Abstract: The participation of the public is the key to the construction of the pattern of multi-subjects’ participation in environmental governance, and also an important means of promoting the modernization of national governance system and capacity. Based on the social survey data of 2,675 residents in 7 provinces of Yangtze River and Yellow River, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of environmental rights awareness and political trust factors on the level of public participation in river chief system water environmental governance, and the moderating t effect of political trust in the process of environmental right awareness influencing public participation in river chief system water environmental governance is examined by hierarchical moderating regression analysis. It is found that the awareness of environmental rights and political trust have a significant positive effect on the level of public participation in river chief system. However, political trust has a moderating effect in the process of environmental rights consciousness affecting public participation in river chief system water environmental governance. This conclusion helps to explain the lack of active participation of the public though they have the right to participate in the environment. Combining with the research conclusion, this paper suggests that the environmental law popularization and education should be strengthened to enhance the public awareness of environmental rights, the government should strengthen the supervision of the environment and the publicity of environmental policies, and the public officials should adhere to the principle of integrity, restrain from corruption, and improve the level of political trust among the public.

Key words: right consciousness, political trust, public participation, river chief system