Eco-evolution of cooperation for the SDGS: holobionts, environmental-feedback games, and commons governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36390/dye88h23Keywords:
Eco-evolution, cooperation, SDGs, holobionts, governanceAbstract
This systematic review integrates Margulis's symbiogenesis and evolutionary cooperation with the 2030 Agenda, rethinking the transition from competitive interpretations of Darwinism to cooperation as a lever for sustainable transitions. Following the PRISMA method, articles were searched in Web of Science, Scopus, DOAJ, and editorial portals (2021–2025) in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Of 174 records screened, 28 met the inclusion criteria. The evidence was organized into four axes: I) cooperation stabilized by reliable environmental cues and multigroup social structure; II) holobionts and microbiome-mediated functions that sustain ecosystem services; III) eco-evolutionary games with environmental feedbacks that modulate the speed and stability of cooperative equilibria; and IV) institutional translations through commons governance and industrial symbiosis. The findings map to several SDGs: food systems and biodiversity (SDG 2, 15), climate mitigation and resilience (SDG 13), oceans (SDG 14), responsible production and consumption (SDG 12), and governance and partnerships (SDG 16, 17). Policy levers include strengthening loyalty, designing relational architectures that reduce payments for defection, and adopting polycentric regimes with sequential rights of access and responsible use. Two actionable agendas are proposed: microbiome diplomacy to protect and finance symbiotic consortia with function metrics and performance contracts; and adaptive access agreements to biophysical commons. These agendas are based on a coalition of the public and private sectors to forge a new evolutionary path that consolidates cooperation and sustainable development.
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