Study On The Ecological Compensation Mechanism For Sloping Land Conversion Program In Wuqi County

As a national large-scale ecological project, Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is aimed at improving both the ecological environment and the income of farmers. In order to make SLCP practicable and maintain the achievements of SLCP, a reasonable compensation mechanism of ecological protection measures as a policy plays a very important role.There are fruitful domestic and foreign researches on ecological compensation mechanism, but the empirical analysis specially on ecological compensation mechanism in Northern regions are relatively little. This article attempts to focus on the micro-foundation of the Forest Ecological Compensation Mechanism from the farmer's perspective, based on household survey data. Through the observation and study on the relationship between the participants in ecological compensation mechanism, as well as the analysis of household production and behavioral changes, we can reflect the operating characteristics of ecological compensation mechanism, which would enhance our understanding of the ecological compensation mechanism and provide references and basis for the post-era policies in Northern regions.Using the household survey data from Wuqi County in Shaanxi Province in 2010, this article expores the implementation of SLCP on the relationship between ecological compensation and farmers with a more systematic and empirical case analysis. Firstly, we make a comparative analysis on the project's economic, social and ecological impact between pre and post implementation of SLCP. Secondly, we examine the willingness of farmers and govenments to accept and provide in SLCP of Wuqi County, and then present the shortcomings of the existing subsidy policies based on field research interviews. Thirdly, using the DEA technology and Tobit regression model, this thesis calculate and analysis the operating efficiency and characteristics of households, and then explore the impacts of ecological compensation in increasing agricultural production efficiency and the reasons to explain the results of empirical research. Finally, based on the above analysis, paper works out the empirical conclusions drawn, returning farmland to forest ecological compensation mechanism and improve the corresponding policy recommendations.The main conclusions obtained are as follows: (1) The SLCP has made significant benefits in improving the ecosystem performances and the adjustment of industrial structure. Perfecting the ecological compensation system becomes one of important policy approaches to consolidate the obtained results. (2) The economic interactions and game between the stakeholders such as farmers and governments involved in SCLP has leaded the parties to a conflict of interest and into a "prisoner's dilemma", which is the underlying reasons of defects in current compensation mechanisms. (3) The ecological compensation mechanism has a negative feedback on farmer's production behavior. The proportion of farmland and the SCLP subsidy significantly affect the efficiency of agricultural production; the former has a positive role in promoting agricultural productivity, whereas the latter is just the opposite. This indicates that the existing compensation system can weaken the enthusiasm of farmers in agricultural production.