An eco-compensation mechanism is established to promote balanced development between regions and industries.
China has been increasing the transfer payment to key eco-function zones and increased the input in areas like forest eco-efficiency compensation, grassland ecological conservation subsidy and reward, and wetland ecological compensation.
Efforts are made to carry out ecological relocation of residents in key eco-function zones and collective forest ownership reforms in poverty-stricken areas, and to improve trans-regional and cross-watershed ecological compensation, with a view to facilitating poverty alleviation through ecological conservation.
The transfer payment system for national key eco-function zones has been set up, as a policy guide for local governments in protecting the ecological environment and improving people's livelihood. From 2008 to 2019, the central government has allocated a total of 523.5 billion yuan in transfer payment, which covers 818 counties annually.
Such transfer payment has helped preserve the authenticity and integrity of the ecosystems in national nature reserves. Steady progress has been made in the environment of Sanjiangyuan (source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers) Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province, and the water source area of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
Counties at national key ecological function areas have effectively performed their functions in wind-break and sand-fixing, water and soil conservation, water source conservation and biodiversity preservation. Over 50% of them enjoy good environment and over 90% see their environment improved or well maintained.
Biodiversity conservation has helped promote gender equality.
China is one of the first 46 countries pledging to work for social gender mainstreaming and the host country of the 4th World Conference on Women.
China formulated the National Program for the Development of Women in 1995, and then updated it in 2001, 2011 and 2018 respectively.
In the Program, environment was identified as one of the seven areas for promoting gender equality, with ten specific goals to be achieved.
These goals include developing a holistic approach for drinking water safety in rural areas, reducing the damage to women's health caused by water pollution, encouraging women to take part in energy-saving and emission reduction programs and lead a low-carbon life, enhancing women's capacity in terms of disaster and risk prevention and preparedness, and meeting women's special needs in disaster risk reduction. Most of the goals have been achieved ahead of schedule.
Local governments at all levels have promoted gender equality through biodiversity conservation projects by making full use of their respective ecological resources.
Gansu Province has developed the Implementation Plan of Gender Mainstreaming in Protected Areas in Gansu and the Guidelines for Information Collection (Supervision) for the Gender Mainstreaming Project to increase women's income, enhance their family and social status and protect their capability of and right to acquiring resources in the mainstreaming of biodiversity.
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