Marine Eco-Environmental Protection in China

II. Coordinating Marine Eco-Environmental Protection

China attaches great importance to building a marine eco-civilization and protecting the marine environment. The country has strengthened top-level design to plan, guide, and coordinate its work in this area, while continuing to establish and improve its legal and institutional frameworks to advance marine eco-environmental protection.

1. Well-designed plans

To fulfill the new tasks and meet the new requirements in marine eco-environmental protection and guide relevant endeavors, China has formulated special plans for the marine environment and other plans in relevant sectors, based on its economic and social development plans and in line with its territorial space plans.

Planning systematic marine eco-environmental protection. Planning is central to the government's efforts in protecting the marine eco-environment and building a marine eco-civilization, and the national economic and social development plan outlines the tasks from a strategic perspective. National territorial space plans have been implemented to help develop marine spaces by coordinating land and sea activities and promoting harmony between humanity and the ocean. These plans provide strategic guidance for protecting the marine eco-environment in waters within China's jurisdiction. In 2022, China issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for Marine Ecological and Environmental Protection. This plan shapes the direction of protection efforts in the new era by creating a comprehensive governance model for marine management at the national, provincial, city, and bay levels, with bays as the basic units of action.

The government has also published the 14th Five-Year Special Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation in Eco-Environmental Protection, the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Supervision of Ecological Conservation, the 14th Five-Year Plan for Eco-Environmental Monitoring, and the National Plan for Marine Dumping Sites (2021-2025). These plans provide guidance for scientific and technological innovation in marine eco-environmental protection, supervision of marine ecological protection and restoration, monitoring and evaluation of the marine eco-environment, and the management of marine dumping, laying a solid foundation for strengthening marine eco-environmental protection in all respects.

Prioritizing eco-environmental conservation in spatial planning for marine development and protection. The marine space is the primary platform for the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, marine development and utilization, and marine governance tasks. Spatial planning is an essential tool for planning marine development and protection activities as a whole.

China has published various spatial plans, including the National Marine Functional Zoning Plan, the National Plan for Main Marine Functional Zones, and the National Plan for the Protection of Offshore Islands — all of which have played a positive role in the category-specific protection and rational utilization of sea areas and offshore islands at different stages. In 2018, replacing multiple plans with a masterplan, China promulgated the Opinions on Establishing a System for Territorial Space Planning and Supervising Its Implementation, issued the Outline of the National Plan on Territorial Space (2021-2035), and compiled the Outline on Space Planning for Coastal Zones and Nearshore Waters (2021-2035), implementing territorial space plans for coastal areas at all levels.

Through this, the country has implemented a marine spatial planning system that coordinates land and sea space and development, strengthens ecosystem-based management of coastal zones, and arranges for the protection, restoration, development, and utilization of coastlines, sea areas, and islands.

Advancing protection and restoration in an orderly manner. Under the guidance of its territorial space plans, China has formulated and implemented for the first time the Plan for Major Projects on the Protection and Restoration of Coastal Zone Ecosystems (2021-2035). This plan puts in place a framework for comprehensively planning and designing the protection and restoration of coastal zone ecosystems, with a focus on improving their quality, stability, and services across "one belt, two corridors, six areas, and multiple points".[The "one belt" refers to a coastal ecological safety belt comprising shelter forests and coastlines. The "two corridors" refer to two ecological corridors serving crucial functions in maintaining biodiversity. One corridor is for migratory birds and coastal wetlands, while the other is for important coastal species. The "six areas" include the Yellow and Bohai seas, the Yangtze River Delta, the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Beibu Gulf, and Hainan Island, all of which play essential roles in the implementation of national strategies. The "multiple points" include mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes, oyster reefs, and other ecologically sensitive points with important ecological functions.] To improve the diversity, stability, and sustainability of its marine ecosystems, China has also issued the 14th Five-Year Plan of Action for Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration, the Special Action Plan for Mangrove Conservation and Restoration (2020-2025), and the Special Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Spartina Alterniflora (2022-2025). These plans are tailored to local conditions and adopt region — and category-specific measures, aiming to coordinate effective efforts to protect and restore China's marine ecosystems in a holistic approach.

2. Law-based governance

The rule of law is the foundation for marine eco-environmental protection. China has improved relevant laws and regulations, strengthened the judicial system, and carried out educational campaigns to promote a culture of respecting, studying, observing, and applying the law, in order to carry forward marine eco-environmental protection within the legal framework.

Establishing a sound legal framework for marine eco-environmental protection. China attaches great importance to legislation on marine eco-environmental protection, and has promulgated a series of relevant laws and regulations. The Marine Environment Protection Law was first adopted in 1982 and has since been revised twice, in 1999 and 2023, and amended three times, in 2013, 2016, and 2017, to adapt to changing circumstances. Under this comprehensive law, China has formulated seven administrative regulations, including the Regulations on Control over Dumping of Wastes in the Ocean, along with more than 10 departmental rules and 100 normative documents. Furthermore, it has issued over 200 technical standards and specifications, creating a comprehensive legal framework for marine eco-environmental protection.

Other important laws include: the Sea Areas Administration Law and the Law on the Protection of Offshore Islands, which cover the sustainable use, protection, and improvement of the eco-environment of sea areas and islands; the Wetland Conservation Law and the Fisheries Law, which cover the protection of coastal wetlands and fishery resources; and the Yangtze River Protection Law and the Yellow River Protection Law, which cover the planning, monitoring, and restoration of estuaries. Additionally, local regulations and government rules on marine eco-environmental protection have been promulgated and implemented by coastal provinces and equivalent administrative units, including in Guangxi and Hainan, where laws have been enacted to protect coastal beaches and rare animal and plant resources.

Ensuring judicial protection of the marine eco-environment. Chinese courts have dutifully provided judicial protection for the marine environment. Since 1984, they have handled more than 5,000 civil disputes over the marine environment. Since 2015, the maritime courts have concluded more than 1,000 administrative litigation cases related to the marine environment. They have also dealt with criminal cases related to marine eco-environmental pollution, illegal sand mining at sea, and illegal harvesting of rare and endangered aquatic wildlife. Drawing on previous experience, China has established a comprehensive judicial system for marine eco-environmental protection, covering criminal, civil, and administrative litigation, and a marine eco-environmental public interest litigation system with Chinese characteristics, ensuring judicial protection of the marine eco-environment.

Popularizing laws on marine eco-environmental protection. Through press conferences, seminars and training, media communication, quizzes, and distribution of promotional materials, the Chinese government has popularized laws and regulations with regards to sea areas, islands, maritime environmental protection, and the management of fishing vessels at sea. In some regions, virtual reality experiences, interactive games, microfilms and other new forms have been used to support educational campaigns on the law, to positive effect. Public communication has been strengthened to urge local governments in coastal areas to use sea areas appropriately and ocean-related enterprises to fulfill their responsibilities, and guide the public to build awareness of maritime laws and regulations, so that more people will understand, protect, and care for the ocean.

3. Institutional safeguards

China has established a series of systems for protecting the marine eco-environment, ensuring coordination and connectivity between land and sea management and steadily increasing maritime environmental governance efficiency.

Establishing the institutional framework. China attaches great importance to institutional protection of the marine eco-environment. It has established standards and exercised regulation for the exploitation and utilization of marine resources and implemented an institutional framework for marine eco-environmental protection based on standard practice and in accordance with the law.

In terms of pollution prevention and control, China has implemented a filing system for sea-entering sewage discharge outlets. It utilizes a permit system for marine dumping, and carries out environmental impact assessment before approving projects that could impact the marine eco-environment, while ensuring an emergency response system is in place as a backup for worst-case scenarios. With regard to protection and restoration, it has established the systems of marine eco-environmental red lines, protected areas, and natural shoreline control. In terms of supervision and management, it has established systems for territorial space use control and eco-environmental zoning control, for central environmental protection inspection and state natural resources inspection, for enforcing responsibility for meeting targets, and for assessment, evaluation, monitoring, and investigation. In relation to green development, it has established systems for compensating marine eco-environmental protection, managing fishing quotas and permits, and regulating the paid use of sea areas.

Forming a management system encouraging collaboration among different departments and between different levels of government. China developed its marine eco-environmental protection management system from the ground up, and has continued to strengthen it over the years. In the reform of State Council institutions in 2018, the responsibilities of marine environmental protection were incorporated into those of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and those of marine protection, restoration, development, and utilization, into those of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Transportation, maritime affairs, fisheries, and forestry and grassland departments, coast guards, and the military all participate in marine eco-environmental protection in accordance with their respective functions, which strengthens collaboration between land and sea pollution prevention and control and ensures uniformity.

Supervisory agencies have been set up to monitor the marine eco-environment in the Haihe River Basin and Beihai Sea Area, the Pearl River Valley and South China Sea Area, and the Taihu Basin and East China Sea Area. Coastal provinces and equivalent administrative units are directly responsible for eco-environmental governance of their coastal waters, and for implementing key tasks, major projects and important initiatives to protect and manage the marine eco-environment. Over the years, a working mechanism for marine eco-environmental protection based on coordination among different departments and between central and local governments has been established, and a comprehensive system for collaborative governance of coastal areas, river basins, and sea areas is in place.