人类福祉研究进展——基于可持续科学视角

人类福祉的研究兴起于20世纪50年代。在过去的十几年中,人类福祉与生态系统服务一并成为可持续科学的核心概念,发展迅速。不同学科背景的研究者逐渐认识到仅仅依靠经济指标无法恰当地评估人类福祉,经济发展只是实现可持续发展目标的手段,而提高人类福祉才是其核心所在。人类福祉研究为评估个人福祉和国家社会的群体福祉提供概念框架和测量方法,服务于政府决策。自2005年联合国组织的《千年生态系统评估》报告明确提出生态系统服务与人类福祉的关系以来,人类福祉的研究进入了快速发展的新阶段。近年来,国内外越来越多的学者从可持续科学的视角对人类福祉开展研究。与国际同行的工作相比,我国人类福祉研究集中于可持续科学视角下对福祉的定量化评估,而各学科之间,尤其是自然科学和人文与社会科学之间的交流合作相对较少。回顾了人类福祉研究的历史发展,及其在可持续科学视角下的新进展,具体包括:客观福祉,主观福祉,生态系统服务与人类福祉关系。最后,讨论了人类福祉研究的主要议题,以及我国人类福祉研究未来的发展方向。

Advances in human well-being research: a sustainability science perspective

Scientific research on human well-being has expanded in both scope and depth since the 1950s, particularly in the past decade, as the topic of human well-being became the cornerstone of sustainability science. An increasing number of scientists and scholars from various disciplines have recognized that economic indicators alone cannot adequately assess human well-being, and economic development is the only means for achieving the goal of sustainability, which is essential for human well-being. Human well-being studies provide conceptual frameworks, methods, and tools for measuring both individual welfare, and national and societal performance, which can provide information and improve policy-making. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, orchestrated by the United Nations, has articulated the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being, elevating human well-being research to a new level. During the past few decades, studies on human well-being have become crucial in the science of sustainability. However, sustainability science-oriented studies of human well-being are still lacking in China. To help fill the gap, this review discusses the historical developments and recent advances of human well-being research from a sustainability science perspective. In particular, we discuss objective well-being, subjective well-being, and the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being. In addition, we discuss some of the important issues and future directions of human well-being research in China.