Regional ecological compensation based on ecosystem service value in the area surrounding Beijing and Tianjin

The area around Beijing and Tianjin is a strategic region in terms of ecological defense of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. To promote the integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the construction of ecological environment, it is key point to clarify the compensators and recipients of ecological compensation. This paper introduced spatial scale of sub-ecological region, and divided the area around Beijing and Tianjin of Hebei Province, 73 counties (cities), into 7 sub-ecological regions. Then the paper calculated the per-unit area ecosystem service value and the sequence of priority of ecological compensation (ECPS) of 73 counties (cities) in the region surrounding Beijing and Tianjin. The ECPS can be used to quantify the priority of ecological compensation, and is the basis of regional compensation. The areas with priority for regional ecological compensation in the area surrounding Beijing and Tianjin were analyzed at three spatial scales — the whole region, the sub-ecological region and the county/city scale. The results showed that the ECPS of the area surrounding Beijing and Tianjin was high in totality, and that of the regions around the western mountains and hills was significantly higher than that of the areas in the central and southeast plains. The per-unit area ecosystem service values of different ecological sub-regions were not significantly different. On the contrary, it varied considerably for different counties/cities — 2 440 Yuan·hm^-2 for Laishui County (the lowest) in the west mountain area and 10 060 Yuan·hm^-2 for Luannan (the highest) County in the east plain. The results also showed that at sub-ecological scale, the grassland and agro-ecological area in Bashang Plateau, the upper reaches of Yongding River and the deciduous broad-leaved forest areas of Jibei and Yanshan mountains needed high priority in terms of ecological compensation. At the county/city scale, Fengning, Weichang and other seven counties/cities in the northern region of the study area had higher priority level in terms of ecological compensation. Then Sanhe, Dachang and other 47 counties/cities in eastern and southern regions of the study area was the first to pay for the ecological compensation. Compared with previous economic compensation intensity models, a relatively simple and reliable evaluation method for priority areas and regional ecological compensation were established in this study. This was not only applicable in the promotion of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration and the construction of ecological environment, but also offered scientific basis for rational land utilization and sustainable development in the study area.