Assessment of the Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) in Qinghai, China

• Published in: Agriculture (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 1479
• Main Authors: Yang, Fuyu, Xu, Jingjing, Zhao, Xin, Wang, Xuekai, Xiong, Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2022
• Subjects: Analysis; Bans; Compensation; Compensation management; Conservation; Ecosystems; Farmers; grassland degradation; Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP); Grassland ecology; Grasslands; Humidity; Land surveys; Livestock; Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); Normalized difference vegetative index; Provinces; Recovery; Remote sensing; Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RESI); Sensors; Subsidies; Vegetation; China; Tibetan Plateau; Mongolia; Qinghai China; Tibet
• ISSN: 2077-0472; 2077-0472
• DOI: 10.3390/agriculture12091479

The grassland condition in Qinghai Province has changed dramatically after implementation of the Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP). The changes in grassland Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and those in grassland area and grassland Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RESI) reveal that the policy has indeed played a crucial role in grassland ecological recovery. Although in the first round of policy implementation from 2011–2015, the quality of grassland has not improved significantly, and degradation even occurred in some areas, the second round of the policy implementation reversed this trend. As the world’s only ecological subsidy policy for grassland ecosystems, it should continue to be implemented and monitored for better recovery of grassland ecology and production activities of herders that are concerned.