A study on the loss of ecological value caused by shortage of eco-water in the upper and middle Yellow River
黄河中上游河道生态水短缺价值损失探讨

At present,the contradiction between water supply and demand has become acute in the developed and populous areas along the Yellow River,and the destruction of the ecological environment has become increasingly serious.As most essential and important element in ecosystems,water is seriously short in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River,and how to appraise the loss of ecological value caused by water shortage is always a complex issue.In this paper,it was attempted to assess the ecological value loss brought by water scarcity for the yellow River.Firstly,the ecological value was classified into two groups of use value and nonuse value,and the commonly used appraisal methods in China were also introduced in this paper.In case of calculation,according to the characteristics of the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River,eco-water requirements were divided into three parts: sediment transport water requirement,basic ecological flow,and evaporation water requirement,the corresponding methods for each type of eco-water requirements were described in detail,and were calculated respectively.And then,the loss of ecological value caused by water deficit was calculated using the Market Value Method and Shadow Project Approach.The results showed that the total ecological value loss from water shortage was 5.88 billion yuan in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River in 2002,the biggest loss of ecological value was caused by sediment accumulation,which was 3.53 billion yuan.The losses caused by water pollution and fishery reduction were 1.55 billion and 0.8 billion yuan,respectively.Limited by the data,other losses of ecological value such as water and soil conservation,air purification,scientific study and education were not considered in this study.Finally,it was pointed out that inter-basin water transfer is an effective way to make up the ecological and environmental loss and can make a considerable ecological profit.