Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2015, Vol. 70 ›› Issue (12): 1897-1910.doi: 10.11821/dlxb201512004

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

China's provincial eco-compensation difference in 2004-2011

Chunla LIU1,2,3,6(), Weidong LIU2, Dadao LU2, Mingxing CHEN2(), Mei XU4, Xiaofeng DONG5   

  1. 1. Department of Resources and Environment Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410008, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
    3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    4. School of Tourism, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
    5. School of Architecture and Design, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
    6. Hengyang Normal University, Hunan Provincial Key Research Base of Social Sciences for Human Settlements, Hengyang 421002, China
  • Received:2014-05-21 Revised:2015-01-25 Online:2015-12-25 Published:2015-12-25

Abstract:

In this paper, we discussed a theoretical framework based on analysis of provincial eco-compensation difference and presented the measurement methods. Via the use of coefficient of variation, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient, we probed the overall differences of Chinese provincial eco-compensation time series data from 2004 to 2011 and studied the driving mechanism underlying such differences. Results show that: (1) The provincial eco-compensation standard has geographical features. For example, the provinces crossed by the "HU Huanyong Line" or located to its northwestern side have obtained extensive eco-compensation. (2) The eco-compensation difference presents an increasing trend, but with some fluctuations in 2006 and 2009 by coefficient of variation, in 2005, 2007 and 2011 by Gini coefficient, in 2007, 2008 and 2011 by Atkinson index. (3) Time series curves indicate that while the three signals (coefficient of variation, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient) differ in the short-term analysis, they show the same tendency in the longer term. The results indicate that it is necessary to evaluate the eco-compensation difference at provincial level for a long period of time. (4) Via the calculation of the virtual Gini coefficient, we found that, among the factors that influence provincial eco-compensation difference, the economic value of eco-resources plays a decisive role, explaining more than 73% of the difference. The cost of environmental pollutant governance is the second most important factor, contributing to more than 19% of the difference. The input to environmental pollution amelioration has the least influence, contributing to less than 8% of the difference. The research results agree with facts and other researches, and could give references to policy makers.

Key words: provincial eco-compensation, difference, measure, China