Determining eco-compensation standards based on the ecosystem services value of the mountain ecological forests in Beijing, China

Ecological forests play a key role in the maintenance of urban ecological security in Beijing, and 91% of these ecosystems are located in mountain areas. To better address the issues that are related to ecological conservation and the environmental, eco-compensation programs that target mountain ecological forests have been implemented by the local government since 2004. However, these eco-compensation programs that are currently conducted in Beijing now are still confronted with issues regarding payment standards. In this study, three eco-compensation standards for the mountain ecological forests in Beijing are presented based on the ecosystem services value and location diversity indicators that include major function oriented zoning, population density, and ecological importance and ecological fragility. The average payment in Beijing varies from 1607 RMB/ha/a to 2051 RMB/ha/a and is approximately from 0.7 to 1.2 times higher than the current standard. The increase from the current payment standard to the recommended ones is consistent with recent social and economic development in Beijing. The recommended eco-compensation standards also reflect the relative importance of forest ecosystem services that consider geographical location. These recommended standards also have the potential for use in the establishment of differentiated compensation standards based on the different protection results of mountain ecological forests. This study will help policy and decision makers to design eco-compensation initiatives with a high success rate and contribute to the conservation and sustainability of the forest resources in Beijing.