IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v21y2019i5d10.1007_s10668-018-0139-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regime shift and redevelopment of a mining area’s socio-ecological system under resilience thinking: a case study in Shanxi Province, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yongjun Yang

    (China University of Mining and Technology)

  • Yue Li

    (China University of Mining and Technology)

  • Fu Chen

    (China University of Mining and Technology)

  • Shaoliang Zhang

    (China University of Mining and Technology)

  • Huping Hou

    (China University of Mining and Technology)

Abstract

Theory related to resilience thinking proposes that complex systems evolve in nested adaptive cycles. However, concrete examples are needed to instantiate this proposition and show what merit it might have in practice. This empirical study used a mesoscale landscape that has experienced mining activity and has faced challenges related to environmental protection and sustainable development. Adopting the perspective of resilience thinking, this study investigated the historical dynamics of a post-mining area in Shanxi Province and considered its future development. In the studied area, the main income source was found to have shifted from agriculture to coal mining activity between 1983 and 2010, with more than 41% of the land being used for mining operations. Such activity degraded the net primary productivity of the local ecosystem. The socio-ecological system experienced two states: traditional agriculture and mining. The evolution of the past adaptive cycles was mainly driven by coal exploitation and environmental degradation within the mining area, as well as the cross-scale interactions of economic events and coal policy changes outside the mining area. As a result of exhausted coal resources and small-scale mining closures, the socio-ecological system is currently in a poverty trap. Based on an assessment of the socio-ecological system’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, a new eco-agriculture can be considered an option for future transformation. The post-mining landscape is apparently a coupled socio-ecological system characterized by panarchy and temporal dynamics. Internal resources and cross-scale interactions, such as the regional-scale demand for agricultural products, could help reorganize the stagnant system. This case study shows that a mesoscale landscape can be a sally port for the application and operation of resilience-thinking-related theory, such as panarchy. This concrete example manifests the proposition that complex systems undergo cycles of renewal and collapse and can be nested in adaptive cycles. The merit of this proposition is not just that it helps to establish a theoretical understanding of the dynamics of complex systems; more importantly, it also generates practical measures to manage such dynamics. This case study supports the existence and importance of regional resilience in maintaining or restoring local economies. On these grounds, we propose that resilience thinking can act as a mental model and practical tool for understanding the historical dynamics of stagnant systems, such as legacy mining sites, and navigate their transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongjun Yang & Yue Li & Fu Chen & Shaoliang Zhang & Huping Hou, 2019. "Regime shift and redevelopment of a mining area’s socio-ecological system under resilience thinking: a case study in Shanxi Province, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 2577-2598, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:21:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s10668-018-0139-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-018-0139-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-018-0139-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-018-0139-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. He, Y.X. & Zhang, S.L. & Yang, L.Y. & Wang, Y.J. & Wang, J., 2010. "Economic analysis of coal price-electricity price adjustment in China based on the CGE model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6629-6637, November.
    2. Mrinal K. Ghose & Surendra Roy, 2007. "Contribution of small-scale mining to employment, development and sustainability – an Indian scenario," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 283-303, August.
    3. Elaine Lawson & Gloria Bentil, 2014. "Shifting sands: changes in community perceptions of mining in Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 217-238, February.
    4. Shi, Xunpeng, 2013. "China's small coal mine policy in the 2000s: A case study of trusteeship and consolidation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 598-604.
    5. Suvania Naidoo, 2015. "An assessment of the impacts of acid mine drainage on socio-economic development in the Witwatersrand: South Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1045-1063, October.
    6. Andy Pike & Stuart Dawley & John Tomaney, 2010. "Resilience, adaptation and adaptability," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 3(1), pages 59-70.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stefanie Streit & Michael Tost & Katharina Gugerell, 2023. "Perspectives on Closure and Revitalisation of Extraction Sites and Sustainability: A Q-Methodology Study," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Ronyastra, I Made & Saw, Lip Huat & Low, Foon Siang, 2023. "A review of methods for integrating risk management and multicriteria decision analysis in financial feasibility for post-coal-mining land usage selection," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    3. Ronyastra, I Made & Saw, Lip Huat & Low, Foon Siang, 2024. "Monte Carlo simulation-based financial risk identification for industrial estate as post-mining land usage in Indonesia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Liu, Biao & Wang, Jinman & Jing, Zhaorui & Tang, Qian, 2020. "Measurement of sustainable transformation capability of resource-based cities based on fuzzy membership function: A case study of Shanxi Province, China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Jiaxin Mi & Huping Hou & Zhifeng Jin & Xiaoyan Yang & Yifei Hua, 2023. "Long-Term Impact of Ground Deformation on Vegetation in an Underground Mining Area: Its Mechanism and Suggestions for Revegetation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nina Hangebruch & Frank Othengrafen, 2022. "Resilient Inner Cities: Conditions and Examples for the Transformation of Former Department Stores in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Tapio Riepponen & Mikko Moilanen & Jaakko Simonen, 2023. "Themes of resilience in the economics literature: A topic modeling approach," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 326-356, April.
    3. Roberto Antonietti & Ron Boschma, 2021. "Social capital, resilience, and regional diversification in Italy [Social capital, innovation and growth: evidence from Europe]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(3), pages 762-777.
    4. Ugo Fratesi & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2016. "The crisis and regional employment in Europe: what role for sheltered economies?," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 9(1), pages 33-57.
    5. Emil Evenhuis, 2017. "Institutional change in cities and regions: a path dependency approach," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 509-526.
    6. Sara Gonzalez & Stijn Oosterlynck, 2014. "Crisis and resilience in a finance-led city: Effects of the global financial crisis in Leeds," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(15), pages 3164-3179, November.
    7. Joan Crespo & Raphael Suire & Jerome Vicente, 2014. "Lock-in or lock-out? How structural properties of knowledge networks affect regional resilience," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 199-219, January.
    8. Edward P. Gardiner & David D. Herring & James F. Fox, 2019. "The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit: evidence of progress," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 477-490, April.
    9. Dan He & Yahua Tang & Luyan Wang & Muhammad Mohsin, 2023. "Can increasing technological complexity help strengthen regional economic resilience?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4043-4070, December.
    10. Paolo Di Caro, 2015. "Recessions, recoveries and regional resilience: evidence on Italy," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(2), pages 273-291.
    11. Xudan Lin & Hong Zhu & Duo Yin, 2022. "Enhancing Rural Resilience in a Tea Town of China: Exploring Tea Farmers’ Knowledge Production for Tea Planting, Tea Processing and Tea Tasting," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, April.
    12. Mazur, Christoph & Hoegerle, Yannick & Brucoli, Maria & van Dam, Koen & Guo, Miao & Markides, Christos N. & Shah, Nilay, 2019. "A holistic resilience framework development for rural power systems in emerging economies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 219-232.
    13. Kurikka, Heli & Grillitsch, Markus, 2020. "Resilience in the periphery: What an agency perspective can bring to the table," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/7, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    14. Qu, Qiushi & Wang, Limao & Cao, Zhi & Zhong, Shuai & Mou, Chufu & Sun, Yanzhi & Xiong, Chenran, 2019. "Unfolding the price effects of non-ferrous industry chain on economic development: A case study of Yunnan province," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-20.
    15. Jieting Yin & Qingyou Yan & Kaijie Lei & Tomas Baležentis & Dalia Streimikiene, 2019. "Economic and Efficiency Analysis of China Electricity Market Reform Using Computable General Equilibrium Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    16. Renato Agurto & Fernando Fuentes & Carlos J. García & Esteban Skoknic, 2021. "The macroeconomic impact of the electricity price: lessons from Chile," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(5), pages 2407-2428, May.
    17. Elias Giannakis & Adriana Bruggeman, 2017. "Economic crisis and regional resilience: Evidence from Greece," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(3), pages 451-476, August.
    18. Peter Tyler & Emil Evenhuis & Ron Martin & Peter Sunley & Ben Gardiner, 2017. "Growing apart? Structural transformation and the uneven development of British cities," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 425-454.
    19. Hundt, Christian & Holtermann, Linus & Steeger, Jonas & Bersch, Johannes, 2019. "Cluster externalities, firm capabilities, and the recessionary shock: How the macro-to-micro-transition shapes firm performance during stable times and times of crisis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-008, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Černič-Mali Barbara & Koch Andreas & Koch Madeleine, 2014. "Societal implication and challenges of demographic change – some introductory remarks," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 6(1), pages 1-8, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:21:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s10668-018-0139-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.