaching importance to the ecological compensation fund distribution mechanism, and strengthening research related to ecological compensation effect assessment. Ecological compensation theory should be developed in the direction of deepening and providing new research perspectives for helping China to deal with the relationship between conservation and development.