Effective interactions between science and policy are essential for sustainable development in ecological governance. Boundary objects connect heterogeneous communities and facilitate knowledge integration, providing a unique perspective for understanding the science-policy interface (SPI). However, a systematic understanding of their functions, mechanisms, and dual-sided effects is lacking. This paper constructs an integrated “function-mechanism-effect” analytical framework to systematically examine boundary objects. It explores their theoretical connotations and multidimensional functions in SPI, examines their action mechanisms, and dialectically assesses their positive effects as “glue” and potential risks as “blindfolds.” The paper analyzes typical boundary objects in China’s ecological governance, including the “ecological protection red line,” the “mountains, waters, forests, lakes, grasses, and sands” system, and the “two mountains theory,” while also exploring emerging tools like GEP accounting. Through a comparative analysis, the study reveals how these cases form a complementary “governance tools matrix,” demonstrating their complex operations and inherent risks. The findings refine boundary object theory and offer practical guidance for the prudent design and “life-cycle management” of these tools, aiming to foster more inclusive and adaptive governance models.

Comprehending the intricate interactions between ecosystem services (ESs) and their driving factors at various spatial scales is crucial for enhancing ecosystem management and developing tailored zoning strategies. However, research on cross-scale interactions and integrated multi-method analyses of ESs dynamics in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) remains limited, impeding the precise implementation of ecological conservation policies. This study examines the evolutionary characteristics and interactions of ESs across different spatiotemporal scales in the YRB. By integrating multiple analytical methods, including random forest (RF), partial dependence analysis (PDA), geographically weighted regression (GWR), and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we identify key driving factors and their spatial heterogeneity, and elucidate their direct and indirect causal pathways. The results indicate that: (1) Temporally, water yield, food production, and soil conservation have significantly increased, whereas carbon sequestration and habitat quality have slightly declined; spatially, each ecosystem service exhibits distinct gradient differentiation. (2) Interactions among ESs within the basin are predominantly synergistic and have intensified over time. Correlation strength and statistical significance at the county scale are higher than those at other spatial scales. (3) Between 2000 and 2020, nonlinear responses and threshold effects were widespread between ESs and their driving factors. (4) Topography, climate, and vegetation exert significant positive direct effects on ESs, with topography having the strongest influence, while human activities exhibit a weaker direct inhibitory effect. This study underscores the importance of identifying the spatial heterogeneity of ESs and their underlying driving mechanisms to inform ecological management decisions, and provides a scientific foundation and practical guidance for multi-scale ecosystem governance.

As interactions between global environmental change and socio-economic development become increasingly complex, research on social–ecological system (SES) resilience has become a core domain for addressing diverse socio-environmental risks. Based on 4705 publications indexed in the Web of Science from 1997 to 2025, this study employs bibliometric methods to systematically trace the intellectual evolution of SES resilience research. The results show that: (1) the field has undergone three distinct developmental stages, evolving from early theoretical exploration, through the integration of interdisciplinary frameworks, to a phase characterized by methodological innovation and quantitative modeling, and has now developed into a mature and rapidly growing interdisciplinary research area; (2) global knowledge production in this field remains dominated by developed countries, with institutions and collaboration networks in the United States and Europe occupying central positions, while emerging countries, particularly China, are becoming increasingly influential,, reflecting a dynamically evolving global research landscape; (3) research hotspots have expanded from ecological management to a broader spectrum involving social psychology, urban infrastructure, and adaptive governance, while frontier directions are shifting toward multi-scale assessment, institutional governance, and the integration of socio-technical systems; and (4) Based on the bibliometric results, this study further develops a conceptual SDG-oriented “resources–social–ecological system resilience” (R-SESR) framework to synthesize the links among social vulnerability, ecological stability, and key resource security.

The quality of urban human settlements (UHSs) directly affects the city’s livability and the well-being of its residents. Scientific monitoring and assessment of UHSs, their progress toward sustainable development, and impacts they experience from rapid urbanization can accelerate the implementation of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the field of human settlements. This study focuses on Chenzhou City, an innovation demonstration zone for China’s Sustainable Development Agenda. It develops a sustainable development evaluation index based on SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and other relevant SDGs, with the objectives of residential stability, facilitated mobility, safety of residents, comfortable environment, and low-carbon development. The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) methodology was utilized to assess the progress of sustainable development in Chenzhou City from 2015 to 2022, focusing on the evaluation of UHS indicators, targets, and sustainable development index (SDI) scores. The geographic detector techniques were employed to investigate the impact of new urbanization on the UHSs. The analysis found the following: (1) After the demonstration zone was established (2019–2022), the scores for the five goals and the SDI increased by over 50% compared to the pre-establishment period (2015–2018), with a highly significant difference between the two periods. (2) Among the 35 indicators measured, the proportion of those that reached or nearly reached their targets increased from 57.1% in 2018 to 71.4% in 2022. As of 2022, there has been positive progress toward the goal of residential stability, while efforts toward the other four goals have made some progress but require further acceleration. (3) China’s new urbanization process had a notable impact on the SDI, with most influencing factors positively correlated with the SDI and the interactive effects of population, economic, social, and spatial urbanization factors demonstrate strong explanatory power. The findings provide decision-making support for the sustainable development of the demonstration zone’s UHSs and offer a reference for evaluating the sustainable development of UHSs in similar cities.

Achieving the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a critical global challenge. Ensuring the sustainable utilization of water resources has long been a key policy priority for the Chinese government, balancing economic growth with ecological conservation and advancing ecological civilization. Taking China’s sustainable development agenda innovation demonstration area Chenzhou as the object, this work focuses on SDG6 and examines the progress in sustainable water resource utilization from 2015 to 2022, evaluating three dimensions—water quantity, water environment, and water ecology. A comprehensive evaluation index system closely related to SDG6 was constructed to assess the sustainable development progress. Furthermore, the interactions between SDG6 and related SDGs were analyzed. The results show that (1) from 2015 to 2022, the SDG6 composite index has significantly increased over time, with the establishment of the demonstration area (2019–2022) more than twice compared to before (2015–2018), particularly in water environment and water quantity; (2) the SDG composite index and individual SDG indexes have shown a fluctuating upward trend, with an increase of about 89.74% after the establishment of the demonstration area (2019–2022) compared to before (2015–2018), with the most significant progress in the society dimension; and (3) there were significant synergy effects between the improvements in SDG6 and related SDGs. For each unit increase in SDG6, the overall level of related SDGs increased by 0.73 units, specifically, with particularly strong synergies between SDG2, SDG7, SDG9, and SDG11. This study not only provides scientific guidance for water resource management and policy optimization in Chenzhou and similar water resource-based cities but also offers valuable localized case studies, methodologies, and data to support the monitoring of urban sustainable development at a global scale.

As a global process, urbanization profoundly influences the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, identifying how the trade-offs and synergies among the SDGs change at different stages of urbanization remains an urgent research challenge. This study focuses on underdeveloped mountainous areas, selecting Lincang City—China’s Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zone—as a representative case. Based on multi-source data, this study employs Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Generalized Additive Model (GAM) to explore the impact of urbanization on the trade-offs and synergies among the SDGs. The results showed that: (1) Urbanization exerted a dual effect on SDG relationships, fostered synergies among certain goals (e.g., SDG3, SDG6, and SDG17), and transformed some synergies into trade-offs (e.g., SDG7 and SDG13). (2) The coupling among the SDGs displayed a dynamic pattern of “initial strengthening followed by weakening” as urbanization advanced. (3) SDGs exhibited varying clustering patterns at different stages of urbanization, shifted from three clusters at lower levels to two at middle levels, and eventually formed a new coupling pattern at higher levels. This study constructs and applies a localized SDGs indicator system to reveal the nonlinear evolution of interactions among the SDGs during the urbanization process, offering a novel perspective for understanding their dynamic coupling in the development of mountainous cities. It also provides scientific support for optimizing synergy pathways and advancing sustainable development in underdeveloped mountainous areas.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development issued by the United Nations is an important foundation for countries to achieve common economic, social and environmental development. Important progress has been made in the evaluation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Hainan Island; nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding around the trade-offs and synergies between the SDGs. Studying the trade-offs and synergies between Hainan Island’s sustainable development goals is of great significance for the coordinated development of these goals and the promotion of the construction of free trade ports. Therefore, based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Assessment System and the existing SDG indicator system on Hainan Island, this paper identifies and quantifies the trade-offs and synergies within and between SDGs and targets on the county scale. Based on the different impacts of different spatial, dimensional and geographical directions, the results show the following: (1) Hainan Province made good progress on multiple SDGs between 2010 and 2021. (2) The most significant synergies between SDGs exist between SDG1 (No Poverty) and SDG10 (Reduce Inequalities), while the most significant trade-offs exist between SDG2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG4 (Quality Education). (3) Obvious spatial characteristics in trade-offs and synergies exist, with the highest level of synergy being in the Haikou and Sanya Economic Circles and their surrounding areas, and in the central region of Hainan Island which has a higher level of trade-offs. (4) The synergistic effect between the SDG targets and indicators in Hainan is much greater than the trade-off effect: the four aspects of people’s livelihood improvement, economic development, resource utilization and environmental quality all show synergistic effects in different regions.

Water resources carrying capacity（WRCC） is the basis for the development of townships in inland river basin. To meet the needs of sustainable utilization of water resources in township construction and based on the understanding of WRCC conception, this study established a series of evaluation system for WRCC in township level. Comprehensive WRCC evaluation was carried out in the middle reaches of Heihe River. Key advancement strategies were analyzed by using multi-source data such as statistic, remote sensing or survey data by combing regulation metrics and comprehensive index. The results show that:（1） There were significant differences in water stress index and comprehensive index between different types of irrigated areas and between different types of townships, indicating that it is necessary to implement advancement strategies to improve the WRCC in key areas;（2） At the current annual development level, water right allocation, high-standard farmland, and industrial structure adjustment can improve the WRCC in townships to some extent. Except for the output value mode, all modes can basically improve the comprehensive carrying capacity by 0.01%-1.87%. Importantly, the high-standard farmland and industrial structure adjustment can effectively increase the comprehensive carrying capacity by 1.91%-8.72% and 0.11%-3.06%, respectively.

定量评估可持续发展目标(Sustainable Development Goals,SDGs)的进展和指标间复杂的相互作用对于监测SDGs的实现进度以及指导政策制定和实施至关重要.以国家可持续发展议程创新示范区(临沧市)为研究区,基于统计、遥感和监测等地球大数据,在SDGs全球指标框架的基础上,通过实地调研,结合临沧市地域特色和数据获取情况,选取70个SDGs指标构建了评估边疆多民族欠发达地区SDGs进程的指标体系.在此基础上,计算了 2015-2020年临沧市16个SDGs得分值和可持续发展综合指数,评价了临沧市SDGs进展状况,提出了临沧市可持续发展面临的关键挑战及解决对策.研究表明,2015-2020年临沧市SDG 6、SDG 7和SDG 13基本保持较高的得分值,其余目标和可持续发展综合指数均呈现增大趋势.在SDGs发展进程方面,16个目标均具有较好的发展进程,SDG5年均增长率最大,SDG 13基本保持不变;此外,有81％的SDGs指标具有较好的发展进程.该研究可为其他典型示范区推进可持续发展建设提供参考,为推进中国乃至全球欠发达山区可持续发展提供良好借鉴.

Policy is a key element of ecological governance, however, insufficient attention has been given to how different policies and regulations in a systematic way affect ecosystem processes and functions. This study evaluated the impact of ecological policies in the national key ecological functional areas (NKEFAs) since 1990, taking Tianzhu County as a case study. We first evaluated the change in policy intensity through quantitative analysis of policy texts, then analyzed the change in the ecosystems with carbon storage, habitat quality, ecosystem service and water conservation. Finally, the partial least squares (PLS) was used to quantify the effective path for and effect of policies on the ecosystem through adjustments in agriculture, animal husbandry and population. The results showed that policies have a significant direct impact on the agricultural planting industry, animal husbandry and population size and structure, and have a significant indirect impact on the whole ecosystem. The research demonstrated the usefulness of applying PLS-SEM and ecosystem function indicators to evaluate the impact of ecological governance policies on ecosystems in NKEFAs. The research can provide reference for the ecological policy making of NKEFAs.

The evolution process of socio–ecological systems from 1990 to 2020 in the Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, located in the National Key Ecological Function Area of western China, was analyzed quantitatively based on resilience theory and methodology combined with catastrophe theory and adaptive cycle theory, through field investigation, questionnaires and interviews, social data collection and remote sensing data analysis. The results show that the coordinated development of socio–ecological systems has made great progress in recent decades in the study area, and the coordinated development of social systems and ecosystems has a high degree of coupling and a strong connection. Changes in ecosystem resilience regularly surpassed changes in the social system, indicating the significant impact and success of ecological protection policies and projects in recent decades. In future, improvements in the social sub-system will be the key to developing the socio–ecological system in the study area. Enhancing social sub-system resiliency, implementing transformational development and green industry development, and transforming and realizing ecological product values are important topics for further investigation in the study area. Substantial changes in policy, production, population and climate change are needed to promote the evolution of socio–ecological systems. Stable national policies are crucial for improving people's livelihoods and providing ecological protections.

Research on the influencing factors of sustainable livelihoods in the context of climate change tend to focus on macro-regional and objective factors. However, there is room to expand on studies concerning the micro perspective and cognitive differences between farmers. This paper uses a survey on farmers' climate change perception and cognitive value in arid areas of Northwest China. Based on an improved Department for International Development (DFID) sustainable livelihood analysis, the authors explore the impact of climate change perception and value cognition on farmers' sustainable livelihood capacity, and analyze the differences according to farmers' socio-demographic characteristics. The results show that climate change perception can not only directly affect farmers' livelihoods, but also indirectly affect their sustainable livelihood capacity through economic and ecological value cognition. In the role of climate change perception and value cognition on sustainable livelihood capability, the farmers' socio-demographic characteristics have different effects on their action paths. Policymakers should focus on improving human capital in agricultural sector, especially for young and female laborers. Diversification of livelihoods should be encouraged to increase farmers' livelihood capital accumulation, especially for low- and middle-income earners. Popular science might also be actively marketed to enhance the awareness of livelihood value and climate change.

The water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) strongly determines the agricultural development in arid areas. Evaluation of WRCC is important in balancing the availability of water resources with society’s economic and environmental demands. Given the demand for sustainable utilization of agricultural water resources, we combine the water stress index and comprehensive index of WRCC and use multi-source data to evaluate agricultural WRCC and its influencing factors at the township scale. It makes up for the deficiencies of current research, such as the existence of single-index evaluation systems, limited calibration data, and a lack of a sub-watershed (i.e., township) scale. By applying multi-source data, this study expands the spatial scale of WRCC assessment and establishes a multidimensional evaluation framework for the water resources in dryland agriculture. The results indicate water stress index ranges from 0.52 to 1.67, and the comprehensive index of WRCC ranges from 0.25 to 0.70, which are significantly different in different types of irrigation areas and townships. Water quantity and water management are key factors influencing WRCC, the water ecosystem is an area requiring improvement, and the water environment is not a current constraint. Different irrigation areas and different types of townships should implement targeted measures to improve WRCC.

Due to the challenges in data acquisition, especially for developing countries and at local levels, spatiotemporal evaluation for SDG11 indicators was still lacking. The availability of big data and earth observation technology can play an important role to facilitate the monitoring of urban sustainable development. Taking Guilin, a sustainable development agenda innovation demonstration area in China as a case study, we developed an assessment framework for SDG indicators 11.2.1, 11.3.1, and 11.7.1 at the neighborhood level using high-resolution (HR) satellite images, gridded population data, and other geospatial big data (e.g., road network and point of interest data). The findings showed that the proportion of the population with convenient access to public transport in the functional urban area gradually improved from 42% in 2013 to 52% in 2020. The increase in built-up land was much faster than the increase in population. The areal proportion of public open space decreased from 56% in 2013 to 24% in 2020, and the proportion of the population within the 400 m service areas of open public space decreased from 73% to 59%. The township-level results indicated that low-density land sprawling should be strictly managed, and open space and transportation facilities should be improved in the three fast-growing towns, Lingui, Lingchuan, and Dingjiang. The evaluation results of this study confirmed the applicability of SDG11 indicators to neighborhood-level assessment and local urban governance and planning practices. The evaluation framework of the SDG11 indicators based on HR satellite images and geospatial big data showed great promise to apply to other cities for targeted planning and assessment.

国家实验室作为国家战略科技力量,是国家综合创新能力的重要载体与直接体现,对于优化科技资源配置、探索体制机制创新、实现创新驱动发展具有重要意义.建设国家实验室,也是以美国为首的发达国家抢占全球创新制高点的关键,是其国家创新体系的"金字塔尖".现选取具有代表性的美国能源部国家实验室,在其实验室建设历程、组织架构和管理模式的研究基础上对国家实验室与学术界和产业界的合作模式进行研究分析,并结合我国实际情况对国家实验室的创新合作提出优化建议,以期提升国家实验室在国家创新体系中发挥重大作用.

山区生态系统不稳定及社区居民生计的脆弱性使得其成为联合国可持续发展目标研究与实施的重点区域,欠发达山区的可持续发展事关联合国可持续发展目标的发展进程与成效.基于文献计量方法,针对可持续发展目标中有关山区的发展目标,分析了全球欠发达山区可持续发展研究的主要国家及科研机构,遴选了可持续生计、居民健康与福祉、水资源供给及水环境卫生、生态系统保护和气候变化及响应5个与可持续发展目标密切相关的欠发达山区可持续发展研究的关键领域,阐述了各领域的研究进展与政策举措.同时,从完善评价体系推动欠发达山区可持续发展目标评估系统化,利用地球大数据突破欠发达山区可持续发展目标监测的数据瓶颈,开展可持续发展目标相互关系研究推动欠发达山区可持续发展目标的协同实施,以及开展可持续发展目标实现路径示范助力欠发达山区可持续发展目标政策实施等方面,对欠发达山区可持续发展目标实现面临的挑战及相应对策进行了分析,以期为欠发达山区可持续发展研究提供有益参考.

加快构建以国内大循环为主体、国内国际双循环相互促进的新发展格局,是事关中国高质量发展的重大战略任务.支撑服务构建新发展格局是国家战略科技力量的责任担当.通过认识强化国家战略科技力量支撑服务构建新发展格局的重大意义,从统筹发展与安全的视角,提出了强化国家战略科技力量支撑服务构建新发展格局的总体思路和基本原则;从安全、发展、开放3个层面,提出了强化国家战略科技力量支撑服务构建新发展格局的主要路径:强化建制化、体系化支撑保障,夯实新发展格局安全基础;增强原创引领带动作用,提升双循环体系的动能与效能;面向国家重大区域发展战略,提升新发展格局的开放水平.

Improving production efficiency can help overcome the constraints of resource scarcity and fragile environments in oasis agriculture. However, there are few studies about the effect of farmers’ cognition of resources and the environment on their production efficiency. Taking farmers in the Ganzhou District of Zhangye—a typical representative of oasis agriculture in an inland river basin in Northwest China—this study empirically analyzed the effect of farmers’ cognition of resources and the environment on agricultural production efficiency. The average agricultural productivity of the surveyed farmers is 0.64, which is much lower than the average level in China. Farmers’ cognition of resources and the environment is related to green production willingness and behavior. Green production willingness, green production behavior between cognition of resources and the environment, and agricultural production efficiency play a chain mediating role, showing that farmers’ cognition of resources and the environment indirectly affects production efficiency. Green planting willingness is formed based on cognition of resources and the environment; when farmers translate willingness into behavior, it will further improve agricultural production efficiency. Recommendations are made based on the findings, such as strengthening the cognition of resources and the environment, mobilizing enthusiasm for green production, and promoting the practice of green planting.

文章在深刻认识构建西北地区生态保护格局的重大意义基础上,系统归纳了西北地区生态保护的成效以及面临的新问题、新趋势,研究提出了"两域(流域)—六区(核心生态功能区)—多点(关键生态点位)"三位一体的生态保护总体空间布局,并从围绕六大核心生态功能区实施保护修复重点任务,开展绿色低碳循环产业体系建设、生态系统质量整体提升、生态保护机制改革创新三大重点行动的角度,系统论述了构建西北地区生态保护新格局的关键路径,以期为我国加快建设人与自然和谐共生的现代化作出更多西北贡献.

"可持续城市和社区"(SDG 11)是实现所有17项联合国可持续发展目标(SDGs)的核心.然而,普遍存在的数据缺失问题导致目前SDG 11指标监测与评估工作的开展仍面临巨大挑战.地球大数据作为科技创新和大数据的重要组成部分,在促进城市可持续发展方面能够发挥关键作用.文章重点围绕城市可持续发展的6个主题,包括城市住房、城市公共交通、城镇化、城市灾害、空气质量、开放公共空间,基于地球大数据技术,针对相应的多个具体指标,在中国尺度上开展进展监测和综合评估.在上述分析的基础上,文章总结了SDG 11实现面临的挑战;并提出了构建可持续发展大数据信息平台、加强科学技术在SDG 11实现中的杠杆作用、积极开展SDG 11综合应用示范,以及加强国内外相关机构的科技合作等建议和举措.