Open Access
Article
17 March 2025A Strategy for Resisting the Vested Interests Driving the Collapse of the Biosphere and Civilisation
The biosphere and civilisation are facing existential and other major threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, nuclear war, social inequality/injustice, loss of human rights, and autocracy. These threats are driven by politically powerful vested interests supported by an economic system based on the exploitation of the environment and most people for the benefit of a wealthy minority. This article proposes a strategy to resist and weaken state capture, i.e., the influence of the vested interests driving the principal threats, while simultaneously facilitating the transition to a sustainable society. Despite the achievements of diverse community-based non-government organisations (CNGOs) campaigning on specific issues, scientists are now warning of the potential collapse of civilisation. As the threats are linked together in several ways, I propose a strategy to address them together to yield multiple benefits, supplementing campaigns on individual issues. A broad social movement—comprising an alliance between CNGOs devoted to the environment, social justice, human rights, and peace—could exert sufficient political power to expose and defeat the methods of state capture. Simultaneously, the movement could gain widespread community support by campaigning for a well-being economy, including universal basic services and a job guarantee, thus facilitating the transition to an ecologically sustainable, more socially just, and more peaceful civilisation.
Open Access
Article
08 April 2025Research on the Logic of Mobile Governance from the Perspective of Path Dependency: A Case Study of the Implementation of the “Coal-to-Gas” Policy in Rural Areas of Handan
Mobile governance, a commonly used governance approach in China, has always been controversial. Behind the persistence of mobile governance lies the underlying governance logic. This paper takes the implementation of the “coal-to-gas” policy in rural areas of Handan as a case study to analyze the path-dependent logic inherent in mobile governance. The paper argues that mobile governance’s selection path embodies path dependency characteristics, including three paths: conformist path dependency, policy-based path dependency, and demand-based path dependency. Mobile governance can be regulated through three paths: formulating a comprehensive list of rights and responsibilities for grassroots governance, the provincial government enacting relevant regulations to standardize the grassroots governance process, and vigorously developing e-government and digital government technologies to enhance the rule of law and standardization in grassroots governance.
Open Access
Perspective
16 May 2025From “Land” to “Ecosystems”—Paving the Way for Ecosystem Services in Sustainable Finance
Although biodiversity loss is acknowledged as one of the main drivers of financial risk, there is still no clear understanding of how impacts and dependencies on biodiversity affect the financial sector. In fact, nature degradation does not manifest itself as a systemic risk because it does not threaten the very nature of the financial system. There are transmission channels between nature and finance that need to be investigated: the many intermediate cause-and-effect relationships should be identified and assessed. Such a process involves multiple disciplinary domains, ranging from ecology and economics to finance. An Ecosystem Services-based approach may represent a comprehensive framework to (i) reconcile coherently different environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and sustainable use of resources, and (ii) connect ecosystems and socio-economic systems. Not only can ecosystem services be assessed, but also ecosystem vulnerabilities which are at the origin of nature-related financial risks. Adopting an ecosystem services-based perspective can be the first step toward building ecologically meaningful and economically useful transmission channels for financial risks.
Open Access
Review
19 May 2025Ecological Degradation and Restoration Process in the Source Region of Yangtze River: A Review Using the DPSIR Framework
By the end of the 20th century, the Source Region of the Yangtze River (SRYR) suffered severe ecological degradation driven by the combined effects of climate change and human disturbances. To counteract ecological degradation, the Chinese government implemented multiple ecological protection and restoration measures. Based on a literature review, this study analyzed the entire process of ecological degradation and restoration in the SRYR using the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-States-Impacts-Responses) framework. It revealed that climate warming and grazing expansion were the main drivers. Under the dual pressures of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, grasslands experienced severe degradation, accompanied by significant losses of soil nutrients. The decline in grassland quality weakened ecosystem service functions and reduced the livelihood levels of herders. After implementing the ecological protection and restoration projects in China, the ecosystem had been effectively restored. Herders’ income levels had been improved. However, a mismatch persisted between ecological compensation standards and livestock reduction costs for herders. Future efforts should focus on the innovation of the institution and ecological restoration techniques. This study offers critical insights into ecological protection and restoration strategies, providing practical references for decision-makers to accelerate the realization of China’s ecological civilization objectives.
