Policy Implications of Natural Capital Accounting Read more about Policy Implications of Natural Capital Accounting What is the central challenge of the 21st century? It is developing an interlinked economic, social, and governance system that not only promotes sustainable development and alleviates poverty but also protects the environment, especially the ecosystem goods and services essential for human well-being. Meeting this challenge requires mainstreaming the value of natural capital and ecosystem services into decision-making. Explore how the People’s Republic of China is using natural capital accounting in its decision-making process.
Stephen Polasky Keywords ecological function conservation area ecological redlining expanded accounting system millennium ecosystem assessment natural capital natural capital accounting payment for ecosystem services value of capital asset value of natural capital Read more about Stephen Polasky Stephen Polasky is Regents Professor and Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics at the University of Minnesota. His research interests focus on issues at the intersection of ecology and economics and includes extensive work on ecosystem services and natural capital. He served as senior staff economist for environment and resources for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton.
Grassland Eco-Compensation in China: What Can and Cannot Be Monitored? Read more about Grassland Eco-Compensation in China: What Can and Cannot Be Monitored? Grassland covers about 40% of the PRC and is its largest terrestrial ecosystem. Since 2011, the government-financed “subsidy and reward program for grassland ecological protection” has been enforced. It is the country’s most important grassland eco-compensation program. In his presentation, Dr. Hu, from Tsinghua University’s China Institute of Rural Study, systematically elaborated the ecological effect, conditionality, and supervision of grassland eco-compensation.
Enabling Conditions to Foster Success in National Programmes: Conditional Transfers—Experiences, Lessons and Challenges Read more about Enabling Conditions to Foster Success in National Programmes: Conditional Transfers—Experiences, Lessons and Challenges Ina Porras, senior researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, shared experiences between poverty and environmental experts, policy makers and researchers, and across geographies on how conditional transfers are used to protect or restore fragile ecosystems and vulnerable groups. Instruments used include behavior incentive-based with conditionality attached (e.g., payments for ecosystem services or PES, eco-compensation) and public work schemes (i.e., job creation conditional to satisfactory environmental works).
Toward a National Eco-compensation Regulation in the People’s Republic of China Read more about Toward a National Eco-compensation Regulation in the People’s Republic of China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Deputy Director General Xiao Weiming and ADB East Asia Department Director General Ayumi Konishi opened the event and also launched the publication, Toward a National Eco-compensation Regulation in the PRC. This publication is based on a study undertaken by ADB and the NDRC on eco-compensation regulations development in the country.