Assessing regional sustainability from the perspective of reconciling social-ecological resilience and human well-being: Empirical evidence from China

Advancing social-ecological resilience and human well-being in tandem is key to reaching the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, when assessing sustainability based on social-ecological resilience systems, it is crucial to explore biophysical processes and human well-being and how they interact, which has not been well addressed so far. To bridge this critical gap, through a coupled social-ecological resilience assessment framework, this study deeply explores the spatial-temporal patterns and evolution of social-ecological resilience and well-being (SEW) in the complex structure of China's provinces, attempting to reveal the evolutionary trends and complex interactions of these dimensions over time. The results show that China's social-ecological resilience and well-being have improved significantly since 2000–2020. In different years, the relationship between resilience and well-being shows both linear and nonlinear characteristics, and the fitting strength varies. The relationship between ecological resilience and well-being shows a U-shaped curve. Based on the three-dimensional coupling model and machine learning, we reveal the complex interactions between resilience and well-being and their drivers. Understanding these dynamics is crucial not only to understand the process of the overall sustainable development pattern of China, but also to facilitate the development of targeted plans that fit the unique social-economic and ecological context of each province.