Ecological Asset Assessment and Ecological Compensation Standards for Desert Nature Reserves: Evidence from Three Different Climate Zones in China

Li Ma, Danbo Pang, Jie Gao, Wenbin Wang and Ruoxiu Sun ()
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Li Ma: Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Beijing 101149, China
Danbo Pang: Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwest China, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Jie Gao: Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Beijing 101149, China
Wenbin Wang: Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Beijing 101149, China
Ruoxiu Sun: China Agricultural Museum, Beijing 100125, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: 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 × 10 4 CNY/hm 2 , and the ecological compensation standard is 1.18 × 10 4 CNY/hm 2 . The cost of ecological protection of Anxi nature reserves is 8204.09 × 10 4 CNY/hm 2 , and the ecological compensation standard is 0.15 × 10 4 CNY/hm 2 . 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.

Keywords: desert ecosystem; ecological compensation; ecosystem service; ecological protection cost (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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