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什么是可持续性科学

邬建国1,2,3**,郭晓川1,杨劼1,钱贵霞1,牛建明1,梁存柱1,张庆1,李昂4   

  1. (1内蒙古大学中美生态、能源及可持续性科学研究中心, 呼和浩特 010021; 2北京师范大学人与环境系统可持续性研究中心, 北京 100875; 3美国亚利桑那州立大学生命科学院和全球可持续性研究所, 坦佩, 亚利桑那州 85287, 美国; 4中国科学院植物研究所, 北京 100093)
  • 出版日期:2014-01-18 发布日期:2014-01-18

What is sustainability science?

WU Jian-guo1,2,3, GUO Xiao-chuan1, YANG Jie1, QIAN Gui-xia1, NIU Jian-ming1, LIANG Cun-zhu1, ZHANG Qing1, LI Ang4   

  1. (1SinoUS Center for Conservation, Energy, and Sustainability Science (SUCCESS), Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China; 2Center for HumanEnvironment System Sustainability (CHESS), Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; 3School of Life Sciences and Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; 4Institude of Botany, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China)
  • Online:2014-01-18 Published:2014-01-18

摘要: 可持续发展是我们时代的主题,也是人类面临的最大挑战.自20世纪70年代,尤其是近20年来,可持续发展的概念日益频繁地出现在学术文章、政府文件以及公益宣传和商业广告之中.然而,为可持续发展提供理论基础和实践指导的科学——可持续性科学——是在21世纪初才开始形成的.该科学在短短的十几年中迅速开拓、不断发展,正在形成其科学概念框架和研究体系.中国是世界大国,是可持续性科学的哲学思想——“天人合一”——的故乡,有必要承担起时代之重任,在追求“中国梦”的同时促进全球可持续发展,并积极参与进而引领可持续性科学的研究和实践.为了帮助实现这一宏伟而远大目标,本文拟对可持续性科学的基本概念、研究论题和发展前景作一概述.可持续性科学是研究人与环境之间动态关系——特别是耦合系统的脆弱性、抗扰性、弹性和稳定性——的整合型科学.它穿越自然科学和人文与社会科学,以环境、经济和社会的相互关系为核心,将基础性研究和应用研究融为一体.可持续发展的核心内容往往因时、因地、 因人而异.因此,可持续性科学必须注重多尺度研究,同时应特别关注 50到100年的时间尺度和景观以及区域的空间尺度. 景观和区域不但是最可操作的空间尺度,同时也是上通全球、下达局地的枢纽尺度.可持续性科学需要聚焦于生态系统服务和人类福祉的相互关系,进而探讨生物多样性和生态系统过程,以及气候变化、土地利用变化和其他社会经济驱动过程对这一关系的影响.我们认为,景观和可持续性是可持续性科学的核心研究内容,也将是可持续性科学在以后几十年的研究热点.

Abstract: Sustainability is the theme of our time and also the grandest challenge to humanity. Since the 1970s, the term, sustainable development, has frequently appeared in the scientific literature, governmental documents, media promotions for public goods, and commercial advertisements. However, the science that provides the theoretical foundation and practical guidance for sustainable development-sustainability science-only began to emerge in the beginning of the 21st century. Nevertheless, the field has rapidly developed in depth and expanded in scope during the past decade, with its core concepts and research methods coalescing. China, as the most populous country in the world and home to the philosophical root of sustainability science-the unity of man and nature, is obligated to take upon the challenge of our time, to facilitate global sustainability while pursuing the Chinese Dream, and to play a leading role in the development of sustainability science. Toward this grandiose goal, this paper presents the first Chinese introduction to sustainability science, which discusses its basic concepts, research questions, and future directions. Sustainability science is the study of the dynamic relationship between humans and the environment, particularly focusing on the vulnerability, robustness, resilience, and stability of the coupled humanenvironment system. It is a transdisciplinary science that integrates natural sciences with humanities and social sciences. It hinges on the environmenteconomysociety nexus, and merges basic and applied research. The key components of sustainability often change with time, place, and culture, and thus sustainability science needs to emphasize multiscale studies in space and time, with emphasis on landscapes and regions over a horizon of 50 to 100 years. It needs to focus on the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being, as influenced by biodiversity and ecosystem processes as well as climate change, land use change, and other socioeconomic drivers. Landscape sustainability is at the core of sustainability science, and is expected to be a hot research topic in the next few decades.