Taking the Zhengzhou section in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River as a case study, this paper first clarifies the theoretical definitions of integrated governance and high-quality development, and establishes the dual research themes of ecological integrated governance and high-quality development. Through a literature review, it evaluates the current research status of ecological governance in the Yellow River Basin. Combined with the inherent characteristics of the Yellow River's Zhengzhou section and the main problems existing in different historical periods, it summarizes the representative measures in the three stages of "governance stage, restoration stage, and construction stage", and systematically sorts out the governance strategies, engineering measures, and ecological effects of each period. By the "construction stage", the coordinated governance of the lower reaches has gradually achieved results, but the complexity of ecological issues cannot be resolved overnight. In 2019, the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin was elevated to a national strategy. As the core concept of China's new stage of development, the theoretical definition of high-quality development has been continuously deepened in practice. Although China has moved from initial exploration to a period of systematic deepening under the new situation, there are still inadequacies in research fields, and studies on promoting large-scale river basin ecological governance through multi-disciplinary and multi-field efforts remain limited. Therefore, this paper proposes that conducting ecological governance of the Yellow River based on the concept of integration constitutes an effective path for the current construction of ecological civilization in the Yellow River Basin. Secondly, by means of illustration and inductive summary, and in combination with the downstream ecological governance measures outlined in the Outline of the Plan for Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development of the Yellow River Basin, this paper analyzes the main tasks of Zhengzhou in the current "construction stage": the construction of the Zhengzhou Demonstration Zone for Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin, and the establishment of a collaborative development mechanism for urban agglomerations along the Yellow River. Based on the above analysis, specific ecological governance planning measures are put forward: the integrated construction of ecological corridors, the collaborative ecological governance of the Yellow River floodplains, and the integrated ecological restoration of the Yellow River floodplains. Finally, from the perspective of integrated thinking, it can be observed that the current ecological governance has evolved from a single project to a multi-dimensional comprehensive governance system. However, the core ecological issues of the Yellow River, such as challenges like high ecological vulnerability and resource constraints, remain unchanged. Therefore, this paper argues that the construction of an integrated ecological governance framework for the Yellow River needs to be considered in a coordinated manner from five dimensions: ecological space from the perspective of the entire river basin; ecological elements including mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts; restoration strategies that generate value transformation through the coupling of regional culture and ecological civilization; diversified collaborative mechanisms involving government coordination, corporate responsibility fulfillment, and public supervision; and cross-platform and multi-disciplinary collaborative research. Meanwhile, it summarizes the contradictory issues in the current ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin and elaborates on relevant reflections, aiming to guide the realization of high-level governance along the Yellow River.
