Synergistic Impact Mechanism of Digital Technology on Inter-Provincial Ecology in River Basins—Taking the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Basin as an Example

How digital technology can effectively drive ecological collaborative governance in trans-administrative river basins is a core prerequisite for achieving intelligent ecological governance of river basins. Based on 402 micro survey responses collected from water conservancy, environmental protection and other relevant departments in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, this study identifies the characteristics of digital technology from three dimensions: tool, power and capacity. By integrating factor analysis and the mediating effect model, it empirically examines the impact of digital technology on inter-provincial ecological collaboration in river basins and its underlying mechanism. The results show that: (1) Digital technology exerts a significantly positive driving effect on inter-provincial ecological collaboration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, and this conclusion remains robust after conducting robustness tests including the re-measurement of digital technology and the exclusion of interference from smart water conservancy pilot projects. (2) Mechanism analysis reveals that central government support and public participation play partial mediating roles in the relationship between digital technology and inter-provincial ecological collaboration, and both variables exert a masking mediating effect on the sustainability of inter-provincial ecological collaboration. These findings provide micro-evidence-based policy implications for optimizing the digital collaborative governance system of river basins.