In the era of big data, the modernization of national governance systems and capabilities requires a transformation of governance concepts and the optimization of governance mechanisms. It also calls for the full utilization of the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence to establish and refine supervisory and management methods and rules, ultimately achieving precision and intelligence in administration. Environmental monitoring serves as a critical foundation for China’s environmental governance and decision-making. With the formal integration of ecological civilization into China’s “five-in-one” overall framework, and as environmental issues become increasingly prominent, leveraging big data to enhance ecological and environmental monitoring through intelligent means has become a key initiative in government-led environmental governance. It is also a prerequisite for ensuring that environmental actors fulfill their obligations and assume legal responsibility under the law. This approach is effective in enhancing the standardization, precision, and scientific underpinnings of China’s environmental governance. This study explores how the integration of big data is driving profound changes in governance concepts and practices within the ecological and environmental monitoring system. It also analyzes challenges in China’s current ecological and environmental regulatory system, including inadequate and fragmented environmental monitoring legislation, the absence of a well-established data-sharing mechanism, incomplete platform construction, and insufficient management of socialized environmental monitoring institutions. Finally, the study proposes recommendations to strengthen legislation on ecological and environmental monitoring and data, improve the legal framework for data sharing, enhance the development of environmental information and data platforms, and refine the management system for socialized environmental monitoring institutions.
