Challenges and Solutions of Sustainable Development in the Ecologically Sensitive Areas or Social Fringe Zones

Dear Colleagues,

Certain types of regions, such as ecologically sensitive areas and social fringe zones, are confronted with significant challenges to sustainable development, including economic underdevelopment, residents’ well-being, ecosystem threats, social inequality, and agricultural production issues. This requires the adoption of a complex system approach involving the economy, society and ecology to propose a framework, path, and plan for sustainable development. The geographical isolation, ecological sensitivity, socioeconomic constraints, infrastructure deficits, and heightened vulnerability to climate change of these areas create complex barriers to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This necessitates contributions from various disciplines of management, economics, environmental science, sociology, and more, with a focus on providing insights for specific types of regions to address sustainability challenges. Key themes include food supply, agricultural technology, ecological protection, inclusive growth, developing resilient livelihoods, and green economies. This encourages case studies that focus on spotlighting innovative, context-specific, and integrative solutions emerging within and for specific types of regions, but which must be representative and yield general insights. It also encourages empirical analysis of specific types of regions in terms of their sustainable practices, using public data and author survey data. However, bibliometric articles are not encouraged in this Topic. By bringing together interdisciplinary research based on case studies and empirical analysis, this Topic aims to advance our understanding and provide actionable pathways for building equitable, resilient, and sustainable futures in the world's most vulnerable and vital landscapes.

Dr. Huwei Wen
Dr. Congxian He
Dr. Changsong Wang
Topic Editors