The market-oriented mechanism for realizing the value of water ecological products

Addressing the limitations of existing studies, which tend to focus on single realization models and lack systematic institutional analysis, while exhibiting insufficient participation of market actors, this paper develops an integrated analytical framework centered on market orientation. Based on clarifying the concept, typology, and multidimensional value connotations of water ecological products, the paper interprets their composite value structure from the perspectives of direct use value, indirect use value, and non-use value. This paper systematically outlines four fundamental models for realizing the value of water ecological products: water ecological restoration and value enhancement, water ecological rights trading, industrialized operation of water ecological products, and ecological compensation, and comparatively analyzes their operational logic and applicable conditions. Combining institutional supply and market practice, this paper identifies key constraints currently faced in China, including inadequate monitoring systems, non-standardized evaluation and accounting mechanisms, immature operational and development frameworks, imperfect compensation schemes, and insufficient property-right and regulatory guarantees. In response, it proposes a closed-loop institutional optimization pathway structured around "monitoring-accounting-development-compensation-guarantee", emphasizing the central role of market mechanisms, multi-actor collaboration, and coordinated institutional support.