Interim Report of CCICED Task Force on Ecosystem Service and Management Strategy

Co-Chairs：Yiyu Chen, Beate Jessel

CCICED 2009 Annual General Meeting

November 11th-13th, 2009, Beijing

Task Force Team

Co-chairs: CHEN Yiyu President of National Natural Science Foundation of China, Member of

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Member of Standing Committee of National People’s Congress

Beate Jessel President, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany

International Members: Leon Braat Research Manager, Policy Consultant, Institute for Environmental

Studies, Free University Amsterdam Anantha Duraiappah Chief, Ecosystem Services and Economics Unit, United Nations

Environment Programme Nordin Hasan Director, ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Peter Kareiva Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy John Soussan Science Director, Stockholm Environment Institute – Asia Center

Chinese Members: FU Bojie Professor, Research Center of Eco-Environment Sciences, CAS GAO Jixi Deputy Director General, Department of Science, Technology and

Standards, MEP LEI Guangchun Director, College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University MA Chaode Director, Freshwater Programme, WWF China YU Xiubo Secretary General of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, CAS

Invited Consultants: Jamie Pittock WWF Research Associate, Fenner School of Environment & Society,

Australian National University ZHAO Shidong Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources

Research, CAS

Supporting Experts: Eric Arets Associate Professor, Wageningen UR, Alterra, Netherlands FAN Jiangwen Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources

Research, CAS FAN Zemeng Associate Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural

Recourse Research, CAS

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HE Honglin Associate Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS

LI Daiqing Assistant Professor, Institute of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences

LI Lailai Director, Stockholm Environment Institute Asia Center LIU Junguo Professor, College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forest University LV Yihe Associate Professor, Research Center of Eco-Environment Sciences,

CAS Christine Tam Director, The Natural Capital Project, USA WANG Yukuan Professor, Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment,

CAS XU Ming Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources

Research, CAS

YAN Bangyou Professor, Deputy Director, Mountain-River-Lake Office of Jiangxi Province

YUE Tianxiang Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS

ZHOU Yangming Assistant Professor, Mountain-River-Lake Office of Jiangxi Province

Secretariat JIANG Luguang Associate Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural

Resources Research, CAS

WANG Guoqin Officer, Secretariat of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, CAS

LI Li Assistant, Secretariat of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, CAS

LIU Wenman Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute Asia Center

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Contents

Summary of Report....................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Introduction of Task Force ....................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 The Objectives................................................................................................................................... 3

1.2 Major Tasks and Work Packages....................................................................................................... 4

1.3 The Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 5

1.4 The Outputs ....................................................................................................................................... 6

1.5 The Deliverables................................................................................................................................ 7

1.6 The Progress to Date ......................................................................................................................... 7

2. Status of Ecosystem Service and Management in China ..................................................................... 11

2.1 Current Status and Trend of Major Ecosystems in China................................................................ 11

2.2 Main Departments and Legal System for Ecosystems Management .............................................. 13

2.3 Experiences of Key Ecological Projects in China ........................................................................... 14

2.4 Policy Recommendations Adoption in the Ecology-related CCICED Task Forces ........................ 15

3. Scenarios Analysis for Ecosystems Services in China’s Development ................................................ 16

3.1 Goal, Purpose and Objectives of Scenarios Analysis ...................................................................... 16

3.2 Roadmap of Scenarios Analysis ...................................................................................................... 17

3.3 National Ecosystems Services Assessment ..................................................................................... 19

3.4 National Level Scenarios Identified ................................................................................................ 22

3.5 Policy Dialogue and Identification of Policy Options..................................................................... 25

4. Case Studies of Ecosystem Services and Management ........................................................................ 27

4.1 Loess Plateau Case Study................................................................................................................ 27

4.2 Poyang Lake Basin Case Study....................................................................................................... 28

4.3 Baoxing Case Study ........................................................................................................................ 29

4.4 CERN-based Best Practice for Ecosystem Management ................................................................ 29

4.5 International Experiences of Ecosystem Services ........................................................................... 30

5. Follow-up Activities................................................................................................................................. 31

5.1 Third Workshop and Study Tour in Thailand .................................................................................. 31

5.2 Fourth Workshop and Study Tour in Loess Plateau......................................................................... 31

5.3 Consultation with Key Stakeholders in China upon Policy Recommendations .............................. 31

5.4 Participation and Presentation in CCICED Annual General Meeting in 2010................................ 32

5.5 Reception and Release of Synthesis Study Report and Policy Recommendations ......................... 32

Summary of Report

As China is in a transition stage from sector-based approach to more integrated approach, this presents a timely opportunity to develop and introduce effective and efficient ecosystem management systems and processes for nature conservation and ecosystem restoration so as to better maintain the ecosystem health and services. Under the Fourth Phase of CCICED (2007-2012) the Task Force on Ecosystem Service and Management strategy (mentioned as task force below) was setup in December 2008. Through integrated status study, scenarios analysis study, typical international and national case studies, the task force would show decision makers the economic and social benefits of sustainable ecosystems management based on an ecosystem service approach, provide evidence to illustrate the opportunities and provide Chinese and international lessons on promising approaches, resent science-based recommendations and policy options to integrate ecosystem services into the development of decision-making in China. The task force will accomplish all the tasks during 2010, and present its final policy recommendations and integrated study report during the 2010 Annual General Meeting of CCICED.

The task force has held three internal working meetings and organized expert workshops and stakeholder dialogs. Several tasks have been carried out, including draft status study on ecosystem service and management, scenarios analysis study, and some case studies. Some primary results and draft policy recommendations have been drawn from those studies. According the up-to bottom method, the draft policy recommendations of the task force were drafted and fully discussed during the second workshop.

The draft status study provided a general picture for the task force. Its results showed that under the heavy pressures from strong consumption and economic growth, the ecosystem services and management in China is still confronted with serious challenges. Ecosystem structure, functions and services are increasingly degrading, showing a trend of evolving from structural damage to functional disorder. The success of meeting these challenges largely depends on various factors, e.g. improving rule of law，building a mechanism for integrated ecosystem management, adopting the sustainable ecosystem management as the basic national strategy, referring to the outreach of experiences of past programs. Through the workshop on ‘Best Practices of Ecosystem Management Based on Monitoring and Experiments’, some useful lessons were shared. The monitoring, research and demonstration of ecosystem management should be combined and integrated into the policy development on ecosystem management. Based on the complexity of natural and eco-social conditions in China, more site-based best practices and demonstration models should be developed and further implemented in the region.

For the scenario analysis study, after the expert workshop and stakeholders` dialogs, the

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roadmap and first step work has been driven. This scenario analysis sets out a structured and phased process through which an improved understanding of the full value of ecosystems services in China can be understood, the potential contribution of these services to future national development can be assessed and policies and actions designed to enhance sustainable ecosystems service flows at national, provincial and local levels can be identified. The identified three scenarios are business as usual (scenario 1), planned development (scenario 2), and ecosystems services optimization (scenario 3).

In the case study selection, several criterions were fully considered including the multiple scales, the illustrative nature of the case studies (ecosystem types and ecosystem service types), the potential of case studies to support most of the primary policy recommendations, and the strong links between the case studies, scenarios and policy recommendations. The five selected cases are Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) case (national scale), Loess Plateau case (regional scale), Poyang Lake Basin case (provincial scale), Baoxing case (county scale) and international case (global scale). Some primary finding on the case study based on past work would be reported during the coming third task force workshop in Thailand.

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1. Introduction of Task Force

Healthy ecosystems form the basis for our vital life support systems, providing critical goods and services for the human well-being. However, ecosystems around the world are currently being degraded with associated loss of resilience and provision of goods and services with actual and potential impacts on sustainability of economic and social development. Despite increasing attention and investment, including some notable successes, China’s ecosystems continue to deteriorate; China recognizes the need to improve its ecosystem management, including institutional arrangements, policy and legislative formulation and implementation. As China is in a transition stage from sector-based approach to more integrated approach, this presents a timely opportunity to develop and introduce effective and efficient ecosystem management systems and processes for nature conservation and ecosystem restoration so as to better maintain the ecosystem health and services.

Under the Fourth Phase (2007-2012) of The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) the Task Force on Ecosystem Service and Management was proposed for approval at CCICED’s AGM in November 2008. The task force is co-funded by CCICED core fund and EU-China Biodiversity Programme. It is proposed to submit a study report and policy recommendations to CCICED’s AGM in 2010.

Biodiversity and ecological conservation has historically been a major focus of CCICED. CCICED had set up working groups and task forces on biodiversity, Western China forests and grasslands, bio-safety; integrated river basin management, protected areas and payment for ecosystem services. Yet, there remains a need to address ecosystem services and management in an integrated and holistic manner, building on the work of earlier TASK FORCE. Ecosystem services have not been fully integrated into national policies resulting in a conflict between the integrity of ecosystem functioning and separation of sector-based natural resource management. The Task Force will implement the project with reference of Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), focusing on the provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services and supporting services.

1.1 The Objectives

Show decision makers the economic and social benefits of sustainable ecosystems management based on an ecosystem service approach.

Provide evidence to illustrate the opportunities and provide Chinese and international lessons on promising approaches.

Present science-based recommendations and policy options to integrate ecosystem services into the development of decision-making in China.

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1.2 Major Tasks and Work Packages

Task 1: Integrated status study of ecosystem service and management in China

Summarize the extent, status and trends of ecosystems degradation, especially forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems

Advance opportunities for improved ecosystem approaches through, for example, development zoning process, SEA, re-orientation of current programs in forest, grassland and wetland management, etc.

Develop policy framework and strategy to promote integrated ecosystem management (i.e. legislation, institution, economic tools, public participation, and science and technical support)

Indentify priorities and implementation road map of integrated ecosystem management

Task 2: Scenarios study for the analysis of ecosystems services in China’s development

Assessment/mapping of existing ecosystems services in China: based on 4 MA categories & including trends

Identifying the main drivers affecting ecosystem service availability & trends: e.g. land-use patterns, changing consumption patterns, urbanization etc.

Value loss of ecosystems services from present trends & cost of replacing these lost services necessary to maintain economic development targets.

Identify actions needed to maintain existing ecosystem service levels, then identify the cost of these actions and compare them to the losses identified in baseline situation.

Identify actions needed to maintain two different scenarios, which is planned development (scenario 2) and ecosystems services optimization (scenario 3).

Develop policy proposals that inform and influence policy processes on national development and ecosystems management

Task 3: Case studies on functioning of ecosystem services and best practices of management

Review the international experience lessons learned and their implications (i.e. EU economic valuation project, MA follow-up, IPBES1)

Review the best practices and lessons learned from national ecosystem conservation and restoration project in China (i.e. Grain for Green, Natural Forest Protection, Grazing Ban)

Poyang lake basin case study (focus on functioning of the ecosystem services and integrated management)

1 IPBES- Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service, initiated by UNEP and Government of France.

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Loess plateau case study (focus on the ecosystem restoration and integrated management

Analyze and summarize the best practice of ecosystem management for different eco-regions based on Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN)

Practice and experience of EU-China Biodiversity Programme

Task 4: Communications, education and public awareness

Organize the China Ecological Forum activities (i.e. lecture series, workshops and training courses)

Develop practical guidelines for better ecosystem management

Write and distribute policy brief to policy makers on ecosystem management

Influent policy making through dialogs with the key stakeholders and policy makers

Prepare task force publications and publicity materials

1.3 The Methodology

The case studies and scenario analysis are the main pillars to underpin and to develop policy recommendations as the main result of the task force.

The case studies aim to summarize the experiences and lessons learned from Chinese and international cases in the past. The scenario analysis aims to analyze what will happen to China ecosystem services in the future, which will help the policy makers understand why policy options are important with different scenarios. The policy options will be based on the status analysis, case studies and scenario analysis. By integrating all the studies, the task force will develop the synthesis study report and policy recommendations as the final output submitted to CCICED. The overall methodology is indicated in Figure 1.

Synthesis Study Report and Policy Recommendations • Status Study Report • Policy Options for Policy Makers

Case Studies • Loess Plateau • Poyang Lake Basin • CERN • Baoxing County • International Cases

Scenario Analysis • Business as Usual • Planned Development• Ecosystems Services

Optimization

Communication and Publication • China Ecological Forum • Policy Brief and Dialogs • Reports and Books

Figure 1 The Overall Methodology of the Task Force Project

To achieve its objectives, task force carries out the project mainly through relevant

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activities including domestic and international study tours, working meetings (including those with relevant stakeholders), and international workshops. Result-based approach will ensure the project outputs and deliverables. In order to control and improve the quality of outputs and deliverables, the task force will develop additional policy-relevant case studies based on current projects for specific policy recommendations, introduce the peer review mechanism, and consult with relevant government agencies and international organizations.

The active participation of policy makers in the task force activities is very crucial for the success of the task force, as the mission of the CCICED task force is to make recommendations to State Council and promote the policy making process. So, the task force will work with policy makers of related government agencies, including: set up the task force with policy-maker sitting on the board; link task force with specific government agencies via Chinese task force members; invite policy makers to join task force activities; invite policy makers to peer review the task force reports and policy options; share the Policy Brief of Ecosystem Research and Management with policy makers; organize the consultation meeting with related government agencies.

By using a strategic and integrated approach, supporting by selected case studies, the task force will help facilitate the ecosystem management strategy and policy formulation in China. As major stakeholders, the task force will work with national government departments, such as National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP), State Forestry Administration (SFA), and international organizations, government aid agencies and NGOs, such as EU, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC). It is expected that its results and recommendations will be endorsed by a variety of policy makers including relevant national agencies, local governments, government aid agencies and NGOs.

1.4 The Outputs

Overview assessment of status and trends of key ecosystems in China, including availability of timely and accurate information and monitoring

Analysis of key constraints to improved and integrated ecosystem management in China and recommendations for a road map to improve ecosystem management

Scenario study for the analysis of ecosystems services in China’s development, be developed in relation to the 2020 Economic Growth Targets and will seek to inform the 12th Five Year Plan

Results of selected case studies to support above outputs

Recommendations for policy options to improve integrated ecosystem management in China

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1.5 The Deliverables

Study report and policy recommendation to CCICED (a report of 30 pages in Chinese and translated version in English; for the State Council, national government departments, and international organizations), with a summary

Promoting Ecosystem Service and Management in China (a book of 200 pages in Chinese and translated version in English; for researchers and decision makers), with focus on the overview of the ecosystem service and management status

Ecosystem Management Book Series (such as Introduction to Integrated Ecosystem Management, Best Practices of Ecosystem Management in China, and Guideline to Ecosystem Management, Scenarios of Ecosystem Management, for ecosystem practitioners)

Ecosystem approach case study input into Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) CoP in 2010 in Nagoya

1.6 The Progress to Date

1.6.1 Primary Results Available

Through the status study of ecosystem service and management in China, important and interesting lessons on this were learnt. Results showed that under the heavy pressures from strong consumption and economic growth, the ecosystem services and management in China is still confronted with serious challenges (see more in Chapter 2). The success of meeting these challenges largely depends on various factors, e.g. :1) enhancing process management and the outreach of experiences and results of the ecological restoration programmes; 2) improving the ecosystem management according to the rule of law; 3) developing an administrative coordinative and collaborative mechanism on ecosystem management; 4) learning from the international best practices and promoting international cooperation on ecosystem management; and 5) listing the sustainable ecosystem management as a cardinal national policy, and strengthening the capacity building in integrated ecosystem management. Against the backdrop of addressing the global economic downturn and boosting the domestic demand, the basic capacity building of integrated ecosystem management needs to be taken as one of the priority areas for national financial input. Adding values to ecosystem services as the key strategic assets for the future growth through science-based inputs will benefit both the current and future generations.

On the workshop of ‘Best Practices of Ecosystem Management Based on Monitoring and Experiments’, relevant experiences and lessons from 22 experts were shared. The monitoring, research and demonstration of ecosystem management should be combined and integrated into the policy development on ecosystem management. Based on the complexity of natural and eco-social conditions in China, more site-based best practices and demonstration models

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should be developed and further implemented in the region. With the long term ecosystem station-based observations and experiments, more integrated and network-based study should strengthened, thus to develop practical and improved the best practice models with the balanced ecological and economical and social benefits. The Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, with 20 years of monitoring, research and demonstration experiences in various ecosystems, has the sound bases and practical mechanism for integrated ecosystem management in China. Other lessons learnt from the workshop included that: 1) the eco-agriculture models and best ecosystem management practices developed in ancient China should be systematically studied to draw the valuable lessons;2) establishing sustainable ecosystem services should be regarded one of the national strategies of China;3)forestry plantation management should be improved, based on recognition of the rational and necessity of forestry plantation management, Qianyanzhou Ecological Station are making useful effort in reconstructing models for low-effective plantation management;4)international experiences on High Conservation Values Forests conservation, integrated ecosystem management method and biodiversity conservation provide the guidelines for China as well.

The scenario study experts workshop held on 11th October 2009 recognized the identification of the parameters for assessing ecosystems services values for the different land-use categories in each agro-ecological zone as a crucial knowledge gap and a particular challenge for the first stage of the study. There is a great deal of information on this issue, Chinese colleagues have identified over 1,000 Chinese publications alone, but all the existing studies are partial, covering only certain ecosystems types or categories of ecosystems services. The working group has consequently identified the establishment of a comprehensive set of ecosystems services values for different land-use types as a key priority for the first stage of work, in the last quarter of 2009. Defining these values will in itself be a major contribution to the understanding of ecosystems services in China and an addition to scientific knowledge of significance.

1.6.2 Workshops and Meetings

1.6.2.1 Inception Workshop of Task Force in December 2008

An inception workshop of task force was held in Beijing during Dec 8-9th 2008. With participation of the task force members and invited experts, the working session on Dec.8th discussed issues related with the task force from high-level issues to the detailed contents. On Dec.9th about 50 participants including leaders and experts from government agencies, international organization and NGOs joined the high-level session and gave useful suggestions. The one-day working session discussion plus extensive suggestions collection and selective suggestions adoption processes made this task force first workshop fruitful. The workshop decided on the task force objectives, outputs & deliverables and discussed the work plan.

1.6.2.2 Second Workshop & Study Tour in March 2009

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Task force organized the second workshop and study tour in Poyang Lake Basin, Jiangxi Province in March 23-27, 2009. The task force and Mountain-river-lake Development Office of Jiangxi Province co-organized the workshop, Prof. Beate Jessel and Prof. Fu Bojie co-chaired the workshop, 30 experts including the task force members participated.

During the second workshop, status study report on ecosystem services and management in China, which covers seven chapters and has been reviewed by four experts and revised before submitting to workshop discussion, was presented by Dr. Lv Yihe, the chief author. Dr. Christine Tam from Natural Capital Project presented international ecosystem management case studies by looking at data on 500 projects globally. The task force agreed on the template for case studies selection after a specific working group discussion. Four case studies in China were recommended and adopted. To assess the current status of ecosystems services and enhance understanding of its potential contribution, it was agreed that the scenarios work should be done and would proceed in two phases. Preliminary proposals of policy recommendations were drafted and further improved during the discussion.

The study tour in March 23-25 aimed at sharing ecosystem management experiences in Poyang Lake Basin, where rich natural resources and integrated ecosystem management experiences and programs were seen. The study tour included visiting typical forest, agriculture and wetland ecosystem sites, nature reserves (Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve and Mandarin Duck Lake Nature Reserve), research stations (Yingtan Red Soil Ecological Experiment Station and Poyang Lake-Wetland Research Station) and Mountain-River-Lake Office, and coming into contact with local authorities and citizens. By multi-level communications, important lessons were shared on integrated ecosystem management institutional framework, ecosystem monitoring, assessment & research, culture value and eco-tourism, wetland service and management, human well-being etc.

1.6.2.3 Workshop on ‘Best Practices of Ecosystem Management Based on Monitoring

and Experiments’ in April 2009

On April 13-14th the workshop with the theme of ‘Best Practices of Ecosystem Management Based on Monitoring and Experiments’ was organized in Beijing. 22 invited presentations reported their long term ecosystem management lessons learnt. It covered a variety of topics within themes of scientific issues and methodologies on ecosystem restoration and integrated management, the best practices of ecosystem management developed in Chinese ecosystem research network, and valuable experiences of ecosystem management in the national ecological construction programs, the successful experiences of international programs on ecosystem management. These reports were recorded and compiled for publishing as task force outcome.

1.6.2.4 Task Force Internal Video Conference in July 2009

July 21st, 2009, the Task Force held an internal video conference for discussing the

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recent progress after the second workshop and its follow-up activities. In the video conference, a scenario study working group with Chinese and international experts was proposed and setup; relevant responsibilities in scenario study were identified; stakeholder consultation mechanism was proposed. Several Other important decisions were made including the task force membership replacement, CCICED AGM preparing and project fund biding etc.

1.6.2.5 First Expert Consultation Workshop and dialog for Scenarios Analysis in

October 2009

The First Expert Consultation Workshop for Scenarios for the Analysis of Ecosystem Services in China’s Development was held in Beijing during Oct 11th, 2009, with 18 international and Chinese experts on ecosystem services assessment. Experts had fruitful discussion on the concept note and work plan of scenarios analysis, its study period and identified scenarios was reshaped. Through discussion on the stakeholders’ consultation agreements on the consultation necessity, targeted key departments and follow-up extensive expert consultation by questionnaire were reached. Specific and technical discussion on the national assessment report, model selection and data availability were made.

Internal working meeting on 12th had more detailed discussion. For stakeholder consultations, the scenario working group visited important targeted Chinese government agency during 13-14th, such as Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Forestry Administration. Such process helped the scenario working group to develop the detailed work plan and prepare the national assessment report as the first deliverable.

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2. Status of Ecosystem Service and Management in China

China, as the largest developing country with a population of 1.33 billion, is suffering from heavy pressures for its natural ecosystems due to the rapidly expanding economic growth and strong demand of the livelihood. The traditional extensive management is far from being consistent with the needs of socio-economic development on ecosystem services. As a result, it is necessary to explore a sustainable ecosystem management solution that meets the actual situation in China, so as to maximize the capabilities of each ecosystem in providing services, and to maintain their integrity and sustainability. Based on the assessment of current status and trends of forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems in China, this status study addresses these topics, such as the organization structure and functions of various sectors related to ecosystem management at the national level, the ecosystem management-related laws and policies, the progress of national key ecological programmes, as well as the experiences and best practices of the international projects in China, in order to provide a general picture for the research of the task force, and offer references for its further case studies and scenario analysis and for its defining the policy recommendations related to ecosystem management.

2.1 Current Status and Trend of Major Ecosystems in China

The forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems, covering 63.8% of the total land area in China, play a crucial role in providing natural resources and products, and in maintaining the national eco-security. However, due to long-term exploitation and unwise use, their ecosystem structure, functions and services are increasingly degrading, showing a trend of evolving from structural damage to functional disorder. They are also characterized by unstable ecosystems, declining functions, and increasing ecological disasters.

The forest ecosystem in China suffered from severe destruction and degradation before mid-1970s, with its forest coverage rate once lowered to 8.7%. Since 1980s, the forest ecosystem has been gradually recovered. Particularly since late 1990s, with the implementation of some key programmes such as natural forest conservation and returning farmland to forest, the forest ecosystem has been greatly improved, with the national forest coverage rate reaching up to 18.21% by the end of the sixth forest resources inventory in 2003(Figure 2). In spite of this, the future provision of forest ecosystem services could not meet the growing needs of socio-economic development if the existing extensive management mode still dominated. As a consequence, it is of critical urgency to improve the forest ecosystem management in the country.

Under the combined impacts of agricultural cultivation, over-grazing, drying and warming climate, the grassland ecosystem in China is also affected by degradation(Figure 3). Although some programmes such as returning grazing land to grassland, and returning farmland to grassland, as well as some measures to improve grazing industry have been

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undertaken over the recent years, the trend of ‘partial improvement but overall deterioration’ of the grassland ecosystems across the country has not yet been fundamentally reversed.

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Figure 2. Historical changes of forest cover rate in China ( Shi et al. 2005; He et al. 2007)

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Figure 3. Change of degraded grassland area in China from 1989-2003

As an ecosystem that is more sensitive to natural environmental change and human disturbance, wetland ecosystem is characterized by overall decline, partial expansion in scale and the reduction of wetland areas over the recent years, which is hard to be changed in the very short term. The reduction of water resources and deteriorating water quality are the two major risks to the wetland ecosystem in China.

The driving mechanisms for the change of forest, grassland and wetland ecosystem are complex and cover various factors. The natural factors and socio-economic factors interact with each other, although the importance of each driver and the combination of various factors vary at different regions and different ecosystems. The natural factors (e.g. climate) constitute the macro controller of ecosystem change, and their intensity of change is generally considered not too high. In comparison, the driving roles of the human-induced factors are more prominent. These factors, including population growth, livelihood needs and socio-economic development needs, are often regarded as the most important direct drivers causing ecosystem change.

As the human being is not well-placed to regulate the natural factors at a larger temporal

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and spatial scale, the major approaches to achieve sustainable ecosystem management are to leverage legal, administrative, and institutional and policy measures to control the human use of natural resources in a scientific manner.

2.2 Main Departments and Legal System for Ecosystems Management

At the national level in China, the sectors that are closely related to ecosystem management consist of State Forestry Administration (SFA), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the Environmental and Resources Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), among others. However, there is an overlap of their functions in ecosystem management, for example:

The responsibility for the development and restoration of forest, wetland and grassland ecosystems often rests with the competent authorities, which involves the change of land use and will, in turn, inevitably have links with the functions of land management authorities.

The wetland ecosystem is under the jurisdiction of forestry sector in China. However, the water resources, which are vital to wetland ecosystem, are subject to the functions of water resources/conservancy sector, while the environmental protection sector is responsible for the management of water environment.

The complexity and integrity of ecosystems call for the administrative integration and coordination. Due to overlap of the relevant functions among various sectors, it has led to the fact that each sector wants to intervene if benefits are involved while tending to ‘pass the buck’ in face of a detriment, thus having a negative effect on the administrative efficiency.

To address this problem, the Chinese government has begun to promote the Super-ministry based institutional reform, demanding various sectors to ‘transfer their functions, clearly define their relations, optimize structure and improve efficiency’. Against the backdrop of institutional reform under the State Council and the new establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the future institutional reform in national eco-security and environmental protection areas should be moved towards building a systematic, legal, and standardized coordinating mechanism between/among MEP, SFA, MOA, MWR and other sectors.

So far, a legal system on ecosystem management has been initially made available in China, including Forest Law, Grassland Law, Water Law, and the Law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution. Nevertheless, most of the provisions are too general to be implemented. Sometimes, major conflicts exist for different laws on the same ecosystem management. The main laws related to forest, grassland and wetland management are often challenged by the following problems:

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The ecosystems, as the tenure of resources, are defined as of public ownership according to law, namely, owned by the nation or the collective. This definition is a bit vague and, therefore, difficult to be implemented in reality. It can also contribute to the conflicts of the interests of the central, local governments and collective organizations, and eventually lead to the waste and damage of resources.

The complex legal positioning of functions in resources and environment management has led to unclear definition of responsibilities, powers and rights between/among various sectors, the central and local governments in utilizing, protecting and managing various ecosystems, and in environmental quality control, which has, in turn, caused the overlap of their functions and conflicts of their interests, and adversely affected the efficiency of these laws in practice.

In the existing legal system, the government is designated as the regulator of resources and environment. However, the lack of criteria of the legal obligation of the governments in developing and conserving the resources and environment, as well as the poor mechanism of public participation, among others, have fundamentally constrained the authoritativeness and practicality of the relevant laws.

Consequently, the ecosystem management calls for the establishment of an integrated policy-making mechanism, which includes: 1) establishing a sound cross-sectoral collaborative and coordinative system; 2) improving and enhancing the environmental impact assessment system; 3) establishing a sound system of public participation; and 4) developing a sound system of monitoring and inspection.

Reform of forest property right system is a policy to overcome the disadvantage of public ownership of forest resources , promote the forestry development and forest resources growth, and establish a national forest-based eco-security system. However, according to the feedback from the pilot projects, the actual effect of the forest property right system reformation is not as good as previously expected. Therefore, a series of sound policy and system should be developed to provide more guidance and supervision and to ensure the sustainable management of forest ecosystem, on the basis of comprehensive experiments and research findings.

2.3 Experiences of Key Ecological Projects in China

To reverse the ecological degradation, the Chinese government has provided heavy inputs in terms of human, material and financial resources to implement a number of key programmes related to ecological restoration and conservation of forest, grassland and wetland, such as natural forest conservation, returning farmland to forest/grassland, returning cropland to lakes, control of dust storm sources, and wetland conservation. These programmes have played an active role in improving the ecological conditions at the project sites, mitigating the ecological degradation, and having some degraded ecosystems restored. Nevertheless, in the course of implementing these programmes, some common problems have emerged, thus

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having an adverse effect on the overall efficiency of these programmes. These problems include: 1) poor preliminary verification and planning; 2) the difficulties of : ecological control, consolidating the results, follow-up industries, financial support, and overall assessment in the course of implementation; and 3) lack of long-standing monitoring and supervising mechanism. All these problems have affected the efficiency and sustainability of these programmes. As a result, it is critical to develop an integrated assessment and monitoring system on national key ecological programmes.

Under the context of globalization, a number of international organizations, including UNDP, GEF, EU, and World Bank, have worked with the Chinese government to implement a series of international cooperative projects related to ecosystem management, and some valuable experiences and lessons have been learned: 1) establishing the planning-based, long-term strategic partnership, as well as the project planning framework that is consistent with the national development strategy, plans or relevant international conventions, can contribute to the sustainability of the projects; 2) focusing on improving the institutional capacity and facilities development; 3) enhancing public involvement, and building a bridge that integrates the optimal ecosystem management with the livelihood needs; 4) implementing a process-based and adaptive management of the projects; 5) promoting the bottom-up integration of knowledge and experiences, as well as the dissemination of outputs; and 6) creating a high-level, integrated ecosystem management platform can benefit the cross-sectoral coordination, and the best approach is to put top agenda the strengthening of existing mechanism.

2.4 Policy Recommendations Adoption in the Ecology-related

CCICED Task Forces

In each session of CCICED, ecology-related working groups/task forces were set up, including the Biodiversity Working Group, the Working Group on Forest and Grassland in the Western Development, the Eco-Security Task Force, the Task Force on Integrated River Basin Management, Protected Areas Task Force, the Task Force on Environmental and Natural Resources Pricing and Taxation, and the Task Force on Eco-Compensation Mechanism and Policies. The policy recommendations proposed by the ecology-related working groups/task forces mainly focus on: reform of government working mechanism, survey and research, pilot project and dissemination, enhancing or innovating the management approaches, improving legislation, public education, and discussion mechanism. Among them, ten recommendations have been fully adopted by the national policies and regulations, in particular the cross-sectoral joint meeting system, pilot projects and outreach. But in the long run, other recommendations such as enhancing or innovating management approaches, and improving legislation will be implemented with the joint efforts of various sectors. The major cause behind the adoption of these policy recommendations is that they match the priority and needs of the governments, and meet the actual situation and trend in China.

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3. Scenarios Analysis for Ecosystems Services in China’s

Development

These international experiences are beginning to influence the sustainable development debate in China but, despite this, the potential contribution of ecosystems services to the future sustainable development of China is not fully appreciated in many policy circles and will be contingent upon the effective “mainstreaming” of policies and actions for ecosystems services management into national development strategies and planning. The current approach to environmental management in China predominantly focuses on conservation measures. These need to be complemented by policies and actions designed to enhance the sustainable flows of benefits that people derive from ecosystems services management. Achieving this will require a better understanding of the role of ecosystems services in national development.

3.1 Goal, Purpose and Objectives of Scenarios Analysis

The goal of the scenario analysis is to enhance the contribution of ecosystems services management to the future sustainable development of China, with a particular focus on the sustainable management of forests, wetlands and grasslands based on ecosystems services principles.

The purpose of scenario analysis is to, firstly, improve the understanding of policy makers on the contribution of ecosystems services to national development and, secondly, to identify policies and actions at national, provincial and local levels that will sustain and enhance ecosystems services flows from forests, wetlands and grasslands.

The objectives of the scenario analysis are:

To assess the current status of ecosystems services in China.

To analyze the potential contribution of ecosystems services management to the future sustainable development of China under different scenarios for policies and actions on ecosystems services management with a particular focus on the role of forests, wetlands and grasslands.

Building on these analytical products, the scenario analysis will work with the full Task Force to achieve two further objectives:

To enhance the understanding of senior policy makers on the relationship between ecosystems services management and national sustainable development.

To identify appropriate policies and actions for the management of forests, wetlands and grasslands to sustain and enhance ecosystems services flows.

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3.2 Roadmap of Scenarios Analysis

The objectives listed above will be achieved within the current time and resources available to the Task Force through an intensive effort involving Chinese and international partners. This will be based on three components, discussed in detail below, with these components structured interactively rather than sequentially so as to ensure the development of policy understanding and identification of policy options is structured into the process throughout the programme rather than regarded as an ‘add-on’ to be conducted at the end of the analytical activities. Figure 4 provides a ‘route map’ to the proposed methodology, which contains two linked strands: consultations and analysis.

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Scenario 1: Business-as-usual

Scenario 2: Planned

Development

Scenario 3: Ecosystem Services

Optimization

Initial Scenarios Development

Assessment on Current Status of Ecosystems Services in China

Quantitative Assessment defining ecosystem services levels and values for main agro-

ecological zones of China

Running Scenario Model Assess the interactions between ecosystems

services availability & development patterns, impacts of different development pathways on ecosystem services availability & implications

of any negative impacts on ecosystems integrity

Economics Valuation and Sensitivity Analyses

• Macro-economic calculation of the different development pathways

• Sensitivity analyses to assess uncertainties over future trends

Identify the Most Desirable Scenarios and Policy Options

• Possible policy options through which the desired future scenarios can be achieved

• Policy possibilities to be identified and models to assess the likely impacts on ecosystem services and integrity

Analytical Process

Consultation 1: Review Ecosystems

Services Assessment, Refine Initial Set of Scenarios and Identify Key Drivers of

Change for the Scenarios

Consultation 2: Multi-criteria Analysis to Evaluate Scenarios

Structured multi-criteria analysis techniques to evaluate the relative

implications in terms of both national development and the sustainability of

ecosystem service availability

Consultation 3: Review Outputs on Most Desirable Scenarios

• The favoured development pathway that balanced growth and sustainability most effectively

• The “best bet” policy options for achieving this desired future, taken into account cost and feasibility

Initial Set of Scenarios Defined by CCICED Task Force

Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

DRAFT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

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Key Drivers • Population and GDP Growth • Climate Change

Figure 4. Steps in the Ecosystems Services Assessment and Scenarios Methodology

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3.3 National Ecosystems Services Assessment

The first component of the scenario analysis will provide an assessment of ecosystems services in China that will act as a baseline for the rest of the programme. It will focus on the use of internationally standard models and parameters to make an assessment of the current status of ecosystems services in China. The assessment will be made through the following steps:

• The assessment will be geographically structured, with China firstly divided into eight groups of provinces in standard agro-ecological zones (Figure 5). This geographical division into agro-ecological zones reflects the significant differences between the character and productivity, in ecosystems services terms, of the main ecosystems types (forests, wetlands and grasslands) in different parts of the country. The analysis will reflect these differences, with appropriate parameters used to reflect the values of the ecosystems services in the different zones.

Figure 5: Agro-Ecological Zones in China

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• Each of these zones will be further sub-divided into five main land-use categories: forest, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural land and “other land uses”. This land-use categorization is based on the data available on land uses. Where appropriate, each of the main land-use types will be further sub-divided so as to reflect different levels of ecosystems services productivity. For example, forests may be categorized into high value, primary forests, degraded forests, plantations, etc, each of which produces different levels of ecosystems services.

• The physical quantities of ecosystems services available, based on the four-fold Millennium Ecosystems Assessment categorization presented in Figure 6. The assessment of these quantities will be based on the best available data, from China and internationally, with different sources used to identify and calculate standard parameters for the main ecosystems service types for each land use category.

• The valuation of these physical quantities, based on economic valuation methodologies such as those applied and presented in the studies “Cost of Policy Inaction” (Braat & Ten Brink (2008) and “The economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (Sukhdev et al., 2008). The analysis and identification of these valuation parameters on a standardized basis for all of China will in itself be a major contribution to knowledge and understanding of ecosystems services.

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Figure 6. Millennium Ecosystems Assessment Categorization of Ecosystems Services

In the past few years a handful of Global Environmental Assessments / Outlooks have been published (MA, 2005; GEO 4, 2007; IPCC, 2007; OECD, 2008; IAASTD, 2008; UNDP, 2007; UNESCO, 2006) which all have used a framework of analytical tools and computer models to explore alternative futures, under various assumption about population growth and economic development, and calculated consequences in terms of land use changes and ecological impacts. A recent study sponsored by the European Commission has evaluated the global assessments and the modeling frameworks with respect to their technical quality and applicability for the second phase of ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ (TEEB) project which shall be reported at Nagoya, at the 10th Conference of Parties in 2010 (Tucker, Braat et al., 2009). Most of these model studies are regionalized and China is a separate region in many of them. This allows for a relatively quick collection of alternative futures of China, which can be evaluated with the Task Force for their applicability and usefulness.

This component will entail the collection and standardization of a considerable quantity of data that is necessary for running the analytical models and the national-level scenarios analysis to be undertaken in component 2. This data acquisition and reconciliation will be coordinated by the Chinese partners with support from the international partners.

The basic approach will follow that presented in a recent paper (Figure 7). It will reflect the different types of values, and the trade-offs that often exist between different potential values within any one ecosystem type.

Figure 7. Schematic representation of ecosystem service values (Braat et al., 2008)

The approach and methodology will also reflect the standard international understanding that some categories of ecosystems services values are far more amenable to rigorous quantification than others. This is represented schematically in

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figure 8, where a pyramid-shaped hierarchy is presented. The experience from many assessments globally is that it is possible to quantify and value up to a certain point, after which there are too many assumptions and errors implicit in the calculations. The approach will be to make the ‘pyramid’ as narrow as possible: that is to take the quantification as far as it makes sense without too many unjustifiable assumptions. Of course, all assumptions and all sources of estimates for the parameters will be explicitly spelt out in the assessment reporting.

Figure 8. Multiple approaches for assessing the contribution of ecosystem services

(P. ten Brink, Workshop on the Economics of the Global Loss of Biological Diversity, 5-6 March

2008, Brussels; cited in European Communities, 2008)

3.4 National Level Scenarios Identified

The second phase will build on the national assessment to analyze the potential future role of ecosystems services in China’s national development. The context for understanding the development future will be taken as the goals and targets as stated in the national development plans and policies, with the years 2020 and 2030 as the target dates for the analysis, and will look up to 2050 to exam the climate change effects.

The approach to the analysis will be based on the use of scenarios to catalyze discussion amongst policy makers on the most effective balance between different 22

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development trajectories for the management of ecosystems services from forests, wetlands and grasslands so as to optimize their contribution to overall national development. A scenario can be defined as a “plausible future” based on the balanced, objective analysis of information to provide an evidence-based means to understand the implications of different development choices and trajectories.

The three main scenarios, all of which include the effects of climate change on ecosystems services as one of the key drivers of change, are:

Scenario 1: Business as Usual (“The Costs of Inaction”): resource utilization and ecosystems change trends found today projected to the future, with consequent changes for the availability of ecosystems services. This scenario will reflect the ‘cost of inaction’, where the development trajectories of China are not modified to reflect the importance of and need to conserve ecosystems services in future development. This is not described as a likely future, as existing policies and plans represent a major change from the unsustainable growth of the past, but it will reflect what will happen if the new policies on balanced and sustainable development are not followed through to actions to change past approaches to ecosystems management.

Scenario 2: Planned Development: the assessment of the implications of existing development and environmental management plans for future use and availability of ecosystems services. This includes the consideration of all sectoral plans in relation to the key ecosystems and land-use categories, and in particular the plans for forests, grasslands, wetlands and agricultural lands. It also includes the plans for the main growth sectors of the economy that have a significant level of reliance on ecosystems services in one form or another. This latter set of plans will permit the scenario to assess future ‘demand’ for ecosystems services if development plans are to be achieved as well as the consequences of existing plans for the future availability of ecosystems services from different key ecosystems in different parts of the country. Any potential trade-offs or contradictions implicit in different sectoral plans will be identified as part of this analysis.

Scenario 3: Ecosystems Services Optimization: the future national development goals are achieved with the optimization of ecosystems services provision in China. The basis of Scenario 3 is that existing levels of ecosystems services

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availability continue through to the future, with the assumption that management strategies designed to maintain existing levels of service provision are introduced. This will be further developed through (a) identifying where there are potential “gaps” between needs/demand for ecosystems services and their likely availability; and (b) where it is possible to bridge these “gaps” by actions to enhance ecosystems services availability through the restoration of lost ecological potentials: e.g. restored forests, reconstructed river flows. Also implicit in the scenario is that remaining “gaps” can and will be met by imports (this of course only applies to certain services).

The scenarios analysis will consist of a combination of (1) rigorous analysis to improve understanding and develop the evidence base and extensive consultation and (2) stakeholder engagement through which a consensus on the best options for future development trajectories and policy options can be identified. The scenarios will contribute to and build on the assessment and policy dialogue undertaken in Component 3 of the study. This will give an overview of the current status of and challenges for ecosystems services in China, with a particular emphasis on forests, wetlands and grasslands and will also be used to identify the key policy goals and development drivers that will be used in the scenarios analysis.

The scenario development and analysis will be executed through an iterative process of modeling/analysis and stakeholder consultation and review. The models employed in the initial ecosystems services assessment will be used for further runs to assess changes to future ecosystems services availability, values and sustainability according to changes to both future patterns of demand and changes to land-use and ecosystems quality.

These changes will be assessed by the analysis of key ‘drivers’ of change for each scenario: factors such as economic growth, urbanization, changes in consumption patterns and changes in land-use. These key drivers will be defined by stakeholders during the first iteration of consultations. The scenarios will consequently assess the interactions between ecosystems functioning and ecosystems services availability on the one hand and wider development and economic growth patterns on the other.

The scenario model runs will form the basis for the second iteration of stakeholder consultations, during which the likely impacts of the different development pathways for ecosystems services availability and, conversely, the likely

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implications of any identified negative impacts of development on ecosystems integrity and service delivery potentials for achieving the defined development pathway, will be reviewed.

This second round of consultations will use structured multi-criteria analysis techniques to evaluate the relative implications of each of the scenarios in terms of both national development and the sustainability of ecosystems services availability. This will include economic valuation that is, where possible, internalized into the macro-economic calculations of the different development pathways. Sensitivity analyses will be undertaken through multiple model runs where the parameters of key drivers are varied to reflect future uncertainties over future trends. These sensitivity analyses will provide important insights into (a) the interactions between different development pathways and ecosystems sustainability and (b) the extent to which the policy development stage needs to take into account future uncertainties over different development trends for the individual key drivers.

The outputs from this second iteration of consultations will be used to identify the most plausible and desirable scenarios for national development where development and growth are balanced with ecosystems sustainability and service delivery. This will form the basis for the next stage of analysis, which is of the possible policy options through which the desired future scenarios can be achieved. Policy possibilities will be identified and then the models will be used to assess their likely impacts on future ecosystems services availability and sustainability. This identification of policy options will include a particular focus on the three key ecosystems considered in this study: grasslands, wetlands and forests.

The outputs of these policy options assessments will form the basis of the final iteration of stakeholder consultations, during which these outputs will be reviewed by key stakeholders and a consensus will be established on (a) the favored development pathway that balanced growth and sustainability most effectively and (b) the ‘best bet’ policy options for achieving this desired future and which takes into account the cost and feasibility of the different policy options.

3.5 Policy Dialogue and Identification of Policy Options

The analytical activities of the programme will, as has been stated, be complemented by a national-level policy dialogue that will strengthen the understanding of senior policy makers on the nature and role of ecosystems services in contemporary

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development in China. The first step in this will be to convene a group of senior policy makers and experts at the national level, to whom the approach and outputs from this national assessment of ecosystems services availability and values will be presented. This will be used to stimulate a policy dialogue on the role of ecosystems services in national sustainable development and the achievement of national development targets.

This policy dialogue will be continued through the scenarios analysis, based on the iterations outlined above, where it will provide a means to bring different stakeholders together to reach a consensus on the optimal balance between different development pathways. This will be done iteratively, whereby the analytical results at each stage are communicated to the rest of the Task Force and to the wider stakeholder group to assess their significance and implications. The approach will be to thoroughly discuss the analytical findings to gradually build a consensus on the role of ecosystems services in different development pathways and establish the policy measures necessary to ensure that this potential is realized.

This, when combined with the status report and the national ecosystems services assessment, can then be built on to identify the policies and actions needed to ensure that desired flows of ecosystems services will be available in the future on a sustainable basis. The outcomes of the national ecosystems services assessment and scenarios analysis will be used to identify possible policy options that will be discussed in detail with the policy makers and experts, explicitly seeking to reach a consensus on which appear to be the most appropriate for further appraisal. The results of this will be presented within a framework that identifies the policy and planning implications for the mainstreaming of ecosystems services into overall decisions on national development options and priorities.

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4. Case Studies of Ecosystem Services and

Management

The task force agreed on the template for case studies selection after a specific working group discussion. Four case studies in China and an international case study were recommended and adopted. They were Poyang Lake Basin integrated management case, Loess Plateau case and Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) case, Baoxing case and international case. These five selected cases fully considered the multiple scales, the illustrative nature of the case studies (ecosystem type and ecosystem service type), the potential of case studies to support most of the primary policy recommendations, and the strong links between the case studies, scenarios and policy recommendations. The criteria for selection of case studies in China are:

The case studies should fully support the objectives of the Task Force.

The case studies should provide sound evidences to support the potential policy recommendations.

The case studies should have certain basic datasets for analysis and relevant policy implications

The case studies can be related to current on-going projects (such as ECBP project, CAS project, etc.).

Table 1. Major characteristics of domestic case studies

Case Study Scale Ecosystem Type

Poyang Basin Poyang Lake basin, provincial Forest, wetland, farmland

Loess Plateau Landscape/Regional Forest, wetland, farmland

CERN National Forest, wetland, farmland

Baoxing County Forest, farmland

4.1 Loess Plateau Case Study

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The Loess Plateau, which is notorious for its severe drought, erosion, sparse vegetation, high population pressure, low agricultural productivity and local farmer’s poverty, is chosen as one of the key case studies for the task force. Driven by cruel climate and improper human disturbance, ecosystem in this region is very fragile and unstable, inducing poor qualities of ecosystem services supply, threatening the harmonious development of the regional and even the whole nation. This region is also of significance for the whole China’s ecological security and natural resources (e.g. coal, oil and gas, etc.) provision.

The major objective is to enhance the contribution of ecosystems services management to future sustainable development in China and the loess plateau region.

to evaluate the achievements and problems of former ecosystem management practices;

to assess the current changes in ecosystem structure, function and services;

to improve the understanding of the policy makers and local farmers on the contribution of ecosystems services to regional development, and accelerate the effectual cooperation between different government authorities.

Major work steps of the case study, include: former management practices evaluation; analysis of current changes in ecosystem services; analysis on the contributions of policies to ecosystem services. The methodology to be implemented is listed as follow: (1) Meta-analysis; (2) field investigation and data collection; (3) remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems; (4) questionnaire and statistical data analysis.

4.2 Poyang Lake Basin Case Study

The Objective of the case study of Poyang Lake Basin, includes: (1) Provide evidence to illustrate the best practice and lessons learned on promising approaches;(2) Present science-based recommendations and policy options to integrate ecosystem services into development decision-making in Jiangxi Province;(3)Analyse adaptive wetland ecosystem management under returning farmland to lake policy, cost-benefit analysis and trade-offs of competitive ecosystem services between food provisioning and flood regulation.

Methodology to be used in the case study is data processing and modeling, a

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basin-wide data base of Poyang Lake Basin and InVEST model to support the study. It would study the forest and wetland ecosystems in Poyang Lake Basin from 1980s to present.

4.3 Baoxing Case Study

Baoxing County is a key case study site for local-scale ecosystem services assessment and management because of its richness in biodiversity; its on-going economic development pressure; its representativeness of the local-scale policy implementation situation in China; the willingness of critical government stakeholders to engage and innovate to meet goals of conservation and development; and existing multiple partner interest, engagement, and investment.

Objectives of the Case Study are (1) to show decision makers the economic and social costs and benefits of an ecosystem services approach at the county level; (2) to elucidate the lessons learned from integrating ecosystem services information into decision-making processes at the local scale, specifically for integrated ecosystem management, development planning/zoning and scenario development and integration into policy.

Its major work steps includes: integrated ecosystem management; development zoning and sustainable development planning; coordination mechanisms among sectors; relationship among existing laws; scenario comparisons and trade-off assessment; lessons learned and Future directions.

4.4 CERN-based Best Practice for Ecosystem Management

Objectives of the CERN case study are to: (1) present evidence-based recommendations and policy options to establish the national ecosystem monitoring and assessment system; (2) to provide evidence to illustrate the best practice and lessons learned based on CERN for ecosystem monitoring, research and demonstration.

The scope of the study includes: （1）Place: Long term ecological research network and 40 CERN sites; (2) Time period: 1980s to present; (3) Major ecosystems: forest, grassland and wetland.

Major work steps include: (1) to develop national ecosystem monitoring and assessment system (magnification of CERN practice); (2). Evidence-based ecosystem

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management practices of forest ecosystem; (3). Evidence-based ecosystem management practices of grassland ecosystem; (4). Evidence-based ecosystem management practices of wetland ecosystem

4.5 International Experiences of Ecosystem Services

Natural Capital Project of Stanford University would analyze international ecosystem management case studies by looking at data on 500 projects globally. Identifying overarching lessons from the draft research results includes clarification of who benefits and where funding comes from, essential funding & regulatory mechanisms, institutional reform to reduce transaction costs and responsibilities, appropriate regulation, science linked to ecosystem service outcomes, required catalytic funding. 8-10 international case studies at the different scale in report would necessary, which should be at national scale of relevance to Chinese issues, and some showing links between ecosystem services and local people` livelihoods.

Some other international experiences and lessons will be studied with active participation of international task force members, for example, the TEEB project of Europe, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment follow-ups and Convention of Biological Diversity. The task force will explore the proper cooperation mechanism with CBD China Implementation Office and Steering Committee.

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5. Follow-up Activities

5.1 Third Workshop and Study Tour in Thailand in November

2009

The task force Third Workshop and Study Tour will be held on November 15-20, 2009 in Thailand. The purpose of the activity is to review the progress of the case studies and scenario analysis (national assessment report), discuss the potential policy recommendations to CCICED and integrate study report. Besides the 3-day workshop, the task force team will also take a study tour in Thailand on the multi-purpose use of ecosystems, discuss with key stakeholders for ecosystem management at central, provincial and local level.

5.2 Fourth Workshop and Study Tour in Loess Plateau in June

2010

In the middle of June, 2010 (proposed to be on June 13-19), the fourth task force workshop would be held in Beijing, followed by a study tour to Loess Plateau area. The purpose of the workshop is to report the results of the case studies and scenario analysis, and ask comments and suggestions to improve task force outputs, and discuss the potential policy recommendations to CCICED. Besides the 2-days workshop, the task force international team and related Chinese team members and supporting consultants will also take a study tour in Loess Plateau after the workshops, for better understanding the case study of Loess Plateau and China’s efforts for ecosystem restoration in past decades.

5.3 Consultation with Key Stakeholders in China upon Policy

Recommendations in July 2010

After finishing the draft Synthesis Study Report and Policy Recommendation, some task force members will visit related key stakeholders for consultation. The purposes of the consultation visit are to discuss the major task force findings and policy recommendations to CCICED with the policy-makers, and ask them comments and suggestions to improve the task force report and policy recommendations. The

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potential government agencies include MEP, State Forest Administration, NDRC, and National People’s Congress.

5.4 Participation and Presentation in CCICED Annual General

Meeting in 2010

In CCICED AGM in 2010 (in mid-November.), The task force will submit the final study report and policy emendations, the task force co-chairs will make the presentation to AGM about the major findings and policy recommendations. Some related publications of the case studies and scenario analysis will be also displayed during AGM.

5.5 Reception and Release of Synthesis Study Report and Policy

Recommendations in November 2010

Immediately after CCICED AGM in 2010, task force plans to organize a reception with ECBP, CIDA and CCICED Secretariat to formally release the Synthesis Study Report and Policy Recommendations, related publications. The participants are donors (EU Delegations, FECO, UNDP, CIDA, etc), partner agencies (i.e. institutes of CAS, WWF China, TNC, institutes of MEP, Beijing Forest University, SEI) , IUCN, supporting consultants, media etc.