Abstract:

To address the ambiguity surrounding the ecological benefits of hydropower projects and the challenges in quantifying these benefits, we take the Three Gorges Project as a case study to review existing research and define the ecological benefits in hydropower projects. In line with the river ecosystem service functions, we propose an evaluation framework for the ecological benefits of hydropower project from four dimensions: supply service function, support service function, regulation service function, and cultural service function. We further construct an evaluation index system for ecological benefit, and collect relevant data for quantitative analysis. Methods such as the shadow price method are used to convert these benefits into quantifiable economic values. The results indicate that the supply service value of the Three Gorges Project reaches 104.783 billion yuan, the support service value 20.074 billion yuan, the regulation service value 83.38 billion yuan, and the cultural service value 19.556 billion yuan, totaling 227.793 billion yuan. The findings offer technical support for establishing a mechanism for valuing ecological products in the Yangtze River Basin, and enhancing market-oriented and diversified ecological compensation.

Key words: ecological service function, value assessment, benefit evaluation, Three Gorges Project, indicator system