Author(s)

Wanyue Peng ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Hangzhou Yungu School, No. 269 Jingda Road, Sandun Town, Xihu District, Hangzhou, China

Corresponding Author

Wanyue Peng

ABSTRACT

With the widespread application of the concept "citizen science" in urban ecological governance, birdwatching activities, as a typical ecological practice based on public participation, is reshaping the way humans interact with nature. In this paper, the author takes Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park and Hangzhou Botanical Garden as field sites, and adopts anthropological methods such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews in order to explore spatial practices, social interactions, and collaborative governance mechanisms in urban birdwatching activities. Researches have shown that birdwatching behaviors have undergone a transformation from "emotional resonance" to "symbolic possession" in the process of mediation and socialization, revealing the reproduction of nature and the reconstruction of social relations. Besides, different participants (such as experienced birdwatchers, rangers, members of Birdwatching Society, and ordinary tourists) engage in a game around the use and order of public spaces, exhibiting characteristics of spatial theatricalization and body politics. Furthermore, urban birdwatching practices have formed a collaborative governance network involving multiple participants, where there is passive intervention from state powers, authority competition among civil organizations, and conflicts between local knowledge and scientific knowledge. Through micro-ethnographic analysis, in this paper, it is pointed out that urban birdwatching is not only an ecological behavior, but also a social practice that reflects social structure, power relations, and the logic of multi-species coexistence. New empirical and theoretical insights are provided for understanding contemporary representations of urban ecological governance and human-nature relationships.

KEYWORDS

Urban Birdwatching; Citizen Science; Spatial Practice; Collaborative Governance; Multi-Species Relationship

CITE THIS PAPER

Wanyue Peng, Reconstructing the Human-Bird Relationship: Spatial Practices and Collaborative Governance of Urban Birdwatching Activities in Hangzhou City. Environment, Resource and Ecology Journal (2025) Vol. 9: 60-71. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/erej.2025.090207.

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