Abstract:

Using data from the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,this paper reported simulations of six different ecological compensation schemes both with and without a budget constraint,and analyzed all the schemes by comparing the efficiency of compensation funds,the characteristics of the selected compensation objects,the impoverished people involved in the compensation,the distribution of compensation amount, ecological importance,ecological fragility,and project costs.The following conclusions were drawn.The riskbenefitcost standards scheme had the highest efficiency in the compensatory fund,and had advantages in terms of ecological importance and ecological fragility.However,this program had the lowest participation rate and the least number of compensation towns and impoverished people,and had disadvantages in the project cost.The costeffectiveness standards scheme had a higher efficiency in the compensation fund and relatively high participation rate,larger number of compensated towns and the highest participation rate of the poor population.This program had advantages considering ecological importance and project cost,but would suffer from disadvantages in terms of ecological fragility.The efficiency standards scheme had higher efficiency in the compensation fund,a relatively large number of compensated towns and the highest participation rate,and could compensate the largest number of the poor.This program had advantages in both the ecological importance and ecological fragility,but with the least compensation area and had disadvantages in the project cost.The cost standards scheme had the largest compensation area,the largest number of compensated townships and relatively high participation rate, and might compensate more impoverished people.It had advantages in the ecological importance and project cost.Nevertheless,it had the least efficiency in the compensation fund and would suffer from disadvantages in terms of ecological fragility.If there was no budget constraint and only the ecological fragility was taken into account,the risk standards scheme should be the most appropriate one,because it compensated the degraded grassland.The unified standards program compensated the entire region,and the allocation of compensation fee in the area was fair,the program was facile to implement.But this program required a large capital budget,which might hamper its implementation,and the efficiency of compensation funds was very low.〖