The Coupling Coordination Relationship Between the Ecological Environment and Economic Development in the Chishui River Basin, China: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors

Although the coupling coordination relationship (CCR) between ecological environment and economic development has received extensive scholarly attention, investigations into the underlying mechanisms of this coupling coordination remain insufficient. Taking the Chishui River Basin (CRB) in Southwest China as the study area, this study integrates remote sensing data and county-level statistical datasets. Firstly, the quality of the ecological environment and economic development level of the CRB are systematically evaluated. Secondly, an improved coupling coordination degree model (ICCDM) is adopted to quantify the CCR between the ecological environment and economic development, as well as its spatiotemporal evolution characteristics. Finally, an obstacle degree model and panel Tobit model are employed to explore the influencing factors of the CCR from both intrinsic and extrinsic perspectives. The results show that during the study period, both the ecological environment index (EEI) and the economic development index (EDI) in the CRB exhibited upward trends, with pronounced inter-county disparities. The CCR between ecological environment and economic development was continuously optimized, and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) displayed a distinct spatial gradient pattern of downstream regions > midstream regions > upstream regions. Obstacle degree analysis identifies significant heterogeneity in the obstacle factors for CCR improvement across the basin: Renhuai and Zunyi are dominated by ecological environment constraints, while 11 counties including Chishui and Xishui are mainly restricted by economic development constraints. Industrial structure, ecological endowment, industrialization level and government capacity are vital positive driving factors for the CCR in the CRB, whereas Terrain conditions act as a key negative restraining factor. This study indicates that the overall coupling coordination level between ecological environment and economic development in the CRB is still relatively low and requires further enhancement. Therefore, region-specific differentiated regulation strategies are urgently needed to achieve high-level coordinated development between the ecological environment and economy in the CRB.