Frontline governmental cooperation in environmental governance: A case analysis on the ecological demonstration zone in China

Abstract

This study investigates the establishment of the Yangtze River Delta Eco-Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone (also known as Ecological Demonstration Zone). During the inspection and acceptance process of the higher-level government, the authors identified two distinct types of government cooperation between frontline environmental policy implementers and middle-level government, as well as the public. The new interaction emphasizes cooperation between implementers and the public, while the traditional interaction involves collaboration between implementers and the government. This research aims to comprehend the underlying reasons for the shift in the targeted interaction of frontline government in environmental governance. The study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the cooperation dynamics in the implementation of environmental policies and to uncover that the power to promote the interaction of frontline governments in environmental governance comes from institutional change factors such as fuzzy task models and qualitative on-site inspections and acceptances by higher-level governments.