Grassland ecological compensation policy in China improves grassland quality and increases herders’ income

Many countries have undertaken large and high-profile payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) programs to sustain the use of their natural resources. Nevertheless, few studies have comprehensively examined the impacts of existing PES programs. Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is one of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2021-08, Vol.12 (1), p.4683-4683, Article 4683
Main Authors: Hou, Lingling, Xia, Fang, Chen, Qihui, Huang, Jikun, He, Yong, Rose, Nathan, Rozelle, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/844/685
704/844/843
706/689/159
Compensation
Econometrics
Empirical analysis
Farmers
Grasslands
Heterogeneity
Humanities and Social Sciences
Income
Livestock
Livestock production
Local communities
multidisciplinary
Natural resources
Polls & surveys
Remote sensing
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Socioeconomics
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Summary:Many countries have undertaken large and high-profile payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) programs to sustain the use of their natural resources. Nevertheless, few studies have comprehensively examined the impacts of existing PES programs. Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is one of the few pastorally focused PES programs with large investments and long duration, which aim to improve grassland quality and increase herder income. Here we present empirical evidence of the effects of GECP on grassland quality and herder income. Through a thorough and in-depth econometric analysis of remote sensing and household survey data, we find that, although GECP improves grassland quality (albeit to only a small extent) and has a large positive effect on income, it exacerbates existing income inequality among herders within their local communities. The analysis demonstrates that the program has induced herders to change their livestock production behavior. Heterogeneity analysis emphasizes the importance of making sure the programs are flexible and are adapted to local resource circumstances. China has introduced a payment-for-ecosytsem-services program called GECP which is focused on pastoral communities in grassland areas. Here, the authors combine remote sensing and household survey data to find small improvement in grassland quality and a significant positive effects on the income of herders.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-24942-8