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Eco-compensation and harmonious regional development in China

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Abstract

Harmonious regional development poses difficult problems, especially in so far as the harmonious regional development of ecological resources is concerned. China has explored several eco-compensation models, and in each province eco-compensation has different characteristics. These methods have had significant impacts. The aim of this paper is first to examine the meaning of ecocompensation and to present a framework for analyzing it. Next the development of eco-compensation in China is examined. Finally, four typical models of eco-compensation are compared: the government financial transfer payment compensation model; the ecological resource exploiters′ payment compensation model; the ecological destruction compensation model; and the ecological resource tax collection compensation model. Each model has its own unique feature and potential to contribute to harmonious regional development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Chunla Liu, Weidong Liu, Dadao Lu, Mingxing Chen & Michael Dunford

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Chunla Liu

  3. School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QN, Sussex, UK

    Michael Dunford

  4. College of Tourism, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China

    Mei Xu

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  1. Chunla Liu
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  2. Weidong Liu
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  3. Dadao Lu
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  4. Mingxing Chen
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  5. Michael Dunford
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  6. Mei Xu
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Correspondence to Mingxing Chen.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41125005, 41430636), Open Fund Project of Hunan Provincial Key Research Base of Social Sciences for Human Settlements (No. RJ14K04), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2015JJ3179)

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Liu, C., Liu, W., Lu, D. et al. Eco-compensation and harmonious regional development in China. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 26, 283–294 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-015-0758-x

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