Payoff of the Grain for Green policy

1. To protect the global ecological environment and prevent threats to
human safety and property, nations around the world have invested heavily
in ecological restoration programmes. However, we don’t know
whether these investments have been repaid by the resultant benefits. 2.
To answer this question, we developed an improved method of quantifying
costs and benefits that accounts for more of the costs associated with
ecological restoration, thereby letting us calculate the
net benefit. 3. To demonstrate this method, we analysed the Grain
for Green Program, which is the world’s largest ecological restoration
program. We found that the increase in net benefits amounted to a total of
530.1×109 RMB·yr-1 in 2017. However, 11 of China’s 25
provinces have incurred net losses due to high cost increases and low
increases in benefits under the GGP. 4. Synthesis and applications.
Because compensation payments to farmers and herders whose livelihoods
were disrupted by implementation of the Grain for Green
Program only accounted for 0.8% of the programme’s cost,
improving compensation payments will be essential to its
success. Assessing GGP the largest ecological
restoration program in the world will provide guidance
for ecological protection and restoration policies around the world. 1. To
protect the global ecological environment and prevent threats to human
safety and property, nations around the world have invested heavily in
ecological restoration programmes. However, we don’t know whether
these investments have been repaid by the resultant benefits. 2. To answer
this question, we developed an improved method of quantifying costs and
benefits that accounts for more of the costs associated with ecological
restoration, thereby letting us calculate the net benefit. 3. To
demonstrate this method, we analysed the Grain for Green Program, which is
the world’s largest ecological restoration program. We found that the
increase in net benefits amounted to a total of
530.1×109 RMB·yr-1 in 2017. However, 11 of China’s 25
provinces have incurred net losses due to high cost increases and low
increases in benefits under the GGP. 4. Synthesis and applications.
Because compensation payments to farmers and herders whose livelihoods
were disrupted by implementation of the Grain for Green
Program only accounted for 0.8% of the programme’s cost,
improving compensation payments will be essential to its
success. Assessing GGP the largest ecological
restoration program in the world will provide guidance
for ecological protection and restoration policies around the world.