An Evaluation of the Impact of Ecological Compensation on the Cross-Section Efficiency Using SFA and DEA: A Case Study of Xin’an River Basin

Spatial-temporal distribution, source identification, risk assessment and water quality assessment of trace elements in the surface water of typical tributary in Yangtze River delta, China

As China's first cross-province ecological compensation mechanism pilot area in the hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta, Xin'an River has been hotspot in the study of rational utilization of ecological resources, and the functional value of its ecosystem services has been widely concerned. As an important tributary of the upper reaches of Xin'an River, Fengle River may affect the whole basin. The spatial-temporal distributions, occurrence, water quality and risk assessment of trace elements were studied in Fengle River in three seasons. High element concentrations were found in the downstream. Traceability models results showed that the major sources of trace elements were related to different human activities. The water quality was worse downstream in the wet season, and was more suitable for irrigation in the dry season. Risk assessment results showed that Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, and As were able to pose the risk to the ecological environment and human.

Maximize Eco-Economic Benefits with Minimum Land Resources Input: Evaluation and Evolution of Land Use Eco-Efficiency of Agglomerations in Middle Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Increasing land-use eco-efficiency can alleviate human-land conflict in urban areas as well as improve regional urbanization quality to achieve sustainable development. As the central urban agglomeration in China, the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River (MRYR) has experienced rapid urbanization and huge land-use change during 2000 to 2020, which poses great threats to its ecological environment. This study adopted the Super-Slack-Based Data Envelopment Analysis (Super SBM-DEA) model to evaluate the eco-efficiency of land use in MRYR. The result shows that the average eco-efficiency value of land use is above 0.77 for each year, indicating that the general efficiency is at a middle level. The trend of the evolution of the eco-efficiency can be summarized as a "U-shape" style curve. The variance between the four urban agglomerations of the MRYR changed over time. Not all capital cities or cities with higher GDP per capita obtain higher eco-efficiency in this study. Policy intervention, population and land use, technique, and environmental pollution are influencing factors of land-use eco-efficiency. Based on slacks analysis, this study proposed the optimization of the land-use structure to improve eco-efficiency from four aspects of land-use structure, investment and labor, ecosystem services value (ESV) and environment pollution, and industry structure.

Considering Farmers' Heterogeneity to Payment Ecosystem Services Participation: A Choice Experiment and Agent-Based Model Analysis in Xin'an River Basin, China

The concept of watershed ecological compensation is one payment for ecosystem services (PES) program that incentivizes stakeholders undertake environmental conservation activities that improve the provision of ecosystem services. Defining the heterogeneity of farmers' willingness to participate in watershed ecological compensation is critically important for fully understanding stakeholders' demands. Accordingly, we designed a choice experiment survey to analyze the heterogeneity of policy preferences and willingness to receive compensation between upstream and midstream farmers in Xin'an River basin, China. Moreover, we simulated the impact of farmers' social capitals' heterogeneity with an agent-based model. The results show that there are significant differences in the preferences of agricultural waste recycling rate and agricultural water quality between farmers in the upstream and midstream. The total willingness of farmers in the upstream and midstream to participate in ecological compensation are RMB 149.88 (USD 22.54)/month and RMB 57.40 yuan (USD 8.63)/month, respectively. Social network size has a negative effect on farmers' willingness to participate the programs. Our findings suggest that the characteristics of farmers' influence their willingness to participate in the PES program. The results of this research can be used to improve PES management policies in the future, as well as to support sustainable environmental development and rural revitalization.

Research on Environmental Regulation, Technological Innovation and Green Transformation of Manufacturing Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The green transformation of the manufacturing industry is crucial for high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and environmental regulation and technological innovation may play key roles. Considering the undesirable output of the manufacturing industry, this paper adopted the undesirable-SE-SBM Model to measure the green transformation efficiency, which can reflect the core transformation performance. On this basis, this paper respectively adopted system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) and differential generalized method of moments (DIF-GMM) to explore the driving factors of green transformation, which fully considered the lag variable of transformation efficiency. The estimated results of green transformation showed that the efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has maintained an overall growth trend, while that of the eastern regions was higher than that of the central and western regions. The regional difference of transformation efficiencies showed a trend of convergence first and then expansion, however, a few regions such as Chongqing have achieved leapfrog development. The estimated results of driving factors showed the first-stage lag affected the green transformation positively, while the second-stage lag had a significantly negative effect. The ratchet effect and cumulative effect led to the continued efforts on green transformation, however, the timeliness of policy might cause a rebound in practice. As mentioned in green paradox, the environmental regulation had a negative effect, which might bring compliance costs. The technology innovation level indeed promoted the green transformation of manufacturing, but the scientific research investment did not exert the expected positive effect, while the utilization of many research funds lacked market orientation. Economic development level had a negative effect on green transformation, and it would play a positive effect only if it reached a certain stage. The industrialization and urbanization affected the efficiency positively, and the external dependence degree had a significant negative effect. It was not clear whether foreign direct investment (FDI) brought a pollution haven or pollution halo effect. In view of these conclusions, local governments should strictly enforce environmental regulations, build the regional green innovation system, improve marketization of research funds, optimize the export structure, and promote new urbanization and new industrialization.

Integrating Ecosystem Services Supply, Demand and Flow in Ecological Compensation: A Case Study of Carbon Sequestration Services

Through the implementation of ecological compensation policy, it is of great significance to protect ecosystems, coordinate regional development, and achieve sustainable development goals. This study selected the carbon sequestration service in Yantai as an example and carried out a study on the measurement of ecological compensation based on the ecosystem services supply and demand. Moreover, this study clarified the whole process of the generation, circulation and social demand docking of ecological benefits from the perspective of “nature-society”, proposed a spatial flow characterization method for carbon sequestration services, and described the “externality” spillover of ecosystem services. The results showed that most areas of Yantai belonged to the ecological surplus area, which were important sources of carbon sequestration services. Ecological compensation was needed, with a total amount of about 2.2 billion yuan. Qixia, Muping and Penglai had greater comparative ecological radiation force (CERF), and the total amount of carbon sequestration services transferred to the external areas was large. Although the carbon sequestration flows of Yantai showed a spatial decay law, there were significant differences in the direction of different districts and cities. The study can provide a reference for achieving sustainable development of Yantai and formulating ecological compensation policy.

Study on the Impact of Industrial Agglomeration on Ecological Sustainable Development in Southwest China

Southwest China is a fragile terrestrial ecosystem restricted by its geological background, which leads to a contradiction between its industrial economic development and the ecological environment. In this study, to explore the influence and mechanisms of the three industrial agglomeration modes, namely, specialization, related diversification, and unrelated diversification, on the eco-efficiency of the region, linear and nonlinear regression models were applied to the data of five Southwest provinces from 2006 to 2018. Specialization agglomeration had a significant negative impact on the eco-efficiency of four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China. With the decrease of industrial specialization, their eco-efficiency improved. The effects of related diversification agglomeration on the ecological efficiency of four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China showed a “U” curve. The degree of industrial diversification in these provinces exceeded the critical value of 1.46, and the effect on eco-efficiency was shown. The unrelated diversification agglomeration had a negative effect on the ecological efficiency of the four provinces outside Tibet in Southwest China. The degree of industrial-unrelated diversification in Guizhou Province increased slightly, which was not conducive to the improvement of local eco-efficiency. Additionally, it decreased significantly in other provinces, which caused the improvement of local eco-efficiency. The conclusion provides a theoretical basis for industrial green transformation path selection and related policy formulation in Southwest China.