Objective  Adaptive collaborative governance (ACG) is a theory applicable to the governance affairs of complex systems such as national park communities, which is beneficial to reconciling the conflicts between conservation and development, and realizing the vision of living in harmony with nature. Internationally, many researches on community governance model have been conducted. The relevant research in China has not been able to integrate governance theories at the level of driving mechanism, or combine the theories of “adaptability” and “polycentricity”. In this regard, it is necessary to explore a systematic ACG framework for national park communities from a Chinese perspective.

Methods/process  Referring to social − ecological system theories and related researches, this research firstly constructs an operable theoretical framework of ACG for national park communities. Secondly, taking the ACG practice of Community A in Tangjiahe Area of the Giant Panda National Park as the research object, this research, based on the in-depth interviews and questionnaires implemented during the period from 2019 to 2022, assesses the governance effectiveness of Community A.

Results/conclusion  In terms of framework construction, the ACG framework is divided into three stages: preparation, process and renewal. Each stage contains corresponding adaptive governance components, which are hereby summarized as follows: 1) feasibility assessment, and organization platform construction; 2) “goal − action − assessment” system, and project/action plan implementation; 3) monitoring and evaluation, learning adjustment, and outcome incentives. The key variables of collaborative governance at each stage include starting conditions, connective leadership, and organized institutional design at the preparation stage, social capital at the process stage, and benefits, values and knowledge and experience at the renewal stage. This framework makes the community an important subject of governance and establishes a mutually beneficial and sharing collaboration mechanism based on the needs of community. For governance techniques, diverse and flexible mechanisms are explored to promote orderly and effective governance. The ACG framework integrates the theoretical ideas of “adaptability” and “polycentricity”, and is able to promote multi-party collaboration to achieve governance goals under dynamic conditions in a sustainable manner. In terms of practice cases, since the pilot establishment of the Giant Panda National Park in 2017, the governance practice of Community A has generally shown a pattern of “platform construction+planning coordination+project operation+evaluation adjustment”, which is in line with the typical characteristics of the ACG framework. In the preparation stage, Community A sets up a co-management committee under a connective leadership. In the process stage, the “planning coordination+project operation” approach is used to promote the realization of the overall sustainable development of the national park community in terms of ecological environment improvement, economic growth and social progress. At the same time, the governance process fully reflects the important driving role played by the 5 key variables of social capital. In the renewal stage, “adapting to local conditions” is realized through monitoring, evaluation, learning and adjustment. Besides, the practice of demonstrating the results of each stage significantly increases the willingness of the community to participate in conservation, thus realizing positive incentives. The results of the questionnaire survey and evaluation show that from 2019 to 2022, Community A has made significant progress in the three dimensions of ecological environment, society and economy, whose governance practice experience and effectiveness verifies the effectiveness of the ACG framework. Through establishing a theoretical framework and verifying its effectiveness with practical cases, this research provides a theoretical foundation and case reference for a better response for national park community governance. Based on the current situation in China, this research puts forward three recommendations: 1) for governance ideology, view the community as a socio − ecological system with a focus on the multidimensional dynamic characteristics and internal and external condition status thereof to choose the best governance model and path according to the situation. 2) For governance subject, clarify the core position of community rights and interests in grassroots community governance. On the basis of actively constructing a communication and coordination mechanism between the governing body and the community, social forces should be widely included and social capital continuously developed. 3) For governance techniques, flexible and diverse systems should be established based on key variables, such as organization platform system, planning system, project operation system, monitoring and evaluation system, and learning and incentive system.