He suggested the government should raise the subsidy to 400 or 500 yuan and set up a payment system as soon as possible.

The sooner the system is established, the sooner ecological interests will be accelerated across the country, he said.

Shrinking of wetlands spurs call for regulation

China vows ecological protection: communique

Provincial Governor Lu Xinshe agreed, but he called on the government to compensate first those residents who are engaged in protecting cross-regional or cross-basin ecology, as well as wetlands.

Also, protecting ecological regions in Shiyan, Hubei province, should be also taken into consideration, Mayor Zhang Weiguo said, because it serves as a core water resource area for China's massive South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

The project, one of the nation's largest infrastructure concepts, is designed to take water from the Yangtze River to drought-prone areas in the north, including Beijing.

But at the moment, several authorities, such as financing and environmental departments, have failed to coordinate because there are no laws clarifying their responsibilities, Zhang said.

Ecological compensation can come through government subsidies, with technological and industrial support from the beneficiaries of water diversion and other benefits from market mechanisms, he added.

Zhou Hongyu, vice-chairman of the Hubei provincial legislature, agreed that the current environmental laws need to be improved and said the ecological subsidy must be put on the agenda, even though it is complex.

Contact the writers at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn, rongxiandong@chinadaily.com.cn and wangru@chinadaily.com.cn

Liu Kun contributed to the story.