Spatio-Temporal Evolution, Factors, and Enhancement Paths of Ecological Civilization Construction Effectiveness: Empirical Evidence Based on 48 Cities in the Yellow River Basin of China

Haifa Jia, Pengyu Liang, Xiang Chen, Jianxun Zhang (), Wanmei Zhao () and Shaowen Ma
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Haifa Jia: School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Pengyu Liang: School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Xiang Chen: School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Jianxun Zhang: School of Civil Engineering and Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Wanmei Zhao: Qinghai Provincial Institute of Territorial Space Planning, Xining 810008, China
Shaowen Ma: Qinghai Water Conservancy&Hydropower Survey Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd., Xining 810016, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Climate change, resource scarcity, and ecological degradation have become critical bottlenecks constraining socio-economic development. Basin cities serve as key nodes in China’s ecological security pattern, playing indispensable roles in ecological civilization construction. This study established an evaluation index system spanning five dimensions to assess the effectiveness of ecological civilization construction. This study employs the entropy-weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Back-Propagation (BP) neural network methods to evaluate the level of ecological civilization construction in the Yellow River Basin from 2010 to 2022, to analyze its indicator weights, and to explore the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of each city. The results demonstrate the following: (1) Although the ecological civilization construction level of cities in the Yellow River Basin shows a steady improvement, significant regional development disparities persist. (2) The upper reaches are primarily constrained by ecological fragility and economic underdevelopment. The middle reaches exhibit significant internal divergence, with provincial capitals leading yet demonstrating limited spillover effects on neighboring areas. The lower reaches face intense anthropogenic pressures, necessitating greater economic–ecological coordination. (3) Among the dimensions considered, Territorial Space and Eco-environmental Protection emerged as the two most influential dimensions contributing to performance differences. According to the ecological civilization construction performance and changing characteristics of the 48 cities, this study proposes differentiated optimization measures and coordinated development pathways to advance the implementation of the national strategy for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.

Keywords: ecological civilization; indicator system; spatiotemporal evolution; influencing factors; enhancement path; 48 cities in the Yellow River Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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