Research on Ecological Restoration Strategies for Abandoned Mines Based on Ecology-Oriented Development

The ecological restoration of abandoned mines poses a significant challenge within China’s broader efforts toward the protection and restoration of the nation’s ecosystems. Based on the ecology-oriented development (EOD) model, a differential game framework for the ecological restoration of abandoned mines was constructed in this study, involving both government and corporate entities as players. Our analysis focused on various factors, including investment levels in ecological restoration quality, the quality of ecological restoration itself, investment levels in environmentally sensitive industry development, the quality of environmentally sensitive industries, environmentally sensitive product pricing strategies, and profit dynamics for both players across four distinct modes. Our findings reveal several key insights. First, extending the government’s concession period incentivizes enterprises to increase investment in both the quality of ecological restoration of abandoned mines and the development of environmentally sensitive industries. Second, the government should prefer the cooperative mode to introduce social capital for the ecology-oriented development of abandoned mines. Third, in noncooperative mode, for technology-intensive industries, the government’s industrial support policy is more mutually beneficial; conversely, for labor-intensive industries, the ecological restoration compensation policy yields higher mutual gains. Lastly, differentiated incentive policies implemented by the government across various modes prompt the input of enterprises in ecological restoration quality and environmentally sensitive industry development. Based on these findings, we offer specific policy recommendations to guide governmental efforts in promoting EOD for the ecological restoration of abandoned mines. Funding: This work was supported by the Sichuan Office of Philosophy and Social Science [Grant SC22C004] and the National Social Science Fund of China [Grant 22XKS015].