Ecological Compensation: A Key to Sustainable Development in the Guizhou Province Karst Region, Southwest China

Abstract

The conflict between poverty and the resulting over-exploitation of natural resources on the one hand, and ecological restoration and sustainable development on the other hand, in the southwest China karst region was studied. In this region, the karst forest (a mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest) is rapidly degrading due to over-exploitation (sloping farming). We suggest that an Ecological Compensation (EC) model should be established with: financial institutions, local people, and a third part as an intermediate link. The process would continue for 20 years. As a case study we used Bangui town (3800 families) in the upper reaches of Pearl River. The per capita income of residents was used as the benchmark. The compensation would start with 80%, and decrease to 20% over a period of 20 years. Infrastructure investment would decrease from 20% of the total person’s compensation to 5% as the farmers increasingly use alternative income sources. The EC includes compensation for individual, infrastructure, and environmental investments. The total EC for Bangui would be 305,064 × 104 yuan during the 20 years.