Urban Ecological Compensation Through Water Resource Ecological Footprint

To accelerate the exchange of water rights between regions and address the uneven costs of water resource ecological protection among different districts in urban areas, it is essential to make an analysis of regional water resource ecological compensation responsibilities.Establishing a rational standard for ecological compensation based on water resources remains a key method for quantifying the ecological value of water resources.In this study, all districts within a national central city in southwestern China were divided into four functional zones as the research subjects.The water resource ecological footprint method was employed to calculate the water ecological footprint of each zone.The ecological carrying capacity was utilized as the benchmark to determine the water resource ecological deficit or surplus, and the corresponding ecological monetary value of water resources was estimated.The results indicated that the city, as a whole, exhibited a water resource ecological surplus, with a monetary value of 5.088 billion CNY.The western zone, a key urban development area, recorded the highest water resource ecological footprint and the largest ecological deficit.In contrast, the northeastern zone, abundant in water resources, presented the highest water resource ecological surplus, with a monetary value of 9.196 billion CNY.Compensation amounts for the central-eastern and western zones were calculated as 4.169 billion and 7.661 billion CNY, respectively.These findings align with the local water resources' sustainable utilization conditions.The relationship between regional economic development, water conservation, and sustainable development was further analyzed in this study, proposing a water resource ecological compensation model with certain districts and counties as beneficiaries.