Abstract
Evaluating the effectiveness of ecological civilization policies is the basis from which policymakers can optimize policies. From the perspective of the overall effectiveness of regional policies, and taking Jiangsu Province as an example, this study constructed a quantitative evaluation model of eco-civilization policy text and an eco-civilization evaluation index system. Using these tools, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of 53 ecological civilization policies issued by Jiangsu Province during 2004–2019 to promote the construction of ecological civilization in the four fields of resource utilization, environmental protection, economic development, and social life. There are three key findings. (1) During the period of 2004–2019, the effectiveness of the textual content of ecological civilization policies in Jiangsu Province generally showed a fluctuating upward trend. (2) The construction effectiveness indexes of the four fields of eco-civilization all showed a growth trend, but the construction effect varied greatly. The index of economic development had grown rapidly, while environmental protection had grown slowly. (3) Ecological civilization policies in Jiangsu Province were effective in promoting the construction of ecological civilization. However, the effects of different policy dimensions on ecological civilization development in the four fields were significantly different. Finally, based on these results, powerful recommendations are provided for the optimization of eco-civilization policies in Jiangsu Province. Moreover, Jiangsu is the first province in China to launch a provincial-level ecological civilization construction plan. Its policy optimization to promote ecological civilization construction can also provide an example and realistic basis for reference for the construction of eco-civilization in other provinces in China.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralChina’s rapid economic growth has generated a series of environmental problems, such as water, soil and air pollution, energy shortages, and desertification [1,2,3,4]
This study aims to answer two questions that have not been addressed in existing studies: first, how does the effectiveness of eco-civilization policy text affect the four fields of ecological civilization construction? Second, what are the effects of the four dimensions of policy text effectiveness on promoting ecological civilization?
According to the evaluation model of the eco-civilization construction effectiveness index established in Section 2.3, we evaluated 28 eco-civilization construction indexes selected from 2004 to 2019 in Jiangsu Province, as shown in Table 3, Figures 2 and 3
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralChina’s rapid economic growth has generated a series of environmental problems, such as water, soil and air pollution, energy shortages, and desertification [1,2,3,4]. To achieve its sustainable development goals and promote the coordinated development of its resources, environment, and social economy, it is imperative that China create “ecological civilization” [8,9], a concept first proposed at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Ecological civilization refers to the total of material and spiritual achievements based on the protection and construction of a beautiful ecological environment. It is a form of human civilization. Promoting the recycling of resources through a circular economy, strengthening pollution control and ecological environmental protection, as well as promoting with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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