Experts say there are still problems to resolve, including a lack of systemic policies

China has increased spending on eco-compensation to push forward the efficient use of resources in recent years, but it faces problems such as the lack of systemic policies, experts said on Friday.

The central government allocated more than 158.6 billion yuan ($25.4 billion) in 2013, up from 2.3 billion yuan in 2001, to cover eight major areas such as forests, grasslands, rivers and seas, said Wang Jinnan, vice-president of the China Academy for Environmental Planning.

Eco-compensation seeks to compensate suppliers for resource consumption or pollution in the ecosystem, and to punish polluters through methods like fiscal transfer payments, direct government allocations, and environmental taxes and fees.

"Eco-compensation is a key instrument of eco-civilization," Wang said.

Eco-compensation has promoted environmental protection in recent years, he said. More than 6.1 billion yuan has gone to forests in 2013, as China has witnessed a forestation increase of 2.49 million hectares, and the amount of land with water and soil erosion was reduced by 57,000 square kilometers.

"Eco-compensation has fueled the growth of environmental industries and improved people's livelihoods in some regions," he said, adding that some problems still exist.

The lack of systemic policies poses some risks for future development. And the compensation standards are low, making the incentive for people to protect the environment less effective, Wang said.

The chief engineer gave an introduction on the eco-compensation system in China at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2015, held in Guiyang, Guizhou province, which began Friday and ends Sunday.

Many environmental experts and government officials agreed with Wang's opinions about the achievements and problems in the system.

"The water and soil quality have been improved because of the support from the government on eco-compensation," said Pang Huang, deputy director of water development under the reform and development committee of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

He also admitted that it's not easy to reach compensation agreements on river use and protection, such as for the Pearl River, which originates in Guangxi and runs through Guangdong province.

To guarantee good water quality, Guangdong needs the upriver region to restrict industrial production, which would affect the economy of Guangxi and people's livelihoods, he said, but they have all made efforts to reduce pollution.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn