Abstract:

Oasis is the essence of an arid inland region and a problematic area for constructing ecological civilization. It is theoretically and practically important to strengthen the research on oasis ecological governance for promoting the construction of regional ecological civilization. For a long time, research on oasis ecological governance has emphasized the promotion of oasis ecosystem restoration by technical and economic means. However, such studies have not paid sufficient attention to the role of action subjects in ecological governance, which affects the effectiveness and sustainability of oasis ecological governance. Taking Ejina Oasis, Inner Mongolia, China as a case, we used hydrological monitoring data, engineering construction data, and social interview data and adopted field investigation methods, in-depth interviews, and data analysis through the combined analysis of policy tools. Based on such evidence, this paper investigated the production process of oasis ecological space under vertically embedded governance and clarified the relationship between oasis ecological governance and spatial production. The results showed that: (1) Institutional embedding of the central government broke the traditional food-based orientation of water resource allocation and shifted the water system of the watershed from a food production priority to an ecological protection priority. The Ejina Oasis was constructed as a national ecological conservation space using spatial representation and became an important ecological security barrier at the northern border of China. (2) Administrative embedding of the central government reshaped water use relations and water rights order in the basin, enabled water planning in the main stream of the Heihe River, and increased the inflow of water from the oasis. East Juyan Lake, which has been dry for many years, has a stable water surface now and is open as a scenic spot for eco-tourism. This transformed the wetland of the Gobi desert Lake into an eco-tourism resort and rebuilt the ecological space at the end of the Heihe River. (3) The embedding of central government regulations has solved the problem of lack of funding for the construction of oasis projects. Based on the artificial management of oasis irrigation and the governance of the oasis ecological protection zone, the canalization of the oasis river network and the functionalization of the oasis space have been realized. This transformed the Ejina Oasis from the marginal pastoral production and living space into the country’s major ecological functional space. This paper aims to provide theoretical and case-by-case support to enrich and expand ecological governance research and promote oasis ecological governance from technological governance to subject governance in the new era.

Key words: vertical embedded governance, the production of ecological space, ecological governance, ecological civilization construction, Ejina Oasis