China is undergoing a rapid urbanization under which a large number of rural labor force left agriculture, resulting in a rise of rural labor price while a decline of farmland price. It weakens the private value of ‘products’ of ecological conservation projects which traditionally aim at improving farmers′ production conditions such as land amelioration. This promoted a change or mechanism transition of the management of China′s ecological protection and rehabilitation. The main investor of ecological protection and rehabilitation should shift from local farmers and herdsmen to the government on behalf of the entire society; The strategic aims should shift from the former ‘improving production conditions’ or ‘land rehabilitation by development’ to ‘protection and supervision’; Conservation measures should be aimed at enhancing the ‘self-restoration and self-sustaining ability of ecosystems’, instead of the former ‘active intervention to the natural ecosystems’. Accordingly, it should adjust the focuses of science and technology innovation on ecological conservation, i.e., it should enhance the research on ecosystem monitoring, ecosystem services assessment and conservation planning, besides on alleviating ecological pressures.