Search Results (111)

Based on a comprehensive review of the current research status of ecological compensation both domestically and internationally, combined with field survey data, this study delves into the issue of multi-stakeholder participation in the ecological compensation mechanisms of the Xin’an River Basin. This research reveals that the joint participation of multiple stakeholders is crucial to achieving the goals of ecological compensation in river basins. The government plays a significant role in macro-guidance, financial support, policy guarantees, supervision, and management. It promotes the comprehensive implementation of ecological environmental protection by formulating relevant laws and regulations, guiding the public to participate in ecological conservation, and supervising and punishing pollution behaviors. The public, serving as the main force, forms strong awareness and behavioral habits of ecological protection through active participation in environmental protection, monitoring, and feedback. As participants, enterprises contribute to industrial transformation and green development by improving resource utilization efficiency, reducing pollution emissions, promoting green industries, and participating in ecological restoration projects. Scientific research institutions, as technology enablers, have effectively enhanced governance efficiency through technological research and innovation, ecosystem value accounting to provide decision-making support, and public education. Social organizations, as facilitators, have injected vitality and innovation into watershed governance by extensively mobilizing social forces and building multi-party collaboration platforms. Communities, as supporters, have transformed ecological value into economic benefits by developing characteristic industries such as eco-agriculture and eco-tourism. Based on the above findings, further recommendations are proposed to mobilize the enthusiasm of upstream communities and encourage their participation in ecological compensation, promote the market-oriented operation of ecological compensation mechanisms, strengthen cross-regional cooperation to establish joint mechanisms, enhance supervision and evaluation, and establish a sound benefit-sharing mechanism. These recommendations provide theoretical support and practical references for ecological compensation worldwide. Full article

The ongoing degradation of global forests has severely weakened ecosystem service functions, and traditional judicial remedies have struggled to quantify intangible ecological losses. China has become an important testing ground for restorative justice through the establishment of specialized environmental courts and the practice of environmental public interest litigation. Since 2015, China has actively explored and institutionalized the application of the concept of restorative justice in its environmental justice reform. This concept emphasizes compensating environmental damages through actual ecological restoration acts rather than relying solely on financial compensation. This shift reflects a deep understanding of the limitations of traditional environmental justice and an institutional response to China’s ecological civilization construction, providing critical support for forest ecosystem restoration and enabling ecological restoration activities, such as replanting and re-greening, habitat reconstruction, etc., to be enforced through judicial decisions. This study conducts a qualitative analysis of judicial rulings in forest restoration cases to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of restorative justice in compensating for losses in forest ecosystem service functions. The findings reveal the following: (1) restoration measures in judicial practice are disconnected from the types of ecosystem services available; (2) non-market values and long-term cumulative damages are systematically underestimated, with monitoring mechanisms exhibiting fragmented implementation and insufficient effectiveness; (3) management cycles are set in violation of ecological restoration principles, and acceptance standards lack function-oriented indicators; (4) participation of key stakeholders is severely lacking, and local knowledge and professional expertise have not been integrated. In response, this study proposes a restorative judicial framework oriented toward forest ecosystem services, utilizing four mechanisms: independent recognition of legal interests, function-matched restoration, application of scientific assessment tools, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This framework aims to drive a paradigm shift from formal restoration to substantive functional recovery, providing theoretical support and practical pathways for environmental judicial reform and global forest governance. Full article

This qualitative case study explores Missouri-based consumers’ ethical beliefs regarding restaurant sourcing from minority farmers. Guided by the Hunt–Vitell theory of ethics (H-V model), it applies the model in a new context: culturally inclusive restaurant sourcing. Based on 15 semi-structured interviews conducted between September 2024 and October 2024, the study explores how ethical beliefs shape dining intentions. Participants generally viewed support for minority farmers as ethically appropriate. Thematic analysis revealed six key themes: (1) community-oriented social values (e.g., social responsibility toward local businesses); (2) cultural identity (e.g., traditional farming methods); (3) consumer values—food-oriented (e.g., quality); (4) consumer values—people-oriented (e.g., financial support for ethical sourcing); (5) trust-building mechanisms (e.g., sourcing transparency); and (6) barriers (e.g., lack of awareness). These findings highlight limited consumer awareness of minority farmers and the need for transparent communication and cultural education. The study contributes theoretically by extending the H-V model to the intersection of ethics, culture, and restaurant sourcing. Practically, it offers guidance for restaurant managers, marketers, and policymakers to support minority farmers, build trust, and promote inclusive and socially responsible dining. One key limitation of this study is its reliance on a small, Missouri-based consumer sample, which limits generalizability and excludes perspectives from other stakeholders. However, as a regional case study, it provides important depth and contextual insight into an underexplored aspect of sustainable sourcing. This study also highlights the need for multi-stakeholder engagement to advance equity in the food system. Full article

As sustainability becomes increasingly central to organizational strategy, social economy organizations (SEOs) are rethinking their business models. This study employs stakeholder analysis using the value mapping (VM) tool developed by Short, Rana, Bocken, and Evans for the development of the VOLTO JÁ project. The objective of the VOLTO JÁ project is to operationalize a senior exchange programme between SEOs. The VM approach extends beyond conventional customer value propositions to prioritize sustainability for all stakeholders and identify key drivers of sustainable business model (SBM) innovation. The multi-stakeholder methodology comprises the following elements: (1) sequential focus groups aimed at enhancing sustainable business thinking; (2) semi-structured interviews; and (3) workshop to facilitate qualitative analysis and co-create the VM. The findings are then categorized into four value dimensions: (1) value captured—improved participant well-being, enhanced reputational capital, mitigation of social asymmetries, and affordable service experiences; (2) value lost—underused community assets; (3) value destroyed—institutional and systemic barriers to innovation; and (4) new value opportunities—knowledge sharing, service diversification, and open innovation to foster collaborative networks. The study demonstrates that the application of VM in SEOs supports SBM development by generating strategic insights, enhancing resource efficiency, and fostering the delivery of socially impactful services. Full article

Against the backdrop of China’s urban transformation from incremental expansion to stock regeneration, community regeneration has emerged as a critical mechanism for enhancing urban governance efficacy. As fundamental units of urban systems, the regeneration of communities requires comprehensive approaches to address complex socio-spatial challenges, with public participation serving as the core driver for achieving sustainable renewal goals. However, significant regional disparities persist in the effectiveness of public participation across China, necessitating the systematic institutionalization of participatory practices. Guangzhou, as a pioneering city in institutional innovation and the practical exploration of urban regeneration, provides a representative case for examining the evolutionary trajectory of participatory planning. This research employs Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation theory, utilizing literature analysis and comparative case studies to investigate the evolution of participatory mechanisms in Guangzhou’s community regeneration over four decades. The study systematically examined the transformation of public engagement models across multiple dimensions, including organizational frameworks of participation, participatory effectiveness, diversified financing models, and the innovation of policy instruments. Three paradigm shifts were identified: the (1) transition of participants from “passive responders” to “active constructors”, (2) advancement of engagement phases from “fragmented intervention” to “whole-cycle empowerment”, and (3) evolution of participation methods from “unidirectional communication” to “collaborative co-governance”. It identifies four drivers of participatory effectiveness: policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, mediator cultivation, and engagement platforms. To enhance public engagement efficacy, the research proposes the following: (1) a resilient policy adaptation mechanism enabling dynamic responses to multi-stakeholder demands, (2) a diversified financing framework establishing a “government guidance + market operation + resident contribution” cost-sharing model, (3) a professional support system integrating “localization + specialization” capacities, and (4) enhanced digital empowerment and institutional innovation in participatory platform development. These mechanisms collectively form an evolutionary pathway from “symbolic participation” to “substantive co-creation” in urban regeneration governance. Full article

Teachers with mental illness are vulnerable to work-related triggers that can lead to relapse, affecting their mental health and ability to recover, stay employed, and deliver quality education. This empirical study explored such triggers among public school teachers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, a qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 participants that were purposively selected across four hospitals. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Tesch’s eight-step open-coding method. Findings revealed being gossiped about by colleagues, excessive workload, limited leadership and parental support, classroom management challenges, high performance expectations without support, and inadequate teacher mental health policies in schools. These triggers can lead to frequent absenteeism and poor teaching outcomes. They will further increase the risk of medication resistance and long-term cognitive decline due to progressive structural brain damage as a result of multiple relapses. The study highlights the urgent need for multi-stakeholder collaboration, including clinicians, academic institutions, union representatives, and the Department of Basic Education, to co-develop effective, context-sensitive strategies to mitigate work-related triggers of mental illness relapse. These strategies are not only essential for enabling long-term workforce participation but also advancing sustainable mental health and well-being. Full article

Climate-amplified extreme heat events are particularly dangerous for city dwellers. Nature-based solutions such as urban greening may serve as an effective preventative strategy against extreme heat. Driven by historical injustices such as redlining, disadvantaged communities often face limited green space and a heightened risk of vulnerability to extreme heat in urban environments. This paper investigates community engagement strategies for heat-vulnerable community participation in urban greening research as a part of a broader transdisciplinary environmental research praxis focused on multistakeholder co-creation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with community leaders in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods in New York City to explore community co-creation in the design and implementation of tree planting, and compared these themes with interviews with urban tree professionals and other community groups. Overall, the participants agreed on broad themes of environmental justice, intergenerational engagement, community building, and socioecological relationships, although community leaders differed in both a greater emphasis of experiential knowledge and reduced focus on volunteer community stewardship. The findings inform our research process and associated community engagement, including building online resources and addressing community-specific concerns during the research process. We conclude by recommending future steps for facilitating multistakeholder conversations to build inclusive and equitable urban greening heat-adaptive strategies. Full article

Due to the rapid development of China’s economy, the current situation of fishing villages in the southeastern coastal areas is spatial disorder caused by changes in population composition and industrial transformation. This study analyses the differences between the clan structure and the multi-stakeholder engagement model in traditional fishing villages. The main aim is to illustrate contemporary issues that fishing villages’ spaces need to deal with in governance and decision making. With the development of information technology, social media has become an important platform through which stakeholders can communicate and make decisions. The aims of this paper were as follows: (1) Identify the stakeholders involved in the governance of fishing villages; (2) explore how stakeholders participate in the planning and governance of fishing villages through social media; (3) examine the mechanisms of social media and its impact on the spatial planning of fishing villages. Through qualitative research methods such as field surveys and in-depth interviews, the following results were obtained: (1) Social media subverts the traditional fishing village governance model, and the scope of the governance subject is expanded; (2) spatial changes in fishing villages are affected by the joint influence of people, the environment, and the economy, and a social network acts as an intermediary to compensate for the deficiencies that existed in previous fishing village governance processes. Full article

Amid accelerating population aging and the rapid evolution of digital technologies, the digital transformation of rural elderly care services has become a pivotal strategy for restructuring the rural elderly care system. This study identified the local government, rural elderly care service centers, and the elderly population as the principal stakeholders, and developed a tripartite evolutionary game-theory model to examine the dynamic strategic interactions among these actors under the influence of digital technologies. The model further investigated the evolutionary trajectories and equilibrium conditions of their behavioral strategies. Numerical simulations conducted via MATLAB were employed to validate and visualize the model outcomes. The findings revealed the following. (1) The evolutionary equilibrium of digital elderly care service development in rural areas is jointly determined by the strategic choices of the three parties, with its stability shaped by a complex interplay of cost structures, incentive mechanisms, and utility outcomes. (2) Cost factors exhibit heterogeneous effects across stakeholders. Specifically, excessive regulatory costs diminish the performance incentives of local governments, digital infrastructure and operational expenditures influence service centers’ capacity for precision-oriented service delivery, and the participation of the elderly is constrained by affordability thresholds. (3) Local government behavior demonstrates a pronounced sensitivity to incentives. In particular, rewards and social reputation conferred by higher-level governmental bodies exert a significantly stronger influence than punitive measures. (4) Government subsidies for digital transformation enhance cross-stakeholder synergy through dual transmission channels. Nonetheless, excessive subsidies may escalate fiscal risk, while moderately calibrated penalty mechanisms effectively curb moral hazard within service centers. This study advances theoretical understanding of multi-stakeholder coordination in the context of digitally enabled rural elderly care and provides actionable insights for policymakers aiming to formulate interest-aligned strategies and construct resilient, intelligent governance systems for elderly care. Full article

As a pivotal force in the development of hydropower and water conservancy, the evolution of China’s reservoir resettlement policies has garnered significant attention. Over the past seven decades, the nation has made remarkable strides in implementing resettlement initiatives, effectively contributing to poverty alleviation and water resource management. However, emerging challenges, including diminishing opportunities for new reservoir construction, the expiration of post-relocation support policies, and the current emphasis on high-quality development, reveal critical gaps in the existing research. Specifically, macro-level analyses of policy evolution remain scarce, particularly concerning the interrelation between two cornerstone components: land acquisition compensation policies and post-relocation support policies. To address this gap, this paper adopts a holistic historical perspective to analyze the evolution of China’s reservoir resettlement policies across four distinct stages, focusing on the development of two key policies and their interrelations. The findings reveal that each stage of China’s reservoir resettlement policies is characterized by unique thematic priorities, with their interrelations gradually evolving toward greater synergy. Nevertheless, challenges persist, including insufficient per capita farmland allocation and industrial decline in resettlement areas. Accordingly, this paper proposes optimization strategies that encompass policy innovation, multi-stakeholder participation, digital management, and the enhancement of resettlement agencies. China’s experience in fostering policy synergy offers critical insights into institutional evolution while providing valuable references for other countries seeking to refine their reservoir resettlement frameworks. Full article

The river chief system (RCS) has been progressively integrated into rural river governance, resulting in notable improvements in river environments. However, the governance involves multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests and challenges, including low efficiency in collaborative governance. Based on evolutionary game theory, this paper explores the strategy evolution mechanism of multiple stakeholders in rural river governance under the RCS. A four-party evolutionary game model is constructed, involving the government, rural river chiefs, functional organizations, and villagers. By employing phase diagrams, Jacobian matrices, and Lyapunov’s first method, we investigate the evolutionary process of the four-party game and analyze its asymptotic stability. The study identifies the following two evolutionary stable strategies: lenient supervision, no patrol, governance, and participation and lenient supervision, no patrol, governance, and non-participation. Then, numerical simulation analysis is conducted using MATLAB 2024b to validate the scientific rigor and effectiveness of the evolutionary game model and analyze the impact of key parameters’ changes on the strategy choices of each stakeholder. The findings provide guidance for improving the efficiency of multi-stakeholder collaboration in rural river governance and the smooth implementation of the RCS in rural areas. Full article

Rural landscape character assessment (LCA) is significant for identifying and understanding rural landscapes and maintaining the cultural connotations of the rural vernacular. Taking the rural area of Songzi City as an example, this study identifies the landscape character (LC) and analyzes the coupling between the current state of its LC and a construction project based on the depth of rural landscape planning in the county and combining the ecology, arable land, and water body protection boundary as constraints. Thus, we obtain the “point, line, and surface” site selection suggestions for the construction activities of leisure agriculture, power grid, and energy facilities, and the zoning classification and layout control strategies for LC are subsequently proposed. The results show the following: (1) The county LC factor is a combination of natural and human factors used to obtain 165 LC areas in Songzi City. (2) The current state of rural LC is used to determine LCs from shallow to deep and to provide the basis for index selection and judgment for evaluation. (3) The coupling relationship between rural LC and construction projects varies and must be judged using subjective and objective methods, desktop research combined with field analyses, and multi-stakeholder participation. Based on the perspective of coupling and coordinating human and landscape, this study applies local-scale LCA to practice, strengthens the interface with rural construction planning, and provides research ideas and methodological references for the sustainable control of rural LC. Full article

Background: Despite the widespread use of precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) by manufacturers, PAL is not always used consistently and can be a source of misinterpretation by consumers and allergists. Although its use is not specifically regulated in Canada, some voluntary guidelines exist. The aims of this study were to investigate allergic consumers’ and clinicians’ understanding of PAL, to describe consumers’ attitudes towards products with PAL, and to examine recommendations given by clinicians to their patients about these products. We also compared two groups of consumers enrolled in this study, since the majority of them (72%) were registered in the Food Allergy Canada database and the others (28%) came from representative consumers of the general population. Methods: An online survey was sent from 2 to 28 December 2021 to allergic consumers registered with Food Allergy Canada’s database and to a group of allergic consumers extracted from a panel representative of the general population and not registered with Food Allergy Canada (third-party panel). All consumer participants had a food allergy or were a parent/caregiver of a child with food allergy and had to be diagnosed by a medical professional. Considering that consumers registered via the Food Allergy Canada database could be more informed about labelling than the third-party consumer panel, we conducted a multivariate analysis (logistic regression) on the key variables related to PAL allowing to compare these two groups of participants. In addition, a separate online survey was sent to allergist members of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and provincial associations to investigate their understanding of PAL from 12 November 2021 to 16 January 2022. Results: A total of 1080 consumers and 63 allergists (29% of allergists in Canada) responded to the surveys. Fifty percent of consumers were adults with food allergy, and 50% were a parent/caregiver of a child with food allergy. Food allergy was diagnosed most commonly by an allergist in 76% of the cases. Fifty-four percent of consumers purchased products with a PAL statement at least occasionally, and more than half of consumers (53%) considered PAL a very useful tool. Most surveyed individuals (59%) had not heard of the term “individual allergen threshold” or had heard the term but did not know what it meant. The same allergic consumers were reluctant to buy food products with even a small amount of their allergen (i.e., a dose that would not trigger an allergic reaction in the vast majority of them). Half of allergists reported PAL was not useful in its current form, and 83% supported the consumption of foods with PAL to their patients in some circumstances. Conclusion: While most consumers are somewhat confident in the accuracy of ingredient information on pre-packaged foods, interpretation of PAL remains confusing by many allergic consumers. If changes are to be made based on allergen thresholds, a multi-stakeholder approach will be required with greater consumer and allergist education on risk assessment concepts to facilitate the implementation of allergen population thresholds into the application of PAL. Full article

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly in generative technologies, have significantly redefined the design paradigm for community public cultural spaces, shifting from a traditionally designer-centric model to one that emphasizes multi-stakeholder co-creation. This paper focuses on the design of public cultural spaces at the community scale, proposing a generative dynamic workflow-based co-creation framework that integrates large language models (LLMs) with text-to-image technologies. The framework includes a natural dialogue-based needs-capturing module, a needs analysis module, and a needs expression text-to-image module. This study validates the proposed framework by developing a system prototype for renovating a public space in a student dormitory at Tongji University’s Jiading campus. The results show that the prototype demonstrates good usability and a relatively satisfactory capability in capturing user requirements. These findings indicate that this research helps address key limitations in traditional community design practices, such as limited resident participation, inefficient integration of diverse needs, and slow iteration processes. Full article

Climate-induced migration has emerged as a major concern in India and Bangladesh, due to their geographical vulnerability and socioeconomic conditions. Coastal areas, such as the Sundarbans and the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, face relentless threats due to rising sea levels, cyclones, and floods. These factors force millions to relocate, resulting in rural–urban transitions and cross-border movements that worsen urban challenges and socioeconomic vulnerabilities. For this, a systematic literature review of the Scopus database was undertaken using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A detailed review analysis of 65 papers was carried out. The study highlighted key climatic and non-climatic drivers of migration, including natural disasters, resource depletion, poverty, and poor governance. Despite existing adaptation strategies, such as early warning systems, micro-insurance, and climate-resilient practices, gaps remain in addressing long-term resilience and legal recognition for climate migrants. The research emphasizes the need for a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, integrating adaptive infrastructure, sustainable livelihoods, and international cooperation. Recommendations include bridging research gaps, increasing community participation, and implementing global frameworks, like the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. Addressing climate migration through fair, inclusive measures is essential for building resilience and ensuring long-term development in the region. Full article