On December 7, 2020, the "Fuzhou Ecosystem Value Accounting Scientific Research Service" project undertaken by the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), successfully passed the acceptance check in Beijing. The acceptance meeting invited Zhang Shougong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fu Bojie and Shao Ming'an, two academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and experts from the Bureau of Frontier Science and Technology of CAS, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS, the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, forming an acceptance expert team of 11 people. 

After review and discussion, the expert team confirmed that this project was conducted focusing on the requirements of the "National Ecological Civilization Pilot Area (Fujian) Implementation Plan," formulated an indicator system for accounting the products and services value of six types of ecosystems (i.e., forest, wetland, grassland, farmland, city, and ocean), established ecosystem value accounting system platform, which provided a reference criteria and demonstration model for cities in Fujian and other Provinces to learn from the ecosystem value accounting pilot. The expert team praised this project as an important practical achievement exploring the transformation path of General Secretary XI’s "Two Mountains Theory (Green Mountains Are Gold Mountains)." 

The project results show that Fuzhou's Gross Ecosystem Production (GEP) and Gross Economic and Ecological Production (GEEP) is 1,123,212 billion and 1,455,077 million in 2018, respectively, an increase of 14.11% and 19.4% compared to 2015. In 2018, the cost of environmental degradation and ecological damage in Fuzhou is 2.871 billion yuan and 2.211 billion yuan, respectively, a decrease of 7.24% and 12.4% compared to 2015. 

Academician Zhang Shougong, leader of the expert team, pointed out that the results of the Fuzhou Ecosystem Value Accounting Project are comprehensive, innovative, outstanding and exemplary. The project forms the "mountain-sea-city model" of ecosystem value accounting, and builds a modular accounting system that has a wide application scope. In particular, the urban ecosystem value accounting module incorporates the factor of "human effort" into accounting, and calculates the ecological value created by  ecological protection and living condition improvement, such as urban planning and construction, as well as urban ecological and environmental management. 

Academician Fu Bojie, deputy leader of the expert team, noted that the Gross Ecosystem Production (GEP) and Gross Economic and Ecological Production (GEEP) accounting system platform could serve Fuzhou's future urban management, and will lay a good foundation for Fuzhou's ecosystem service value assessment. In addition, he believed that the "Fuzhou model" represented a good example of harmonious development concept of ecological civilization and economic constructions. 

Academician Shao Ming'an, deputy leader of the expert team, pointed out that Fuzhou’s GEP and GEEP accounting system platform realized the ecosystem value Operational Accounting capability for the first time, which will have good prospects for promotion and application. 

Prof. Ouyang Zhiyun, director of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, CAS, said that the project established an ecosystem products and services value accounting indicator system for different types of ecosystems, laid a foundation for Fuzhou’s ecological benefit assessment, and realized the operational accounting capability and policy-oriented application, which can be replicated and applied to other regions in our country. 

"Ecosystem value accounting provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for the future regional ecosystem construction and harmonious development of society, economy and ecology. The ecosystem value accounting based on the calculation of GEP and GEEP truly embodies the sustainable economic and ecological development level of a region, and is a practical application of the theory "Green Mountains are Gold Mountains," Prof. Xi Fengming, project leader and researcher of IAE said.  

"Green Mountains are Gold Mountains" is one of the core contents of General Secretary XI's ecological civilization thought. As one of the first batch of "Feature Institutes" in the field of Ecological Civilization Construction of CAS, IAE thoroughly implements the national strategy of "Developing Ecological Civilization & Building a Beautiful China," and implements the "Three Orientations" and "Four Firsts" guidelines of CAS through integrating the Applied Ecology Disciplines with the national strategy of Ecological Civilization Construction. For the Fuzhou project, IAE gives full play to the intellectual resources of CAS to provide scientific support for Fuzhou's ecosystem value accounting, which is a concrete action to implement General Secretary XI's ecological civilization thought. 

The Fuzhou Ecosystem Value Accounting Project has been reported by Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Daily online, Science and Technology Daily, China Science Daily and many other media.