Drinking water protected areas have been included in the ecological compensation system for the first time, according to the revised “Zhongshan People's Government's Implementation Suggestions on Further Improvement of the Ecological Compensation Mechanism” came into effect on January 30. 

The Suggestions specify that the range of ecological compensation includes farmlands, ecological public-welfare forests and drinking water protected areas.

The Suggestions also sets out the compensation standards. For example, the compensation for primary and secondary protected areas of drinking water sources will be 500 yuan and 250 yuan per mu per year respectively in 2018-2022.

Ecological compensation work assessment will be conducted every five years to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the ecological compensation policy in the previous cycle and to make adjust suggestions.