Meng Fan: Promoting the Realization of the Value of Ecological Products in a Scientific and Rational Manner

Establishing and improving a mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products is a significant component of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. It is a key path for practicing the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" ^[1], and an inevitable requirement for promoting the modernization of the ecological environmental governance system and governance capacity. It holds great significance for driving the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. In the first volume of the Selected Works on Xi Jinping’s Ecological Civilization, the article "Systematically Carry Out Ecological Environmental Protection and Restoration, and Build a Green Development Demonstration Belt" provides a profound explanation of this, noting that we must "accelerate the establishment of a mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products, so that protecting and restoring the ecological environment receives reasonable returns, and destroying the ecological environment pays a corresponding price." The Decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made important deployments regarding the improvement of the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products. We must profoundly recognize the great significance of establishing and improving this mechanism, actively explore effective pathways for converting ecological value, and ensure that ecological products fully demonstrate their value, thereby providing strong institutional support for turning "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "invaluable assets."

Grasping the Connotation of Value. "Ecological products" is a unique concept in China’s construction of ecological civilization. They are necessities for sustaining human survival and development and for meeting the people's ever-growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment. They primarily refer to the goods and services provided by natural elements—such as fresh air, clean water sources, and a pleasant climate—for economic and other human activities. These include maintaining ecological security, guaranteeing ecological regulation functions, and providing a favorable human settlement environment. Specifically, they can be categorized into material provision, regulatory services, and cultural services, with their connotations and extensions continuously enriching and expanding alongside economic and social development. Specifically, material provision ecological products refer mainly to the material goods supplied by ecosystems to humans, such as aquatic products and Chinese medicinal herbs. Regulatory service ecological products refer primarily to the benefits provided by ecosystems to maintain or improve the human living environment, such as carbon sequestration, local climate regulation, and noise reduction. Cultural service ecological products refer mainly to the non-material benefits provided by ecosystems to enhance the quality of human life, such as spiritual enjoyment, leisure, entertainment, and aesthetic experiences.

The mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products is the institutional mechanism that reflects and realizes the ecological, economic, and social values inherent in ecological products through methods such as ecological protection compensation and market-based operation and development. Through institutional incentives, it creates an interest orientation where "those who protect the ecological environment benefit, those who use it pay, and those who destroy it compensate." Ecological products and the mechanism for their value realization have matured as China's construction of ecological civilization has gradually deepened. To scientifically and rationally promote the realization of ecological product value and better expand the methods for doing so, we must firmly grasp its value connotation. We must profoundly recognize that the concept of ecological products and its realization mechanism link "lucid waters and lush mountains" with "invaluable assets," solving the problem of external diseconomies ^[2] of the ecological environment. We must also recognize that this concept and its realization mechanism have been transformed from a philosophy into actionable operations, becoming a systemic project involving the economic, political, and social fields, possessing significant strategic roles and practical significance.

Following Institutional Logic. The basic process of realizing the value of ecological products involves transforming natural resources into ecological products, and then transforming ecological products into economic benefits. Once economic benefits are generated, natural resources—acting as means of production—will themselves receive attention and protection. Although the basic process of value realization is relatively clear, its practical implementation and embodiment in institutional arrangements constitute a very complex systemic project. Realizing the value of ecological products involves institutional innovations in various aspects, including the registration of natural resource rights, government performance evaluation, ecological protection compensation, market-based operation and development, and green financial services. If deep-seated institutional obstacles and barriers are not effectively broken down, it will be difficult to stimulate vitality, form synergy, or promote the efficient realization of ecological product value.

For example, land is a natural resource and does not inherently possess commodity value for exchange; however, through institutional arrangements for land transfer and use, land value can be realized, and premiums may be generated due to differences in external conditions such as geographic location and ecological environment. The institutional logic of realizing ecological product value is to break through bottleneck constraints under the current institutional framework through institutional innovation, build an institutional system that converts "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "invaluable assets," and promote ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization. This ensures that the value inherent in a good ecological environment is effectively realized and, by combining the allocation of other non-ecological factors and different economic sectors, achieves the maximum possible premium, forming a new model for the coordinated promotion of ecological environmental protection and economic development.

In 2021, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Establishing and Improving the Mechanism for Realizing the Value of Ecological Products. It proposed the establishment of mechanisms for ecological product survey and monitoring, value evaluation, operation and development, protection compensation, value realization guarantees, and value realization advancement. This covers the entire institutional chain of value realization and solidifies the institutional foundation for transforming ecological advantages into developmental advantages.

Adhering to a Multi-Pronged Approach. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must promote ecological industrialization and industrial ecologization, foster a large number of ecological products for the market, and ensure that ecological advantages are continuously transformed into developmental advantages." On the journey of the New Era, to drive new progress in the realization of ecological product value, we must take multiple measures and work in the same direction. First, in accordance with the Opinions on Establishing and Improving the Mechanism for Realizing the Value of Ecological Products, we should optimize supporting policies in terms of ecological protection, planning and construction, and green development based on local realities. Standing on the resource endowments of each region, we should explore effective paths for realizing value according to local conditions, systematically promoting standardized production, branding, and market-based operation of ecological products to increase their value. Second, we must optimize the ecological protection compensation mechanism. According to the principle of "whoever benefits compensates, whoever protects benefits," we should scientifically define the rights and obligations of ecological environment protectors and beneficiaries. We must give play to the government's leading role in ecological protection, effectively linking the improvement of the compensation mechanism with public finance policies such as fiscal subsidies and transfer payments, and carry out pilot programs for horizontal ecological protection compensation across regions ^[3]. Third, on the basis of strictly protecting the ecological environment, we must explore diversified modes of ecological product development and operation. For example, we can refine ecological rural leisure tourism, featuring folk culture and integrated with the construction of a Beautiful Countryside ^[4], to create tourism-focused villages and continuously improve the quality of rural tourism. By fostering market-competitive enterprises, we can enhance the operation and management of ecological industrialization projects, powerfully driving the realization of ecological product value and continuously improving the quality of ecological product supply.