Exploring the role of a bridging organization to operationalize transdisciplinarity for improved ecosystem management and environmental decision-making : a case study in the Three Rivers Source Region, Qinghai- Tibetan Plateau, China

Abstract: China is a mega-diversity country with abundant natural resources, and the richness of these resources is demonstrated to be relevant with the local people’s historical interactions between biophysical and sociocultural systems. If we are to maintain biodiversity and strike a balance between human well-being and ecosystem service, it is important to incorporate the local people and their traditional knowledge for ecosystem management. By using a qualitative approach for a single case study of Shanshui Conservation Center and their strategies for environmental protection in the Three Rivers Source Region of China, this study aims to investigate how a bridging organization could enhance the participation of local people into ecosystem management, and facilitate the collaboration among key actors – science community, local community and policy-makers. Secondary data and semi-structure interview are used in this project for data collection. The results illustrate that value gap, knowledge gap and implementation gap are three factors which hinder the local people’s participation into the ecological construction programs implemented by the state. Using the framework for structuring complexity in transdisciplinary researches, the findings show that as a bridging organization, Shanshui Conservation Center delivers three important functions of mediation, translation and coordination, in order to operationalize transdisciplinary research for improved ecosystem management and environmental decision-making.