Wu Jian-Guo, Guo Xiao-Chuan, Yang Jie, Qian Gui-Xia, Niu Jian-Ming, Liang Cun-Zhu, Zhang Qing, Li Ang
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2014 Jan;25(1):1-11.
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 21st 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.
可持续发展是我们这个时代的主题，也是人类面临的最重大挑战。自20世纪70年代以来，“可持续发展”一词频繁出现在科学文献、政府文件、公益媒体宣传及商业广告中。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——直到21世纪初才开始出现。尽管如此，在过去十年中，该领域在深度上迅速发展，在范围上不断扩大，其核心概念和研究方法也逐渐融合。中国作为世界上人口最多的国家，是可持续性科学哲学根源——人与自然和谐统一——的发源地，有义务迎接我们这个时代的挑战，在追求中国梦的同时促进全球可持续发展，并在可持续性科学发展中发挥引领作用。为实现这一宏伟目标，本文首次对可持续性科学进行中文介绍，探讨其基本概念、研究问题和未来方向。可持续性科学是研究人类与环境动态关系的学科，尤其关注人类 - 环境耦合系统的脆弱性、稳健性、恢复力和稳定性。它是一门将自然科学与人文社会科学相结合的跨学科科学。它以环境 - 经济 - 社会的联系为基础，融合了基础研究和应用研究。可持续性的关键要素常常随时间、地点和文化而变化，因此可持续性科学需要强调时空多尺度研究，重点关注50至100年时间跨度内的景观和区域。它需要关注生态系统服务与人类福祉之间的关系，这种关系受到生物多样性、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因素的影响。景观可持续性是可持续性科学的核心，预计将成为未来几十年的热门研究话题。
