Towards regional sustainability under adaptive ecological restoration and urbanization in Shanxi Province, China: From priority areas to critical battles

Humans are facing challenges in maintaining balanced relationships with nature, highlighting the urgent need for ecosystem restoration. While restoration efforts have mainly focused on ecological aspects, integrating the social-ecological approach into these initiatives can be crucial in achieving sustainable development. In this study, we proposed a framework for assessing development, delineating stages, and clarifying impacts. When applied to Shanxi Province, our analysis showed that ecological restoration initiatives resulted in a win-win situation for the social-ecological system in the region, with the social indicator and ecological indicator experiencing average growth rates of 17.22 % and 38.45 %, respectively. We identified two distinct phases in the process: the restoration of the priority areas (2000–2014) and the critical battles in areas under high human pressure (2014–2020). During the latter phase, the increase in the ecological indicator for areas with high social indicators was nearly double that of the earlier phase, indicating an alleviation of regional benefits distribution inequality in Shanxi Province. The positive shift was primarily attributed to ecological constraints and changes in government policies. This study contributed to the understanding of stage division in long-term ecological restoration through a social-ecological approach to achieving adaptive restoration and sustainable development.