Challenges of water environment governance in China: based on a qualitative comparative analysis approach

ABSTRACT As a developing country focused on water pollution control, understanding the mechanisms behind China's water environment governance challenges is crucial. This study uses fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) to develop a localized political-economic-social-technological (PEST) framework tailored to local governance realities, analyzing cases from the second round of Central Environmental Protection Inspection (CEPI). Two critical paths of local water governance challenges (CWEG) are identified: (1) In the 'government capacity constraints” path, stable yet limited official autonomy, combined with weak social supervision, obscures the institutional environment's empowering role and restricts local governance capacity, hindering environmental management effectiveness. (2) In the 'formalism in governance' path, a strong institutional environment, significant fiscal decentralization, robust digital infrastructure, green technology innovation, and low official turnover create a favorable governance environment. However, under the logic of avoiding accountability, formalism may emerge, posing challenges to effective water resource management.