Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823-5243, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2013 Sep 30;127:86-95. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.04.019. Epub 2013 May 15.
Systematic evaluation of the environmental and socioeconomic effects of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs is crucial for guiding policy design and implementation. We evaluated the performance of the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP), a national PES program of China, in the Wolong Nature Reserve for giant pandas. The environmental effects of the NFCP were evaluated through a historical trend (1965-2001) analysis of forest cover to estimate a counter-factual (i.e., without-PES) forest cover baseline for 2007. The socioeconomic effects of the NFCP were evaluated using data collected through household interviews carried out before and after NFCP implementation in 2001. Our results suggest that the NFCP was not only significantly associated with increases in forest cover, but also had both positive (e.g., labor reduction for fuelwood collection) and negative (e.g., economic losses due to crop raiding by wildlife) effects on local households. Results from this study emphasize the importance of integrating local conditions and understanding underlying mechanisms to enhance the performance of PES programs. Our findings are useful for the design and implementation of successful conservation policies not only in our study area but also in similar places around the world.
系统评估生态系统服务付费（PES）计划的环境和社会经济影响对于指导政策设计和实施至关重要。我们评估了中国国家 PES 计划——天然林保护工程（NFCP）在卧龙大熊猫自然保护区的表现。通过对森林覆盖的历史趋势（1965-2001 年）分析来评估 NFCP 的环境影响，以估算 2007 年无 PES 的森林覆盖基线。使用 2001 年 NFCP 实施前后进行的入户访谈收集的数据评估 NFCP 的社会经济影响。我们的结果表明，NFCP 不仅与森林覆盖的增加显著相关，而且对当地家庭产生了积极（例如，减少砍柴的劳动力）和消极（例如，野生动物对农作物的侵害造成的经济损失）影响。这项研究的结果强调了将当地条件和理解潜在机制纳入 PES 计划以提高其绩效的重要性。我们的研究结果不仅对我们研究区，而且对全球类似地区的成功保护政策的设计和实施都具有重要意义。
