Institutional Capacity,Public Participation And River Governance Performance

With the continuous development of social civilization,environmental problems have evolved into global problems.In rural China,the pollution situation of rivers is becoming more and more serious,and the ecology of rivers has been severely damaged.In order to restore the river ecology and improve the river environment,the river chief system came into being,and it has been implemented throughout the country.River governance projects are complex,involve multiple actors,and require the active participation of the public.Public participation is an important strategy for solving outstanding environmental problems in China,and it is also the proper meaning of the long-term operation of the river chief system.As an environmental system innovatively implemented by local governments,what is the effect of the river chief system in the practice of river governance in rural China?This paper introduces the institutional capacity analysis framework to explore the impact mechanism of institutional capacity and public participation on river governance performance,in order to promote the substantial improvement of river governance performance in rural China,and promote the construction of national ecological civilization and the modernization of the river governance system.Based on a systematic review of relevant domestic and foreign literature,this paper firstly explains the impact mechanism of institutional capacity and public participation on river governance performance according to institutional capacity theory,collective action theory and public affairs governance theory.Secondly,using 475 survey data in rural areas of Jiangsu and Hubei provinces,this paper analyzes the implementation status of the river chief system in the two provinces,the status quo of public participation,the performance of river governance and the problems existing in the practice of river governance.Third,this paper constructs the measurement indicators of knowledge resources,relationship resources,mobilization ability,public participation and river governance performance and conducts characteristic analysis.In addition,using a structural equation model,this paper explores the impact mechanism of knowledge resources,relational resources,mobilization capabilities and public participation on river governance performance.At the same time,considering the regional differences in institutional capabilities,a multi-group analysis method is used to explore the validity malleability of the structural equation model.Finally,based on the results of empirical analysis,this paper proposes the optimized path of the performance of river governance in rural China.The following are the main research conclusions:(1)In the practice of public participation in the river chief system,Jiangsu and Hubei provinces in the Yangtze River Basin have a relatively high level of knowledge resources and relationship resources,and local governments have strong mobilization capabilities;The frequency of public participation in river governance is relatively high;the performance of river environmental governance has been significantly improved.(2)Different dimensions of institutional capacity,knowledge resources,relational resources,and mobilization capabilities all have a significant positive impact on public participation and river governance performance,and public participation has a significant positive impact on river governance performance.(3)Public participation has a partial intermediary effect in the positive impact of knowledge resources on river governance performance,and public participation has a complete intermediary effect in the positive impact of relational resources on river governance performance.Public participation has no intermediary effect in the positive impact of mobilization ability on river governance performance.(4)The sample is divided into two groups of Jiangsu and Hubei according to different regions.Conducting multi-group analysis,this paper found that there was no significant difference in the structure path of the two groups of structural equation models.The structural equation model in this study has validity malleability.