Evaluation and Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Chinese Path to Modernization of Water Governance.

Water governance is an important issue of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and is also an critical guarantee for high-quality development and the Chinese path to modernization. The detailed identification and systematic evaluation of the Chinese path to modernization of water governance is the key work to promote the modernization and sustainable development of China. A comprehensive evaluation system for the Chinese path to modernization of water governance is constructed from the demensions of population, economy, coordination, and ecology under the guideline of the characteristics of the Chinese path to modernization, and the spatial-temporal characteristics of the development of the Chinese path to modernization of water governance are explored by spatial analysis methods based on the provincial-level panel data from 2008 to 2021, and the influencing factors of the Chinese path to modernization of water governance are analyzed by using the grey correlation model. The results show that the development of the Chinese path to modernization of water governance is overall on the rise; The regional heterogeneity of the Chinese path to modernization of water governance is significant, showing a gradient pattern of "high in the east, followed by the middle and low in the west", and the regional gap has an expanding trend. Indicators such as urbanization rate, urban water access rate, urban sewage treatment rate, per capita comprehensive water consumption, total population, proportion of ecological water, and water consumption per 10 000 yuan of industrial added value have the highest correlation with the Chinese path to modernization of water governance. This study suggests that differentiated, targeted and forward-looking development strategies and policies should be formulated for the Chinese path to modernization of water governance for various regions. The western region should further increase the ecological water, and the central region can improve the modern development level of water governance by optimizing the per capita comprehensive water consumption. The research enriches the theoretical system of the Chinese path to modernization, and provides a scientific basis for the development of Chinese water governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]