Research Progress on the Theory and Practice of Grassland Eco-Compensation in China

Abstract

In order to curb the phenomenon of grassland degradation caused by human activity, China has begun the exploration of grassland eco-compensation, setting an example for the ecological protection of grasslands and sustainable use of resources around the world. At this stage, China has invested more than 170 billion yuan in grassland eco-compensation, benefiting 12 million farmer and herder households. The related research involves various perspectives, scopes, and methods, but lacks systematic reviewing. This study reviews the relevant theoretical and practical research and explores the connotations and effects of grassland eco-compensation in China. In general, the current grassland eco-compensation in China is a large-scale ecological-economic institutional arrangement with the following five characteristics: (1) the goals are to maintain the grassland ecosystem services and increase the income of herder households; (2) the main bodies are governments and herder households; (3) the main method is financial transfer payments; (4) the compensation standards are based on the opportunity costs of the herder households’ responses as the lower limits and the grassland ecosystem service values as the upper limits; and (5) it is a comprehensive compensation system that requires legal, regulatory, technological support and long-term mechanisms. Since 2011, driven by the grassland eco-compensation policy, the income levels of herder households in each pilot area have generally increased, and the overall ecology of grasslands has slightly improved. However, there are still some areas where overload is common. Additionally, there are regional differences in the satisfaction degree of herder households, which is mainly affected by factors such as family income, compensation cognition and family holding grassland scale. Our analysis shows that the shortcomings of current theoretical research are mainly reflected in the low precision of scientific compensation standards, the lack of a basis for differentiated standards, and the single compensation method. The shortcoming of practical research is that most effect evaluations cannot reflect the role of eco-compensation in it. This study suggests that future work should focus on the response mechanism of herder households and the improvement of the compensation measures. At the same time, the scope of research should be expanded, and we should learn from advanced compensation experience in other fields.

Policy Cognition, Household Income and Farmers’ Satisfaction: Evidence from a Wetland Ecological Compensation Project in the Poyang Lake Area at the Micro Level

“…In addition, several studies suggest that economic, social and psychological features are related to satisfaction with the policy [26,27]. A study by Li et al (2022) on grassland ecological compensation programs found significant differences in herders' policy satisfaction influenced by factors such as household income, payment cognition, and the size of household-owned grasslands [13]. Another study by Shen et al (2022) on herders in Damao County, Inner Mongolia, showed that householders who were older and better educated, and who had lower incomes from livestock, larger grasslands and weaker social connections were more likely to participate in ecological compensation programs [28].…”

“…Positive results were achieved after the implementation of ecological compensation policies: the livelihood of rural households improved [10], the area of wetlands expanded, and the ecosystem functions of wetlands were restored [11,12]. However, wetland shrinkage and ecological degradation are still common in China, and it is necessary to build upon the pilot experiences and improve the wetland ecological compensation policies [13,14].…”

Precision Feeding in Ecological Pig-Raising Systems with Maize Silage

“…Green foods are agricultural products with China Green Food certification. Generally, such green foods mainly come from ecological systems; the ecological raising systems allow the proper application of modern science and technology within the scope of ecological and economic principles [ 8 ]. Ecological pig-raising systems (EPRSs) use some unique methods to gain better environmental performance.…”

Sustainable Agriculture: Theories, Methods, Practices and Policies

“…By examining the impact of the implementation of the Converting Food Crops to Forage Crops Policy (CFFP) in the pilot counties of Hebei Province from 2010 to 2020 on the development of the herbivorous livestock industry, Zhang et al [9] clarified that the CFFP can produce high-quality feed, improve the productivity of animal husbandry, and promote the sustainable development of agriculture and animal husbandry. Moreover, Li et al [10] systematically reviewed the relevant theoretical and practical research of grassland ecocompensation in China, summarized the five characteristics and shortcomings of grassland ecological compensation, and point out that future work should focus on the response mechanism of herdsmen's families and the improvement of compensation measures.…”