Abstract: In the early 2000s, the Chinese government banned grazing of rangeland to reverse degradation becoming apparent at that time. Subsequently a grassland ecological reward mechanism has been introduced to compensate herders for loss of grazing rights. How to secure herders’ compliance with grazing restrictions that reduce their income, and to improve herders’ satisfaction with the policy are key scientific questions for the future development of the grassland ecological reward policy. The implementation of the grassland ecological rewards policy is an important policy mechanism for gaining herders’ acceptance of grazing restrictions in order to control grassland degradation, protect the grassland ecological environment and improve the living standards of herders. The implementation of the first round of the grassland ecological reward policy (2011-2015) has been completed, and the second phase (2016-2020) has begun. Assessing herders’ satisfaction with the grassland ecological reward policy in the first phase has significant implications for improvement of the second phase of the policy. Herders from Gannan, Sunan and Tianzhu in rangeland areas of Gansu pastoral were surveyed, and an exploratory factor analysis constructed to choose three latent variables, including the herders’ social status, herders’ perception of the quality of the grassland ecological reward policy, and their perceived benefit from the policy. The empirical results demonstrated that herders with better educational background or who received higher amounts in grassland ecological reward payments, had greater satisfaction with the policy. In addition, the frequency of natural disasters, and the degree of decline in water quality and availability indirectly reflected the grassland ecological status in herders’ living and grazing areas. Combining the theoretical and empirical analysis, policy suggestions such as improvement of the educational system in rangeland areas, strengthening the grassland ecological supplementary support systems, and encouraging herders to adopt scientific management of pastures, are highly recommended as strategies to promote herder’s satisfaction with the grassland ecological reward policy, and thereafter to improve grassland ecological service functions.

Key words: Gansu pastoral area, grassland ecological reward policy, structural equation modeling, herders, degree of satisfaction