ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Policy and Governance
Measurement and Enhancement Paths of Ecological Civilization Construction in Karst Regions of Southwest China
Provisionally accepted
- Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
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To clarify the evolutionary characteristics and governance constraints of ecological civilization construction in typical karst regions of Southwest China, this study developed a multidimensional evaluation framework comprising 29 indicators. Using 2012, 2018, and 2023 as key temporal nodes, we systematically measured the construction levels at the provincial, municipal, and county scales in Guizhou Province and revealed the spatio-temporal patterns using spatial autocorrelation models. The results indicate that: (1) From 2012 to 2023, the comprehensive index of ecological civilization in Guizhou experienced significant growth, with an average annual increase of 10.02%, reflecting the effectiveness of green transition during the modernization process. (2) Marked spatial non-equilibrium persists, with a county-level pattern of "high-value clustering in the southeast and low-value clustering in the west," characterized by an intensifying spatial positive correlation over time. (3) The study further identifies deep-seated mechanisms, including governance cost disparities driven by karst habitat constraints, path dependency in resource-based industries, and cultural disconnect during rapid urbanization. This research provides a theoretical basis for differentiated precision governance in ecologically fragile areas and offers a significant "China Solution" for achieving global sustainable development goals in similar karst habitats.
Keywords: Comprehensive evaluation index, Ecological civilization construction, Improvement path, Karstregions, Level measurement
Received: 13 Oct 2025; Accepted: 13 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Yang, Zhao, Yang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Guangbin Yang
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