Multi-element compensation based on water, food and ecology supply and demand in the Yellow River Basin, China

Study region: The Yellow River Basin Study focus: Multi-element compensation schemes are crucial for promoting regional coordination and fostering sustainable socioeconomic development. This paper proposes a framework of supply-demand-flow-compensation continuum using modelling and ecological economics methods. The supply and demand analyses of water, food, and ecology elements were conducted. A flow relationship network was established based on the actual flows. A compensation direction and funds calculation method were proposed based on market price and revised ecological system value. New hydrological insights for the region: The results revealed that (1) the supply and demand of water, food, and ecology clearly varied spatially. The water yield was "high in the south and low in the north", and the food yield was distributed in several irrigated agricultural areas and the middle and lower plain areas. The habitat quality was high in upstream areas and low in downstream ones. High demand areas were concentrated in several urban agglomerations. (2) The compensation amount for habitat quality was the greatest, at 114.57 billion CNY; generally, the middle and lower reaches of the region compensated the upstream provinces of Qinghai and Gansu. (3) The compensation amount for water was 14.38 billion CNY. Owing to its limited natural yield of water resources and widely distributed population, Inner Mongolia paid the largest amount, whereas Gannan Prefecture in Gansu Province and Aba Prefecture in Sichuan Province received the largest amount. (4) The compensation for food was 3.42 billion CNY. Shanxi Province paid the largest compensation of 1.67 billion CNY, which went mainly to Henan Province. The findings indicate the importance of multi-element compensation and the rationality of compensation standard calculation. The results provide support for exploring multiple key elements compensation strategies in other basins worldwide.