EVALUATION OF GRASSLAND ECOLOGICAL COMPENSATION POLICY PERFORMANCE AND ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCING FACTORS FROM HERDERS' PERSPECTIVE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS BASED ON RESEARCH DATA FROM HULUNBEIER, CHIFENG, AND XILIN GOL LEAGUES IN CHINA

Maintaining a good grassland ecological environment is of great significance to achieve a harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature. Therefore, the sustainable use of grassland resources has become an important topic of concern globally. Herders are the main target of the grassland ecological compensation policy, and hence their satisfaction evaluation directly affects the implementation and effectiveness of the policy. This study aimed to use the equity method and multiple linear regression models to analyze satisfaction with grassland ecological compensation policies and the factors influencing them based on the research evidence from the Hulunbeier, Chifeng, and Xilin Gol leagues in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The study results showed that: (1) the herders' satisfaction with the policy was assessed at an overall low level. (2) Factors such as changes in pasture density, education levels of pastoralists, content of the policy designation, and timeliness of the compensation payment have been shown to have a significant positive effect on satisfaction with the grassland ecological compensation policy. (3) A significant negative effect of the government's oversight of policy implementation was observed. Based on the study findings, and given the problems and challenges faced in promoting grassland ecological offsets in China, we proposed formulating ecological compensation policies based on local conditions, ensuring timely compensation payment, strengthening publicity and education work of herders, and doing an excellent job of educating policy overseers. This study might provide some baseline for the subsequent refinement of ecological compensation policy formulation and implementation of related work.