Analysis of standard accounting method of economic compensation for ecological pollution in watershed

Copula-based analysis of socio-economic impact on water quantity and quality: A case study of Yitong River, China

Socio-economic development has a significant impact on both water quantity and quality. However, few studies have considered the complex relationship between water quantity and quality when evaluating such impact. In this study, three indicators based on copula model were proposed, namely, water quantity improvement degree (WQID_w), water quality improvement degree (WQID_q) and water quantity and quality joint improvement degree (WQJID). These indicators were used to assess the impact of social economy on water quantity and quality, and applied to a case study in Yitong River in Northeast China from 2021 to 2025. Four scenarios were set to explore the impact of socio-economic development and water resources protection on WQID_w, WQID_q and WQJID. The maximum WQID_w, WQID_q and WQJID were <1 under the business-as-usual scenario, which showed that the present socio-economic pattern caused great damage to river water quantity and quality. The combined effect of socio-economic development and water resources protection increased the WQJID of COD and NH₃-N by 1.67 and 1.30. This showed that attention should be paid to water resources protection while developing social economy. Compared with comprehensive evaluation, separate evaluation of water quality will underestimate the impact of social economy on rivers, while separate evaluation of water quantity will overestimate the impact. The relationships between WQID_w, WQID_q and WQJID were quantified. Meanwhile, the uncertainty of the evaluation was controlled by the selection of water quality indicators. The WQID_q, WQID_w and WQJID proposed in this study provide a comprehensive assessment tool for guiding water resources management.

Assessment of the Ecological Compensation Standards for Cross-Basin Water Diversion Projects from the Perspective of Main Headwater and Receiver Areas

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.

Interactive influences of ecosystem services and socioeconomic factors on watershed eco-compensation standard "popularization" based on natural based solutions

Watershed eco-compensation is a policy tool to realize watershed environment improvement and regional economic development. It is important to eliminate the influence of economic differences between upstream & downstream regions and realize the fairness of regional social development based on Natural based Solutions (NbS). At present, lack of clarity in coupling and coordination analysis of ecosystem services & socioeconomic based on NbS could hamper watershed eco-compensation standards "popularization" and reduce the ability to successfully ecological governance. To meet the needs of economic development and ecological service value realization, dynamic equilibrium game research based on multidimensional relationship coordination and a multi-objective optimization solution of economic benefit distribution was carried out. To achieve the bargaining Bayesian/Nash equilibrium of the watershed eco-compensation standard in the game, the existence conditions of the equilibrium solution of the eco-compensation standard based on the mixed equilibrium game implementation process were studied. To carry out the complete information dynamic game, the equilibrium solution of the watershed eco-compensation standard based on the dynamic transfer payment was solved, and the rational analysis of the dynamic Bayesian equilibrium game of bargaining based on the incentive compatibility mechanism was also discussed. Water quantity and quality eco-compensation can ensure balanced development between ecological protection and the social economy in the Mihe River Basin. Combined with the variation law of socioeconomic water intake-utilization standards and the water use value, the city of Shouguang City & Qingzhou City should pay Linqu County 4.78 million US$ and 1.29 million US$ as watershed eco-compensation standards per year based on NbS, respectively. To verify the rationality of the results derived from the economically optimal model, two modes of "bargaining" & "perfect competition", were used to study the characteristics of the protocols generated by the equilibrium game, and the applicable conditions of the nonzero-sum game solution upstream and downstream of the watershed were also explored. Based on the nonzero-sum processing of the survey results, the current relationship between the input value of eco-compensation and the willingness to pay satisfies v ≥ c + 1 / 4 . Based on the dynamic game & Bayesian equilibrium solution of bargaining, the watershed eco-compensation quota of water quantity & quality is 6.07 million US$, the willingness to pay is 65.63 US$/month. These findings contribute to the quantifying process of bargaining & dynamic equilibrium by transforming "ambiguous" information to achieve sustainable ecosystem service management and develop socioeconomic strategies associated with different compensation features based on NbS, thus helping to inform watershed management.

Transboundary watershed pollution control and product market competition with ecological compensation and emission tax: a dynamic analysis

Product competition and pollution control are closely related to watershed environmental management, but existing literature rarely investigates them in an identical framework. Therefore, this paper develops a multiple differential game model to analyze product market competition and ecological compensation games between watershed regions based on the assumption that a region can choose four strategies to regulate its manufacturers while cooperating with other regions in the basin. Then, we solve the model and obtain a simultaneous equilibrium between the governments and manufacturers for the first time. The results show that the combination of emissions tax and ecological compensation results in the highest social welfare and water ecology for all regions in a basin. Furthermore, the ecological compensation rate independent of emissions tax policy and ecological compensation does not shift investment from downstream to upstream, but it can induce the upstream region to increase investment in management. In addition, if the governments impose an emissions tax, manufacturers' output in both regions decreases, and the upstream region is higher than in the downstream region.

Relevance between Cassava Starch Liquefied by Phenol and Modification of Phenol-Formaldehyde Resin Wood Adhesive

A novel type of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin was prepared by utilizing the liquefaction products liquefied by phenol under acidic conditions and then reacted with formaldehyde under alkaline conditions. The relationship between the liquefaction behavior of cassava starch and the properties of modified PF resin wood adhesive was studied. The effects of the liquid–solid ratio of phenol to cassava starch, sulfuric acid usage, and liquefaction time on the liquefaction residue rate and relative crystallinity of cassava starch were determined. The results showed that the bonding strength of modified PF resin decreased gradually with the decrease of the liquid–solid ratio. It was a great surprise that bonding strength still met the requirement of the national standard of 0.7 MPa when the liquid–solid ratio was 1.0. The detailed contents were analyzed through FT-IR, SEM, and XRD. In terms of the utilization of bio-materials for liquefaction to synthesize wood adhesive, cassava starch may be superior to the others.

Integrating Water Quality Restoration Cost with Ecosystem Service Flow to Quantify an Ecological Compensation Standard: A Case Study of the Taoxi Creek Watershed

Watershed ecological compensation is an important economic tool for solving the protection–development conflict. However, establishing a sound ecological compensation plan for rational water resource use at the watershed scale remains challenging. Monthly water samples were collected between April 2019 and July 2020 at 28 points to analyze the spatiotemporal variation in water quality in the Taoxi Creek watershed, which is important for local water security. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to simulate water supply, demand, and spatial flow at the watershed scale. Water quality restoration cost was integrated with ecosystem service flow to quantify the watershed ecological compensation. The ecological compensation using water quality restoration cost based on pollutant treatment cost and water quality target level was CNY 11.9 million (USD 188 million). Taoxi Creek was identified as the major supplier of water ecosystem services for downstream residents, and the ecological compensation based on ecosystem service flow was CNY 18.9–47.2 million (USD 3.0–7.5 million). Combining both calculations, the watershed should annually receive CNY 30.8–59.1 million (USD 4.9–9.3 million) of economic compensation from downstream ecosystem beneficiaries. This study provides a scientific basis for improving the ecological compensation scheme in the Taoxi Creek watershed and a reference for ecological compensation formulation in other watersheds.

The effects of reclaimed water irrigation on the soil characteristics and microbial populations of plant rhizosphere

In this paper, the effects of irrigation with different water qualities on the soil characteristics of 8 kinds of garden plants were analyzed. The results showed that soil pH (ranging at 7.76-8.73) had no significant difference in different soils compared with the contrast treatment. Under the reclaimed water irrigation, the content of soil total salinity, chloride ions, and water soluble sodium in soil of most plants was averagely 160.3%, 83.3%, and 67.5% higher than that of tap water, respectively. The influences of reclaimed water irrigation on soil nutrients were changed with the types of plants. The content of soil organic matter and the available potassium showed no significant differences in most plants. Compared with the tap water irrigation, the content of alkaline nitrogen in 5 plants increased (averagely 25.8%) after 5-year irrigation with reclaimed water. In terms of soil microorganism, the increase of soil microbial population, including bacteria, fungus and actinomycetes, has been promoted by different levels of reclaimed water irrigation, which is closely related with soil nutrients.

Carbon Monoxide Emission and Air Quality Analysis Based on an Improved Double-Weight Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation

In this article, we adopt an improved double-weighted fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to investigate the air condition of Hefei City from July 2016 to July 2021. We focus on the impact of the toxicity index, especially the impact of carbon monoxide, which is also considered in some other kinds of quality evaluation, such as water classification. Firstly, we found that with the increasing awareness of environmental protection and with the attention of the government to the quality of air in recent years, the air conditions have become better (the grades become lower). Secondly, the value of the factors, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, NO2, and O3 periodically fluctuate from year to year; and the periodicity of O3 is reversed with the other factors. Finally, the monthly average analysis shows that the overall air quality is good; all the grades are I-II, except for December 2017 which has a grade III. Furthermore, the air quality in the winter (especially in December and January) is not always good.

Performance Evaluation of Watershed Environment Governance—A Case Study of Taihu Basin

The rapid development of urbanization and industrialization brings a series of problems of environment governance, and several basins are facing huge pressure. This paper selects the Taihu basin in the Yangtze River Delta of China as the study area, establishes the DPSIR model to measure the water environment governance performance of the region (Cj), analyzes the causes of changes in the five subsystems (the governance performance of the subsystems is recorded as C1j,C2j,C3j,C4j,C5j), and uses the diagnostic model to identify the barrier factors that restrict the improvement of Cj in the last 5 years. The results show that during the study period, C1j of the driving force subsystem generally tends to increase and maintains a steady growth, which is closely linked to economic growth in the basin; C2j of the pressure subsystem increases with a small fluctuation, and the pollution generation still needs attention; in the state subsystem, C3j shows a large fluctuation, and varies significantly in a cyclical manner, corresponding to the short maintenance time and repeated treatment of pollution in the watershed; C4j of the impact subsystem shows an overall upward but a slightly slower trend, and it is related to the fact that the industrial structure of the basin still needs to be improved; and C5j of the response subsystem shows an overall upward trend and a slightly larger increase, and the multi-actor collaborative management has helped a lot. The main barrier factors include key cross-sections’ water quality compliance rate, the water quality compliance rate of key water function areas, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value, and the lake trophic status index. Based on the results of the study, the article gives recommendations for watershed governance, such as controlling pollution generation, optimising industrial structure, using technological tools to help governance, sharing the cost of governance among multiple parties and strengthening supervision The findings help to make scientific environmental protection planning and policies of the study region. The research can also provide experience for other countries and regions in watershed governance.

Ecological Water Requirement in Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yellow River Based on Flow Components and Hydraulic Index

Deterioration of the ecological environment in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River in China substantially impacts the growth and development of aquatic organisms in the drainage basin. This paper builds a conceptual model by applying flow components and fish ecological requirements relation with a relevant object of main fish in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. The paper utilized the flow restoration method by employing the River2D model (two-dimensional model of river hydrodynamics and fish habitat), and a one-dimensional hydrodynamics HEC-RAS (hydrologic engineering center's-river analysis system). The calculation result showed that the runoff condition required for Silurus lanzhouensis survival is that the monthly lowest flow in a year is 150 m³·s^-1, and the lowest flow for suitable flow from April to October is 150 m³·s^-1, and 300 m³·s^-1 from November to March. The research result is closer to the actual condition and has more outstanding operability. Meanwhile, the results proposed the coupling method of ecological water requirement for the mainstream of the Yellow River. Moreover, the results portrayed the ecological flow process according to the upper envelope of minimum and maximum ecological water requirements of each fracture surface. It is regarded that the ecological flow process is deemed as the initial value of the reservoir regulation model.

Rise and Fall of the Grand Canal in the Ancient Kaifeng City of China: Role of the Grand Canal and Water Supply in Urban and Regional Development

In the long history of the feudal society of China, Kaifeng played a vital role. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng became a worldwide metropolis. The important reason was that the Grand Canal, which was excavated during the Sui Dynasty, became the main transportation artery for the political and military center of the north and the economic center of the south. Furthermore, Kaifeng was located at the center of the Grand Canal, which made it the capital of the later Northern Song Dynasty. The Northern Song Dynasty was called “the canal-centered era.” The development of the canal caused a series of major changes in the society of the Northern Song Dynasty that were different from the previous ones, which directly led to the transportation revolution, and in turn, promoted the commercial revolution and the urbanization of Kaifeng. The development of commerce contributed to the agricultural and money revolutions. After the Northern Song Dynasty, the political center moved to the south. During the Yuan Dynasty, the excavation of the Grand Canal made it so that water transport did not have to pass through the Central Plains. The relocation of the political center and the change in the canal route made Kaifeng lose the value of connecting the north and south, resulting in the long-time fall of the Bianhe River. Kaifeng, which had prospered for more than 100 years, declined gradually, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, it became a common town in the Central Plains. In ancient China, the rise and fall of cities and regions were closely related to the canal, and the relationship between Kaifeng and the Grand Canal was typical. The history may provide some inspiration for the increasingly severe urban and regional sustainable development issues in contemporary times.

The Health Status Transition and Medical Expenditure Evaluation of Elderly Population in China

(1) Background: Because of the rapid expansion of the aging population in China, their health status transition and future medical expenditure have received increasing attention. This paper analyzes the health transition of the elderly and how their health transition impacts medical expenditures. At the same time, feasible policy suggestions are provided to respond to the rising medical expenditure and the demand for social care. (2) Methods: The data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2015 and analyzed using the Markov model and the Two-Part model (TPM) to forecast the size of the elderly population and their medical expenditures for the period 2020-2060. (3) Results: The study indicates that: (1) for the elderly with a mild disability, the probability of their health improvement is high; in contrast, for the elderly with a moderate or severe disability, their health deterioration is almost certain; (2) the frequency of the diagnosis and treatments of the elderly is closely related to their health status and medical expenditure; alternatively, as the health status deteriorates, the intensity of the elderly individuals' acceptance of their diagnosis and treatment increases, and so does the medical expense; (3) the population of the elderly with mild and moderate disability demonstrates an inverted "U"-shape, which reaches a peak around 2048, whereas the elderly with severe disability show linear growth, being the target group for health care; (4) with the population increase of the elderly who have severe disability, the medical expenditure increases significantly and poses a huge threat to medical service supply. Conclusions: It is necessary to provide classified and targeted health care according to the health status of the elderly. In addition, improving the level of medical insurance, establishing a mechanism for sharing medical expenditure, and adjusting the basic demographic structure are all important policy choices.

Study on Trans-Boundary Water Quality and Quantity Ecological Compensation Standard: A Case of the Bahao Bridge Section in Yongding River, China

Watershed ecological compensation, as an important means to protect the environment and promote the sustainable and coordinated development of upstream and downstream has wide concern in China. At present, the compensation accounting method only assesses water quality. When applied to some northern rivers represented by the Yongding River, which are facing water shortage, the assessment of water quality indicators alone cannot effectively compensate the ecosystem service providers for their expenditure on the environment. This paper proposes a transboundary water quality and quantity ecological compensation standard model, which couples the water quality ecological compensation standard of pollutant reduction and the water quantity ecological compensation standard based on the restoration cost method. We set up two scenarios using the model to calculate the amount of compensation payable under the actual scenario in 2018, which is USD 68.2 million. The amount of compensation under the local environmental policy target scenario is USD 10.6–82.668–529 million. It was concluded that the funds obtained from this model can cover the rehabilitation cost and meet the benefits of the upstream and downstream, making compensation funds more reasonable. However, based on the cross-sectional assessment, there is still a lack of integrity and comprehensiveness for the river basin. The development of watershed ecological compensation should move from the game of upstream and downstream interests to a win–win situation.

An evolutionary systematic framework to quantify short-term and long-term watershed ecological compensation standard and amount for promoting sustainability of livestock industry based on cost-benefit analysis, linear programming, WTA and WTP method

In order to achieve at better water quality of a given trans-boundary river mainly contributed by high-intensive and spatially dispersed pig farming at upstream area, an effective ecological compensation system is in urgent need. In this study, an evolutionary bottom-up framework of ecological compensation system was proposed to analyze the tradeoffs of behavior among the pig farmers, government of upstream area, and government of downstream area. Shutting down pig farms, upgrading traditional piggeries to elevated bed piggeries, and adopting centralized facilities for disposing wastes from small-scale pig farms are three effective measures to control pollution from pig farming and were considered into this study. The combined use of cost-benefit analysis, linear programming, willingness to accept and willingness to pay method, and its application to a typical case of Jiuzhou River, China, showed good performance to quantify short-term and long-term watershed ecological compensation standard and amount for promoting sustainability of livestock industry. Besides, we also proposed a framework of long-term reward and punishment compensation mechanism binding upon both sides for maintaining good water quality. The proposed systematic and feasible framework of methodology has important theoretical and application significance for other similar related researches and enriched the field in paying for good water quality.

A {BW12O40} hybrid decorated by Ag+ for use as a supercapacitor electrode material and photocatalyst

Through a hydrothermal method, we successfully synthesized a supramolecular compound [{Ag(phen)₂}₄{Ag(phen)}₂(H₂BW₁₂O₄₀)₂]. The as-synthesized material exhibited excellent supercapacitive and photocatalytic performances.