Holdiversity (和多样性): An Integrative Concept Toward Sustainability

Abstract

Facing the multiple challenges brought about by global change and social development, this paper proposes the conceptual framework of “Holdiversity (和多样性)”, which defines human diversity, biological diversity, and environmental diversity as an interdependent, co-evolving, coupled system. This approach aims to systematically comprehend the synergistic mechanisms between humans and nature, facilitating the construction of trade-off strategies for sustainable development. Furthermore, this paper proposes that the watershed can serve as a fundamental operational unit for Holdiversity research. Its distinct natural boundaries and hierarchical structure enable it to effectively carry the spatial superposition and feedback coupling of multiple diversities. This concept aims to provide an integrated framework for interdisciplinary research and to offer a novel perspective on implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keywords

Watershed / Watershed ecology / Sustainable development / Interdisciplinary / Humans and nature / SDGs

Statement of the Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used generative artificial intelligence tools to assist with language proofreading, figure drawing and responses to editorial proof queries. After using these tools, the authors reviewed and edited the content and figures as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Kun Tan and Na Li for their valuable suggestions and support during manuscript revision.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, W.X.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, W.X.; Writing—Review & Editing, W.D. and Y.-T.C.; Supervision, W.X.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (32371557).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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