Concept Grouping and Subgrouping of Ecological Technology

Han LUO　Guojin XU　Yongsheng XIE　Jijun WANG

Abstract Although modern technology has an important role in human economic and social development， it can result in significant ecological damage. Thus， research has begun to focus on so-called "ecological technologies" to repair the degraded land and fragmented ecological environment and build a green mode of production and development. However， the concept of "ecological technology" is currently ill-defined， given the many different research fields involved. Therefore， here we divide ecological technologies into broad versus narrow technologies in terms of their impact on economic and social development and the related needs of production and ecological governance. We redefine each concept and clarify their aims and extensions， before further dividing them into three groups and seven subgroups， and clarifying the functions of each. The grouping and subgrouping of ecological technology will lay a foundation for the technology selection， collocation， implementation， promotion， monitoring and evaluation of ecological engineering planning and design.

Key words Ecological technology; Broad ecological technologies; Narrow ecological technologies; Ecological technology groups; Ecological technology subgroups

Received： July 26， 2020  Accepted： September 29， 2020

Supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China （2016YFC0503702）.

Han LUO （1985-）， male， P. R. China， associate researcher， devoted to research about evaluation of ecological technology.

*Corresponding author. E-mail： hanl@ms.iswc.ac.cn.

Modern technology has been instrumental in the progress made by humans since the Industrial Revolution， but this positive impact has been combined with detrimental effects on the environment， including pollution， habitat destruction and degradation and species extinctions[1-2]. Greenhouse gas emissions， fossil energy consumption， large-scale deforestation， abuse of pesticides and fertilizers， large-scale grassland reclamation， industrial waste water， waste gas and waste residue untreated land emissions and other phenomena hindering human sustainable development have caused a global environmental crisis[3-5]. The worsening shortage of resources poses a major threat to the ecological security of the earth and will seriously restrict economic and social development[6]. Researchers are now clear that it is unrealistic to pursue economic benefits in the context of the collapse of the ecological environment[7]. To address these issues， research has begun to focus on so-called "ecological technologies" to restore degraded environments and develop more ecofriendly production methods[8-9].

The concept of ecological technology developed gradually from production practices. Its earliest form was the concept of a "waste-free production technology，" which was gradually improved to realize the "raw material-production-consumption-raw material" cycle， essentially an end-treatment technology. Given that a major source of pollution is industry， the United Nations （UN） proposed a "cleaner production" plan in 1989， named "Agenda 21." This approach identified "cleaner production" as a process of integrating technology with production and environment， mainly in terms of the cleaning of energy required for production， the cleaning of production processes （technology）， and the cleaning of production results （products）. In 1992， the USA put forward the idea of "dark-green technology" and "light-green technology." The former focused on the problem of environmental pollution， whereas the latter was the "greening" of production processes[10]. In essence， there was little difference between end-of-pipe technology and cleaner production technology. However， research has resulted in the development of various technologies and concepts， such as environmentally friendly technologies， pollution-free technologies， ecological processes， and green technologies[11]， laying a solid foundation for understanding the concept of ecological technology.

Currently， the understanding of ecological technologies in developed countries is similar to the concept of green technologies， which refers to sustainable-use technologies that help reduce the marginal external costs of production and consumption[12-13]. Research in China on ecological technology only began about 30 years ago and originated from the development of related production technology in other countries. However， there are different definitions of this concept. Qin suggested that ecological technology is based on the knowledge， principles， and laws of ecology and ecological economics[14]. Thus， it can promote ecosystem balance and save resources， maintain a good ecological environment， and promote the harmonious development of humans with nature. In contrast， Mao wrote that ecological technology is a technological sequence or system based on ecological science and ecological thinking， imitating the material cycle in nature， and aiming to build harmonious relationships between humans and nature[15]. In addition， Dai reported that ecological technology is a production technology system that is coordinated with the ecosystem or ecological environment[16]， whereas Lyu and Yang believed that ecological technology is a technology to avoid or reduce the waste of resources and environmental pollution by changing the process of material flow and building a system of material recycling[17]. Thus， there is confusion over the definition of what constitutes ecological technology， which could impact its future development.

Therefore， here we redefine the concept of ecological technology based on the characteristics of economic and social development， combining the needs of production and ecological governance. We also develop grouping and subgrouping systems to further understand the characteristics of different ecological technologies.

Ecological Technologies

Concept of ecological technology

Ecological technologies are proposed solutions for tackling ecological environmental problems resulting from the increasing economic and social development of humans. However， traditional ecological governance and restoration technologies cannot fundamentally resolve internal issues related to current economic and social systems[18]. Solutions to the problem of ecological environment degradation need to be integrated into the overall economic and social system， and only the concept of "internal and external governance" can address this. By regulating internal contradictions in economic and social system development， we can not only fundamentally alleviate or solve the inherent ecological environment problems， but also restore ecologically degraded environments. Therefore， the main concept of ecological technology is divided into narrow ecological technologies and broad ecological technologies （Table 1）.

Relationship between broad and narrow ecological technologies

Narrow ecological technology is the knowledge， experience， skills， and means accumulated by humans during the long-term utilization and transformation of nature. It should be guided mainly by ecological principles， supplemented by the laws of economics. Broad ecological technology is based on the laws and principles of ecology， economics， sociology and other disciplines， emphasizing the regulation and management of the ecological-economic-social system. It uses the principles and means of social and economic management to regulate human economics， and makes use of the ecological principles to address ecological environmental degradation and to promote ecological health and sustainable economic and social development. Thus， broad ecological technologies are related to the socialization of ecological environment problems， and have distinct economic and social attributes.

Grouping of Ecological Technology

Grouping principles

A relevant grouping system should highlight the characteristics of different ecological technologies and should be clear in scope with independent groups.

Grouping system

Taking the ecosystem and human economic and social activities as the two main objects， we focus here on factors that can address ecological and environmental problems. Thus， ecological technologies can be divided into three groups： ecological governance technologies， ecological economic technologies， and ecological social technologies （Table 2）.

Subgrouping of Ecological Technology

The ecological technology subgroup encompasses ecological technologies with the same technical attributes， structures， and complementary functions to achieve both specific and common ecological goals.

Subgrouping principles

Ecological technology subgroups should have specific ecological goals; each ecological technology subgroup will differ from other technology subgroups because of their unique attributes; given that there are many individual technical measures with similar characteristics in the same ecological technology group， the independence of different technologies should not only be guaranteed， but also their functions should also be coordinated and complementary， so as to provide guarantee for their overall best technical effects.

Subgrouping system

We subdivided the ecological technology group into seven technology subgroups according to the natural， economic and social conditions of particular ecological control areas corresponding to different subgroups of ecological technologies （Fig. 1）. The ecological governance technology includes four technology subgroups： engineering governance technology subgroup， biological control technology subgroup， agricultural protection technology subgroup， and other ecological governance technology subgroups. The ecological economic technology includes an ecological economic technology subgroup. The ecological social technology includes two technology subgroups： ecological social technology subgroup and ecological management technology subgroup （Table 3）.

Discussions

Evolution of ecological technology

The development of social productive forces is a key factor in the evolution of ecological technology， and there is a close interaction between the developments of these two factors. The formation and development of various ecological technologies is both historical and phased， with distinct social attributes （Fig. 2）.

During the agricultural civilization period， social productivity was at a low demand level to enable human survival. Material production efficiency was low， and social systems were basic. Thus， only simple ecological technologies or their prototypes could be developed， and their applications were characterized by restrictive， immature， and poor governance effects. The slow development of ecological technology and limitations to its application hampered its development and public appreciation.

During the industrial civilization period， following the invention of steam and electric power， the production efficiency of humans improved， increasing the demand on natural resources， coupled with rapid scientific progress. A large number of technologies were applied in industry and human society. The rapid accumulation of scientific principles and research results provided a good basis for the development of ecological technology. At this time， the development of ecological technology mainly focused on the material level， with less attention paid to the management， administration， and consciousness levels. Therefore， ecological technology at this stage resembled improved production process and engineering technology to ensure good material production and economic benefits.

During the ecological civilization period， the globalization of material production and the increased demands on humans on the planet resulted in the concepts of "human-oriented" and "sustainable" development becoming the focus for economic and social progress. Therefore， increasing public awareness of ecology and the environment resulted in ecological technologies becoming more systematic， professional， scientific and of interest to the public.

In the historical process of ecological technology evolution， economic and social factors play a significant driving role. ① In terms of economic structure and scale， the adjustment and upgrading of economic structure and scale provide material guarantee and application environment conditions for the research and development， practice and maturity of ecological technology[19]. The current adjustment of economic structure tends to the concept of "green economy"， and the development and popularization of the economic model of clean energy， low pollution， low energy consumption and carbon free emission have increasingly strong demand for ecological technology. However， the research and development and application of ecological technology obviously cannot meet this demand. The imbalance between supply and demand will lead to the increasingly flow of economic factors to the field of ecological technology， which will lead to more and more high-quality ecological technologies. ② In terms of residents income and consumption， the application of ecological technology is not only related to the huge cost of regional or watershed ecological governance， but also more and more extended to the production and life of the masses. In the process of ecological technology popularization， the improvement of residents income ability and consumption level is of great significance to promote the mature application of ecological technology. ③ In terms of social system and norms， with the acceleration of ecological civilization construction， relevant ecological civilization systems are gradually mature in the process of ecological governance. The continuous improvement of social systems and norms promotes the continuous development of ecological technology towards more standard， normative and systematic directions， making ecological technology a code of conduct to be followed in production activities. ④ In terms of social groups， social groups represent a relationship between people， and between people and society， and also represent the direction of social interests. Relevant social groups such as the public， scientific researchers， eco-environmental protection enterprises， environmental protection volunteers， and the governments eco-environmental functions are the main driving forces for the development of ecological technology. ⑤ In terms of public opinion morals and customs， the report of related ecological and environmental events， the spread of ecological concepts， and the construction of ecological ethics will further improve the ideological standing of ecological environmental protection in the whole society， laying the ideological foundation for the cohesion of consensus， the concentration of social forces to remove the obstacles to the development of ecological technology， overcome the difficulties of ecological technology and promote ecological technology.

Groups and subgroups of ecological technology

Although the groups and subgroups of ecological technology are officially proposed here for the first time， their applications have long been verified. For example， in the "Grain for Green Project" in China， the application of a relevant afforestation technology model represented both the ecological governance technology and related technology subgroups. Production technology improvement and industrial adjustment could be regarded as ecological economy technology and related technology subgroups， respectively. Similar laws and regulations forming the Grain for Green Project could be regarded as ecological social technology and related technology subgroups， respectively. It was because of the combination and application of these technologies that the Grain for Green Project was successfully implemented and achieved the desired objectives. It is likely that the combination of ecological governance technology， ecological economic technology， and ecological social technology through common governance objectives to form a closely integrated network covering the overall process of ecological control， will achieve good results with controllable risks and predictable results for major ecological projects[20].

Conclusions

Ecological technology falls under the wide umbrella of "technology." The evolution of ecological technology is the inevitable result of the development of social productive forces resulting in increasing impacts on the natural environment to meet human demands. Here， we divided ecological technology into broad ecological technology and narrow ecological technology groups; ecological technology was then further divided into three categories and seven groups. The implementation of ecological technology will eventually result in the restoration and maintenance of healthy ecosystems to ensure sustainable economic and social development in the future.

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Editor： Yingzhi GUANG  Proofreader： Xinxiu ZHU