How to coordinate cross-regional water resource relationship by integrating water supply services flow and interregional ecological compensation

Ecosystem service (ES) flow reveals the transregional benefits transferred from service supply areas (SSAs) to service benefiting areas (SBAs), which correspond to the sellers and buyers of interregional ecological compensation, respectively. However, current ecological compensation policies usually ignore this close connection. This study took the water supply services (WSSs) with the most obvious flow characteristics as an example and established a universal framework for interregional ecological compensation by combining WSSs flow simulation and regional disparity. The simulation process was programmed with Interactive Data Language (IDL) and analyzed with ArcGIS. Most regions serve as a dual role in the WSSs flow process, the water suppliers and users are relative and scale-dependent. Taking Ningxia as an example, As water benefiting areas (WBAs)/buyers, the total material inflow to Ningxia was 135.86 x 10(8) similar to 294.22 x 10(8) m(3) from 2000 to 2015 and the value inflow ranged from 1077.39 x 10(8) similar to 2333.16 x 10(8) CNY, requiring 101.64 x 10(8) similar to 293.51 x 10(8) CNY ecological compensation paid by Ningxia. As water supply areas (WSAs)/sellers, the total material outflow from Ningxia was 72.83 x 10(8) similar to 200.46 x 10(8) m(3) from 2000 to 2015, and the value outflow was between 577.54 x 10(8) CNY and 1589.65 x 10(8) CNY, requiring 63.80 x 10(8) similar to 112.34 x 10(8) CNY of ecological compensation to be paid by the downstream basins, especially the Shizuishan - Hekou Town subbasin. Overall, Ningxia was a beneficiary area of WSSs flow and the payers of interregional ecological compensation, with a net payment amount of 37.84 x 10(8) similar to 181.16 x 10(8) CNY. This study provides a direct spatial-visualized reference to water resource management for policy-makers and promotes the integration of ES flow and interregional ecological compensation. Furthermore, it can improve the public recognition of interregional ecological compensation with the spatial mapping of the levy and allocation and conducive to the sustainable provisioning of ESs ultimately.

Automated summary

This study uses water supply services as an example to establish a framework for interregional ecological compensation, revealing that most regions play dual roles as both water suppliers and users in the process, requiring corresponding ecological compensation based on the situation.