Recently, the "Regulations on Ecological Protection Compensation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") was promulgated. This is China's first law specifically targeting ecological protection compensation. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in the legalization of ecological protection compensation in China and will greatly stabilize the expectations of ecological protection subjects. . I would like to use three sets of keywords to sort out the features and highlights of the Regulations. The first group of
is to move forward and keep moving forward. Key ecological projects such as returning farmland to forests and grasslands, launched in 1998, kicked off ecological protection compensation in China. After more than 20 years of unremitting efforts, China has established an ecological protection compensation mechanism with the widest coverage, the largest number of beneficiaries, and the largest investment in the world. It has achieved the goal of making green mountains have "value" and green water contain "gold", and the main body of ecological protection has been established. The sense of gain is constantly increasing, which is effectively mobilizing the enthusiasm of all parties to participate in ecological protection. On the basis of the existing institutional structure, the "Regulations" raise the systems that have been proven in practice and are effective to the level of administrative regulations to solidify and improve them. This is an important measure to stabilize the expectations of ecological protection subjects.
The second group is the government with clear regulations. Although China has formed an ecological protection compensation system that is in line with China's national conditions, due to the wide range of ecological protection compensation and intertwined interests, implementation is difficult, and there are still many problems that need to be solved. First, all parties have not yet reached an agreement on the connotation and definition of ecological protection compensation, and there is an urgent need for a systematic and standardized top-level design of the ecological protection compensation system; second, the problem of cross-administrative cooperation needs to be solved urgently, and the division of administrative and financial rights between the central and local governments as well as the central The understanding of the degree of intervention required by all parties to compensation is not completely consistent, and there are large differences in demands. Third, the ecological protection compensation method is relatively single, with financial compensation taking the dominant position, and the exploration of diversified compensation methods is still in its infancy. The "Regulations" clearly define ecological protection compensation, which is an incentive system arrangement that compensates units and individuals who carry out ecological protection in accordance with regulations or agreements through financial vertical compensation, inter-regional horizontal compensation, market-based compensation and other mechanisms.
Vertical ecological protection compensation has a high degree of recognition in China's ecological protection compensation system and plays an important role in maintaining national ecological security. The "Regulations" fully absorb the practical experience of vertical ecological protection compensation and determine the "1+n" national In the financial compensation pattern, "1" refers to areas with important ecological functions, including legally designated key ecological function areas, ecological protection red lines, nature reserves and other important areas with ecological functions; "n" refers to various important ecological environment elements, including Forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, oceans, water flows, cultivated land, as well as other important ecological and environmental elements such as aquatic biological resources, terrestrial wild animal and plant resources specified by laws, administrative regulations and the state. Fiscal vertical compensation is a basic institutional arrangement to stabilize the ecological product output capacity of the above-mentioned important ecological function areas and important ecosystems.
Horizontal ecological protection compensation between regions fully embodies the characteristics of equal rights and responsibilities and is the development direction of China's ecological protection compensation system. The "Regulations" define the scope of inter-regional compensation, covering the areas where the upper and lower reaches of the river basin, the left and right banks, the main branches and tributaries are located, as well as the areas where important ecological and environmental elements are located, other important ecological function areas, the water sources of major water diversion projects, and protected areas along the line. . The "Regulations" point out that local governments are the main body in carrying out inter-regional ecological protection compensation. People's governments at higher levels, including the central government, encourage and guide the construction of compensation mechanisms between regions through organizational coordination, financial support, policy preferences, etc., and clarify the signing of compensation agreements. The main content and considerations, fund management, organization and implementation, dispute resolution, renewal matters and other key issues.
The third group is efficient market and refined path. Promote the market-oriented development of ecological protection compensation, use the market as a bridge between ecological products and protection efforts, promote ecological protection and beneficiaries to reach reasonable ecological protection compensation through voluntary negotiation, and realize the linkage between ecological environmental responsibility and economic responsibility. Effectively improving the intrinsic motivation of relevant parties to carry out ecological and environmental protection is an important way to expand the value realization model of ecological products and an effective supplement to government compensation.
The "Regulations" emphasize that we should follow the laws of the market and adhere to the principle of ecological value, and propose a market-oriented compensation path with Chinese characteristics in which the government builds a platform and all parties participate. This is an innovative development based on vertical and horizontal ecological protection compensation, and is a departure from the past vague The direction of market-based ecological protection compensation that is unclear and has different opinions from all parties should be refined and implemented.
The transaction of resource and environmental rights and interests such as carbon emission rights, pollution rights, water rights, and carbon sink rights is a compensation for development opportunities and corresponding ecological products and services, and is determined by each market entity based on the actual use or emission amount and the initial quota. Market-based transactions will be carried out based on the balance and deficiency, and ecological beneficiaries will be guided to compensate ecological protectors. Encourage and support the organic integration of ecological protection and industrial development, promote the transformation of ecological advantages into industrial advantages, and make the land, labor force, assets, natural scenery and other elements of protected areas come alive. The establishment of a market-oriented ecological protection compensation fund requires strong institutional guarantees. The Regulations provide a legal basis for social investors to participate in ecological protection compensation.
The legalization of ecological protection compensation is an important symbol of the improvement of ecological civilization governance capabilities. The "Regulations" integrate and optimize the existing laws and regulations related to "fragmented" ecological protection compensation, and promote the improvement of both the quality and quantity of compensation legislation. It is the world's first legislation specifically targeting ecological protection compensation, and it is also a unique Chinese practice.
(The author is the chief expert of the Environmental Planning Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the director of the Ecological Environmental Compensation Research Center)
Published in the 1137th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on April 22, 2024
Magazine title: China's ecological protection compensation opens a new chapter of legalization
Author: Liu Guihuan
