Ecological Compensation Accounting for Provinces in China Based on Ecological Footprint

An accounting method was proposed to address the ecological compensation relationship among provinces in China. The ecological service supply and consumption of each province was calculated based on ecological footprint method, and then the coefficient of supply and consumption was derived. Combining with the sum of national ecological service condition, the ecological compensation amount due to each province was determined. The results show that the spatial distribution of ecological compensation amount per capita follows the sequence of eastern>northeastern>middle>western. Compensation amount of eastern provinces is mostly negative, while western provinces positive. The minimum ecological compensation amount per capita is located on Shanghai province (-391.96 Yuan), and the maximum on Xizang province (1368.03 Yuan). This spatial pattern basically corresponds to the economic and ecological condition of each province.