Performance evaluation of urban environmental governance in Anhui Province based on spatial and temporal differentiation analyses

When the process of urbanization has brought economic benefits in the Yangtze River Delta of China, environmental pollution becomes increasingly prominent. In order to achieve integrated sustainable green development and reduce the gap in environmental governance performance between regions, this study analyzed the environmental issues of provincial cities in Anhui Province from 2013 to 2017 in the urban agglomeration of Yangtze River Delta. Governance performance is analyzed and the evaluation index system framework is determined using the “pressure-state-response” model with the panel and spatial data. Based on the global principal component analysis method and spatial autocorrelation analysis, the environmental governance performance of Anhui Province has generally increased steadily from 2013 to 2017. The situation in northern Anhui is still developing in a good state. Southern Anhui is in a trend of rising first and then stabilizing, whereas central Anhui has a downward trend after a rapid rise; in terms of the spatial pattern, the overall situation is central Anhui > northern Anhui > southern Anhui. The urban spatial distribution pattern of the region shows a positive spatial correlation. Particularly, the performance levels of Maanshan City and Huainan City have been at a poor level for a long time, whereas Hefei and Huangshan have strong comprehensive environmental governance capabilities with average efficiency values of 0.55 and 0.47, respectively. Corresponding countermeasures have been proposed to rectify polluting enterprises and optimize structure of industries, increase scientific and technological investment and infrastructure construction, strengthen the radiation driving effects, and establish a pollution monitoring system. Based on all the analyses and resulted findings, we concluded the study with corresponding policy implications/suggestions and recommended countermeasures.