Zhejiang province has for the first time started using social capital in its approach to investing in soil and water conservation.

On Nov 7, in Zhejiang's Pan'an county, Jinhua, a social capital company nurturing ecological products for soil and water conservation, transferred the shared operating rights of ecological agricultural resources to six enterprises for a period of five years, with a transaction amount of 10 million yuan ($1.39 million).

According to the agreements, the companies and the government will work together to develop new tourism opportunities centered on the tea industry, including homestays and study tours. Part of the proceeds will be used to consolidate and enhance soil and water conservation.

"By introducing social capital, the previous government-led governance model has been changed, opening up channels for diversified investment in soil and water conservation project construction," Zhang Bo, director of the agriculture and rural affairs bureau of Pan'an told national broadcaster China Central Television.

The Feichadao ecological tea garden, the product involved in this transaction, was originally collective land of the nearby village that had been abandoned for many years, he said.

The Shanghu town government introduced Feichaming (Pan'an) Ecological Agriculture Co to carry out comprehensive development and governance of the land.

The company has invested a total of 9.2 million yuan in comprehensive soil erosion control funds, forming a 13.3-hectare tea garden in the first phase.

At a signing ceremony on Nov 7, Pan'an released the first mechanism document in Zhejiang to encourage social capital to participate in soil and water conservation governance and realize the transformation of the value of ecological products.

Sources from the Ministry of Water Resources said that China has built more than 4,500 eco-clean small watersheds. If they can be gradually transacted, it might increase economic income by over 100 billion yuan.