Abstract: The ecological and environmental risks in inter-provincial administrative border regions are exacerbated by insufficient cross-boundary governance capacity,with the root causes lying in institutional barriers and the failure of collaborative mechanisms.Case studies of regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area,the Yangtze River Delta,and the Pan-Pearl River Delta reveal that while existing cooperative mechanisms have enhanced localized governance capacity through measures such as establishing regulations,building platforms,co-constructing infrastructure,and conducting joint law enforcement,their effectiveness remains constrained by administrative barriers,weak subject collaboration,fragmented regional resources,and limited policy tools.Consequently,governance outcomes struggle to transcend the constraints of localized governance.To address these challenges,it is advisable to establish a co-governance pathway centered on an integrated "institution-subject-resource-tool" collaborative framework.This can be achieved by strengthening cross-boundary governance objectives through top-level institutional design,activating multi-stakeholder cooperation through regularized coordination bodies,optimizing resource allocation through cost-sharing and information-sharing mechanisms,and continuously advancing regional rule-of-law and market-oriented reforms to innovate governance tools and enhance governance capacity.These efforts aim to resolve the fragmented ecological governance dilemma in inter-provincial administrative border regions and promote the modernization of the national ecological and environmental governance system and capacity.

Key words: inter-provincial administrative border regions, collaborative ecological governance, cross-regional governance capacity, institutional barriers, integrated pathways