Evolutionary Logic and Development Foresight of Environmental Collaborative Governance Policy in the Yangtze River Delta

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

With rapid economic growth, urbanization and population growth, the Yangtze River Delta region has been facing huge environmental pressure, which can be mitigated by trans-region collaborations on environmental management. This submission focuses on the environmental policy within the Yangtze River Delta, especially the collaborative governance policy. This manuscript can be improved with consideration of the following comments and suggestions.

(1)   When we talk about the environmental policy, we talk both the policy and the performance, how to assess the performance of these environmental policies? Do these changes bring performance improvement or not? Please provide it qualitatively and quantitatively.

(2)   It will be better to explore the relationship between these collaborative policies and environmental performance improvement, which will help us understand the policy changes and their performance.

(3)   In Figure 4, “universally” should be the noun form corresponding to “precision”. In addition, the terms “ecological Destiny Community” and “common wealth” do not correspond to the title of the later section. It is suggested that Figure 4 should be corrected so that it corresponds to the text. Not only that, it is suggested that these elements should need to be consistent in the abstract and conclusion sections.

(4)   The conclusion section is somewhat like a repetition of the abstract section, and a revision of the conclusion section is suggested.

(5)   In line 191, “a total of 1,902 word frequencies” should be “a total of 1,902-word frequencies”.

(6)   In Table 7, some words in the child nodes are not consistent in case, please adjust them.

(7)  The reference needs to be updated and the following articles will be helpful to understand the policy changes and their performance improvement. 1)How does inter-sectoral linkage affect the environmental performance of a transitioning region: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2020.100002; 2)Unraveling the environmental impact of current and future food waste and its management in Chinese provinces. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2022.100064; 3)                 Assessment of eco-environment impact and driving factors of resident consumption: Taking Jiangsu Province, China as an example. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2022.100057; 4) Do natural resources abundance and human capital development promote economic growth? A study on the resource curse hypothesis in Next Eleven countries. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2021.100018; 5)Dynamic linkages between financial inclusion and carbon emissions: Evidence from selected OECD countries. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2021.100022

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1,

Thank you for your valuable and detailed comments for the enhancement of this paper. Here are a few responses to our revision of this paper.

Your comments: (1) When we talk about the environmental policy, we talk both the policy and the performance, how to assess the performance of these environmental policies? Do these changes bring performance improvement or not? Please provide it qualitatively and quantitatively. (2) It will be better to explore the relationship between these collaborative policies and environmental performance improvement, which will help us understand the policy changes and their performance.

Our responses: Since this study focuses on the trajectory of policy change from policy texts, the environmental performance of policies is not the focus of this study. However, policy performance is also one of the focuses of policy research. We use environmental data in the Results section to illustrate the improvement of environmental quality, and add a section on policy and performance in the Discussion section. The performance of the policy on environmental collaborative governance in the Yangtze River Delta may be the focus of the next study to examine.

Your comments: (3) In Figure 4, “universally” should be the noun form corresponding to “precision”. In addition, the terms “ecological Destiny Community” and “common wealth” do not correspond to the title of the later section. It is suggested that Figure 4 should be corrected so that it corresponds to the text. Not only that, it is suggested that these elements should need to be consistent in the abstract and conclusion sections.

Our responses: An amendment has been made to unify Figure 4 with the later text and to amend the abstract and conclusion sections.

Your comments: (4) The conclusion section is somewhat like a repetition of the abstract section, and a revision of the conclusion section is suggested.

Our responses: The conclusion section has been revised and refined.

Your comments: (5) In line 191, “a total of 1,902 word frequencies” should be “a total of 1,902-word frequencies”. (6) In Table 7, some words in the child nodes are not consistent in case, please adjust them.

Our responses: Revisions have been made to these areas.

Your comments: (7) The reference needs to be updated and the following articles will be helpful to understand the policy changes and their performance improvement.

Our responses: References have been added and updated.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you very much for your article entitled as “Evolutionary Logic and Development Foresight of Environmental Collaborative Governance Policy in the Yangtze River Delta”, that analyses the environmental governance policy in the Yangtze River Delta, supported by the extensive policy text analysis. As a result, collaborative environmental governance in the YRD should be comprehensively deepened in the three dimensions of decision-making, implementation, and supervision, to promote the simultaneous improvement of its speed and efficiency. The article is well structured, the style of presentation is understandable, the results of the study are clearly interpreted and have practical significance for the authorities in the form of concrete proposals.

Nevertheless, there are some comments and proposals for the improvement:

1.    Figure 4 is not clear for the understanding: note under the figure provides information about action model. In the figure action mode presents, and there is no “co-governance by the whole people” in the second stage. Further, description of action mode is understandable in the results, but Figure 4 shows controversial description of inner logic diagram

2.    Line 257: the principles of “coordination and coordination,…”. Check, if is it a wrong repeating?

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2,

Thank you for your positive comments on this paper. Based on your comments, we have revised this paper. Below is our explanation of the revisions.

Your comments: 1. Figure 4 is not clear for the understanding: note under the figure provides information about action model. In the figure action mode presents, and there is no “co-governance by the whole people” in the second stage. Further, description of action mode is understandable in the results, but Figure 4 shows controversial description of inner logic diagram

Our responses: Figure 4 has been amended to change “common wealth” in the second stage of action mode to “co-governance by the whole people” to ensure the correspondence between the figure and the text.

Your comments: 2. Line 257: the principles of “coordination and coordination,…”. Check, if is it a wrong repeating?

Our responses: The first coordination has been revised to consultation, and the original should be the principles of "consultation and coordination..."

Author Response File: Author Response.docx