Quantitative assessment of eco-compensation standard from the perspective of ecosystem services: A case study of Erhai in China

Abstract Eco-compensation is an economic approach to improve ecosystem services (ESs) through coordinating the relationships among different stakeholders. However, it is crucial to set up appropriate eco-compensation standards. This study proposes an emergy-based eco-compensation accounting framework by linking it with the InVEST model and ArcGIS to calculate the eco-compensation standard from the perspective of ES improvement. Erhai Lake Basin (ELB) was selected as one case study area, in which its ESs were divided into three categories, i.e. provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services. Emergy values and emdollar values of different ESs in ELB were calculated for the study period of 2000–2015. Results show that both emergy values and emdollar values of provisioning services and cultural services increased significantly from 2000 to 2015. However, the emergy values of regulating services decreased during 2000–2015, while its emdollar values still increased. This indicates that it is critical to pay more attentions on regulating services since such services directly reflect ecosystem quality. The eco-compensation standards for different land types were then proposed so that suitable policies can be made. As such, the driving forces of ESs changes were uncovered and the feasibility of proposed eco-compensation standards was discussed. Key findings from this study can help relevant stakeholders to work together to prepare appropriate eco-compensation policies.