How to Evaluate Ecological Civilization Construction and Its Regional Differences: Evidence from China

Abstract

Ecological civilization construction (ECC) has positive significance for the sustainable development of China, and it has specific Chinese characteristics. This paper design an index system of ECC based on environmental, societal and economic dimensions. Panel data for the 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2021 were collected from the statistical yearbook released by the Chinese government, and then we evaluated ecological civilization construction by using the entropy TOPSIS method and the coefficient of variation. This paper’s findings are as follows: firstly, the level of ECC in China presents a rising trend, with the level of ECC in China riing from 0.355 in 2012 to 0.553 in 2021. Secondly, China’s ECC has experienced three stages: a rapid rise period (2013–2016), a gradual decline period (2017–2019) and a steady rise period (2020–2021). Thirdly, the level of ECC in China is high in the central region and low in the eastern region and western region. Fourth, the dispersion degree of ECC in the 30 provinces of China first reduced and then expanded, and the dispersion degree of ECC ranges from high to low in the eastern region, western region and central region, respectively. Fifth, although there is a regional imbalance in the level of ecological civilization construction in different regions of China, their coefficients of variation from 2012 to 2021 are less than 0.2. Finally, some suggestions are proposed to improve ECC based on research findings.