(1) Case background The Chester River is an interstate freshwater river in the United States, with a total length of about 40 miles. Most of it is located in Maryland and enters the sea from the Chesapeake Bay.

The river has historically been home to a variety of wildlife and is considered one of the most important waterfowl areas in the Chesapeake Bay region.

However, with the increase in agricultural non-point source pollution in the basin, most sections of the Chester River are classified as "impaired waters" by the Maryland Department of Environment, with more than 74% nitrogen, 72% phosphorus and 88% mud.

Sand pollution comes from agriculture.

Mudford Farm in Maryland is located at the source of the Chester River and covers an area of ??274 acres, including 113 acres of woodland.

Before 2005, Mahford Farm, like other farms in the area, leased land to farm managers, who cultivated all non-forest land, mainly corn, wheat and soybeans, but farmland production was not efficient.

An environmental assessment of the farm concluded that much of the farm's soil was poorly drained.

In order to restore the wildlife habitat on the farm and further protect biodiversity, in 2005, the Biophilia Foundation purchased the ownership of Mulford Farm and cooperated with the Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage (hereinafter referred to as the Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage).

CWH) cooperated to carry out the Mahford Farm Ecological Compensation Project, and by participating in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), some of the unproductive farmland was restored into wetlands, grasslands and riparian buffers, and the land was sold.

The resulting wetland credits and water quality credits, as well as fee-based hunting activities, etc., enable Maford Farm to obtain stable economic returns from the restored ecosystem services through a diversified and market-oriented way of realizing the value of ecological products.

(2) Operating mechanism of ecological product value realization tools 1. Land Fallow Enhancement Program The Land Fallow Enhancement Program (CREP) is managed and organized and implemented by the USDA Farm Service. It is the largest land environment improvement program in the United States, the "Land Conservation Reserve Program"

(A branch of CRP).

As a voluntary land fallow program, CREP is designed to help agricultural producers implement ecological conservation on environmentally sensitive lands, reduce land erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and protect groundwater and surface water.

Farmers participating in the program need to sign a CREP contract with the government, agreeing that their land will not be involved in agricultural production in the next 10-15 years, and the government will provide annual rent to qualified participants, including maintenance incentives and what is needed to carry out agricultural practices agreed in the contract.

up to 50% cost sharing.

In addition, the program often provides participants with registration incentives to encourage them to engage in agreed agricultural practices.

The federal Financial Services Administration uses earmarked funds to pay a percentage of project costs, with state governments or other non-federal organizations providing the remainder.

State and private parties involved in the effort provide both technical support and other services.

CREP also supports the addition of conservation measures such as filter strips and forest buffers, which help protect streams, lakes and rivers from sediment and agricultural tailwaters.

2. Wetland credit sales Wetland credit represents the ecological value of wetlands. The U.S. Wetland Bank is a typical representative of the wetland compensation credit mechanism. Its operating model and specific practices can be found in the "General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources' Notice on the Issuance of Typical Cases of Ecological Product Value Realization"

(First Batch) Notice of the “U.S. Wetland Mitigation Bank Case.”

3. Water quality credit sales The U.S. Clean Water Act requires the control of point source and non-point source pollution to reduce the impact on water quality; Section 301(b) of the Act sets out clear requirements for water quality standards; Section 303(d)

Authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist states in identifying waters that are still insufficient to meet water quality standards through technical controls. States will prioritize these waters and establish "maximum daily loads" (TMDLs) for priority waters, that is, on the premise of meeting water quality standards.

, the maximum amount of pollutants allowed in the water body.

TMDL can be used as a starting point or planning tool to restore water quality and identify reduction targets for certain water pollutants.

The Clean Water Act determines water quality standards, pollutant discharge requirements and an overall framework for water quality trading. On this basis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been exploring watershed-based trade since 1996 to address the problem of insufficient market mechanisms in water pollution control.

Water quality trading, and formed the "Final Water Quality Trading Policy" (Final Water Quality Trading Policy) in 2003, and promulgated the "Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook" (Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook) in 2004, hoping to promote market-based water quality trading and achieve "more economical

The cost meets the water quality and pollutant discharge requirements” goal.

Water quality trading mainly includes trading of total nitrogen, total phosphorus and sediment. The US Environmental Protection Agency also supports trading of other pollutants, but must undergo stricter scrutiny.