Efficacy of ecological compensation programs under centralized management: evidence from China

IF 2.8 2区生物学 Q1 MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY

Frontiers in Marine Science Pub Date : 2025-02-24 DOI:10.3389/fmars.2025.1514149

Xiaoyao Xie, Wentai Tao, Yuhong Wang

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Abstract

Watershed ecological compensation programs have emerged as a pivotal instrument for internalizing the externalities associated with watershed ecological protection. In most countries, the direct participants in ecological compensation projects are ordinary persons and enterprises, but in China, the direct participants are local governments and the central government, which to some extent affected the efficacy of the compensation programs. This study used PSM–DID to analyze the efficacy of the Xin’an River Basin Ecological Compensation Project (Xin’an-BECP) and calculated the loss of opportunity developed in the upstream area through EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) fitting, which makes the benefit assessment of government-led ecological compensation projects more objective and provides a model that can be used to analyze the benefits of BECP in developing countries. Our results show that (1) the treatment effect of the Xin’an-BECP is not obvious; (2) the compensation funds gained by the upstream area are much lower than the theoretical opportunity loss; and (3) enterprises are not transaction participants in the Xin’an-BECP. Finally, based on the conclusions of the discussion, we propose specific policy recommendations to guide developing countries in increasing the compensatory effects of BECP in the context of growing demand for economic development.

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Marine Science Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Aquatic Science

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

16.20%

发文量

2443

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Marine Science publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research that advances our understanding of all aspects of the environment, biology, ecosystem functioning and human interactions with the oceans. Field Chief Editor Carlos M. Duarte at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, policy makers and the public worldwide. With the human population predicted to reach 9 billion people by 2050, it is clear that traditional land resources will not suffice to meet the demand for food or energy, required to support high-quality livelihoods. As a result, the oceans are emerging as a source of untapped assets, with new innovative industries, such as aquaculture, marine biotechnology, marine energy and deep-sea mining growing rapidly under a new era characterized by rapid growth of a blue, ocean-based economy. The sustainability of the blue economy is closely dependent on our knowledge about how to mitigate the impacts of the multiple pressures on the ocean ecosystem associated with the increased scale and diversification of industry operations in the ocean and global human pressures on the environment. Therefore, Frontiers in Marine Science particularly welcomes the communication of research outcomes addressing ocean-based solutions for the emerging challenges, including improved forecasting and observational capacities, understanding biodiversity and ecosystem problems, locally and globally, effective management strategies to maintain ocean health, and an improved capacity to sustainably derive resources from the oceans.