Marine Eco-Environmental Protection in China

V. Strengthening Supervision and Administration of the Marine Eco- Environment

China has mobilized its resources and expertise from all sectors to safeguard the red lines for ecological conservation, ensure basic environmental quality, and keep resource utilization within sustainable limits. In governing the marine eco-environment, the country has adopted a multipronged approach that integrates region-specific regulation and control, monitoring and surveying, regulation and law enforcement, and evaluation and inspection. To guarantee the smooth progress of marine eco-environmental governance, protection and restoration, it has strengthened its application of information, digital, and smart technologies in environmental supervision and administration.

1. Space utilization control and region-specific environmental regulation and control

China employs a functional zoning strategy that exercises space utilization control based on territorial space planning, strengthening region-specific regulation and control of the nearshore eco-environment. In this way it delineates red lines and sets limits for development activities.

Regulating the utilization of marine spaces. Taking into consideration the location and resource endowment of its sea areas, China first implemented marine functional zoning in the 1990s and specified the zones' major functions and the requirements for protecting their eco-environments.

In 2015, China introduced the National Plan on Marine Functional Zones, which delineated its marine spaces into four categories: zones for optimized development, zones for key development, zones for restricted development, and zones prohibited for development. This plan also set constraints for the degree of development and protection in these zones.

In 2019, China began to integrate marine functional zoning and marine functional zone planning into its overall territorial space planning, incorporating multiple plans into one. In October 2022, China enacted the Outline of the National Territorial Space Plan (2021-2035). Coastal provincial-level governments implemented relevant measures within their administrations. Detailed and scientific plans were made to divide marine territorial space into eco-environmental conservation zones, eco-environmental control zones, and maritime development zones, each with specific functions, utilization approaches, and conservation and restoration requirements. A regulatory system has been gradually established for the utilization of marine spaces characterized by full coverage of sea areas, islands, and coastlines, and coordination of involved industries and utilization approaches.

Enforcing region-specific regulation and control for the nearshoreeco-environment. China has used differentiated measures to achieve region-specific and precise regulation of the nearshore eco-environment by delineating control units and introducing a negative list of projects with potential eco-environmental impacts. These efforts align with national economic and social development plans and the national territorial plan to safeguard the eco-functions and improve the environment of nearshore waters. The focus of these regulations is to safeguard the red lines for ecological conservation, ensure basic environmental quality, and keep resource utilization within sustainable limits.

Since 2017, coastal areas have taken steps to implement region-specific regulation and control of the nearshore eco-environment. China has delineated 3,036 nearshore eco-regulation and control units and ensures that industries in these units develop within the environmental carrying capacity.

The first application system for region-specific eco-regulation was launched in Xiamen City in Fujian Province, effectively addressing difficult issues for new enterprises, including site selection, lengthy approval processes, and slow project implementation. The city divided its offshore waters into 42 control units and improved land-sea coordinated environmental governance, which has optimized the transformation and upgrading of coastal industries.

In 2024, China released the Directives on Strengthening Region-Specific Eco-Environmental Regulation and Control, which instructed coastal regions to strengthen region-specific regulation and control in nearshore areas. The document proposed the establishment of a region-specific regulation and control system for the marine eco-environment that covers all marine spaces and employs precise and scientific measures, and the formulation of systematic implementation plans, providing essential guidance for nearshore development, protection and construction activities of all kinds.

2. Monitoring and surveying

The protection of the marine eco-environment is built on monitoring and surveying. China has improved its monitoring network, which features sky-space-land-sea integration and has strengthened marine monitoring, assessment, and early warning, to provide a clear factual basis for decision-making by relevant supervision and administration authorities.

Enforcing marine eco-environmental monitoring on all fronts. China has continued to optimize the configuration of its marine eco-environmental monitoring network, which covers sea areas under its jurisdiction with a focus on nearshore waters. The goal is to establish a modern marine eco-environmental monitoring network characterized by land-sea coordination and river-sea connectivity.

The country has combined national and local resources to build marine eco-environmental monitoring bases and comprehensive eco-environmental quality monitoring stations, both at the national level. With a network of 1,359 state-monitored seawater quality sites, China's marine monitoring comprises 15 tasks in four categories: environment quality monitoring, ecosystem monitoring, special monitoring, and supervisory monitoring. China has boosted its monitoring capacity in emerging hotspot areas, including marine litter, marine microplastics, marine radioactivity, new marine pollutants, and ocean carbon source and sink. It has strengthened monitoring for the health of mangrove forests and other typical ecosystems. A unified data transmission and sharing platform for marine eco-environmental monitoring has been developed, which releases seawater quality data on a regular basis and publishes the annual Bulletin of Marine Ecology and Environment Status of China.

Taking a holistic approach to marine ecosystem early warning and monitoring. In order to better understand the distribution, patterns, current conditions, and evolution trends of its marine ecosystems, and the major eco-environmental issues and risks, China has built an ecosystem early warning and monitoring system. This system prioritizes nearshore waters, covers all waters under China's jurisdiction, and extends to key polar and deep-sea areas of interest.

In nearshore waters, targeted surveys and monitoring have been carried out in areas subject to high eco-environmental risks, as well as in those characterized by typical marine ecosystems, such as key estuaries, bays, coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. In waters under China's jurisdiction, analysis and assessment have been conducted to address issues such as sea level changes, ocean acidification, and low oxygen levels. Large-scale monitoring has been conducted for all major types of marine ecosystems, and monitoring on polar and deep-sea ecosystems has been expanded.

During the 14th Five-year Plan (2021-2025) period, China plans to set up more than 1,600 offshore eco-environmental trend monitoring stations and points and complete a national survey on the conditions of coral reefs, salt marshes and seagrass beds, and a general survey on the ecosystems of river estuaries and seaweed beds.

China released the Bulletin of China's Early Warning and Monitoring for the Marine Eco-Environment. Work has been done to build an effective early warning approach for typical marine ecosystems. Operational early warning has been basically realized for coral bleaching.

Conducting baseline survey of marine pollution. In order to have a full understanding of its marine eco-environment, China has conducted three baseline surveys of marine pollution – in 1976, 1996, and 2023, respectively. The 2023 survey covered four issues: marine pollutants, marine pollution sources, environmental pressure and impacts in coastal zones, and the refined eco-governance of bays. As well as obtaining basic marine eco-environmental data, this latest baseline survey provided scientific decision-making support for assessing China's marine eco-environment and enacting relevant protection strategies and policies.

3. Strict regulation and law enforcement

China has built a multidimensional regulation and law enforcement network covering its marine areas through coordinated regulation and law enforcement, inter-departmental collaboration, and synergy in central and local efforts. Illegal and unauthorized utilization of seas and islands and destruction of the marine eco-environment are severely punished.

Improving comprehensive maritime regulation. China has continued to improve the comprehensive regulation capacity over sea areas, islands, and coastal zones by establishing a system that covers all stages and aspects of ex-ante, in-process, and ex-post regulation. This system leverages the role of comprehensive regulation in maintaining orderly utilization of seas and islands, enforcing the red lines of resource security, ensuring eco-friendly utilization of seas and islands, and underpinning high-quality development.

The country is building and operating a full range of systems, including a regulation system for sea areas and islands, a regulation system for marine eco-environmental restoration, and an information system for territorial space planning that presents all information on a single map. It employs a regulation model in which satellite remote sensing monitoring, marine monitoring, and coast-based monitoring supplement each other to collect information about the utilization of sea areas, and the spatial and resource changes and eco-environmental status in sea areas and islands.

China employs diverse means such as remote sensing monitoring and marine and coastline patrols to conduct high-frequency monitoring of sea areas, islands, and coastlines. It gives extra attention to land reclamation projects, eco-environmental restoration projects, drilling platforms, submarine cables, cross-sea bridges, and other marine utilization activities; and to key areas such as those rich in marine sand, marine oil and gas exploration and development sites, ocean dumping sites, and mariculture and fisheries sites.

Intensive monitoring and regulation have been imposed to sanction marine eco-environmental violations once they occur, and the country's marine regulation and law enforcement capacity is steadily improving.

Strengthening comprehensive law enforcement for marine eco-environmental protection. In recent years, China has strengthened all-round law enforcement in the sea areas under its jurisdiction. Regular law enforcement inspections are conducted on marine engineering, marine nature reserves, marine fisheries, and maritime transport, while a formidable deterrence for violations is provided by specialized law enforcement inspections such as the Marine Shield for coastline conservation and land reclamation regulation and control, the Green Shield for rigorous supervision over marine nature reserves, the Emerald Sea for striking out at marine eco-environmental violations of laws and regulations, and the Blue Sword and the China Fisheries Sword for fisheries resource conservation.

Between 2020 and 2022, China conducted more than 19,000 inspections on marine engineering projects, drilling platforms, islands, and ocean dumping sites, and handled over 360 cases of illegal activities involving land reclamation from the sea, ocean dumping, and island eco-environmental damage. Severe punishments have been imposed for violations and crimes in key areas of marine eco-environmental protection.

4. Strengthening evaluation and inspection

China has implemented goal-oriented responsibility and performance evaluation systems for marine eco-environmental protection. It conducts Central Eco-Environmental Protection Inspection and State Natural Resources Inspection. These measures address key issues in the marine eco-environment and encourage local authorities to fulfill their responsibilities, giving officials an incentive to improve their performance.

Implementing the goal-oriented responsibility system and performance evaluation system for marine eco-environmental protection. In 2014, China amended the Environmental Protection Law and enforced the goal-oriented responsibility system and performance evaluation system for eco-environmental protection.

In 2015, China released the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, which incorporated core goals and tasks such as the proportion of nearshore sea areas with good to excellent water quality, in the performance evaluation system for local governments in coastal areas.

In 2020, China included nearshore water quality in the performance evaluation system for the pollution control campaign, raising the standards for nearshore water quality year by year.

In 2023, China amended the Marine Environmental Protection Law to specify that coastal local governments at or above county level will bear responsibility for the environmental quality of sea areas under their jurisdiction. The performance evaluation results serve as an important basis for rewarding or punishing officials and for their promotion, and play an important role in ensuring that local governments and officials in coastal areas fulfill their responsibilities.

Zhejiang Province has initiated a comprehensive assessment system for the marine eco-environment, and incorporated the results into the Five-Aspect Water Governance performance evaluation system and the Building Beautiful Zhejiang performance evaluation system. This has proved effective in encouraging local officials to improve their performance and break new ground at work.

Enforcing supervision and inspection of eco-environmental protection. Since 2015, China has carried out three rounds of central eco-environmental inspection across 31 provinces and equivalent administrative units, relevant departments of the State Council, and relevant state-owned enterprises directly under the central government. Oceans and seas have been designated as key subjects of inspection. Incidences of marine eco-environmental violations have been disclosed and reported to provincial-level Party committees and governments. These violations include unauthorized mariculture businesses in nearshore waters, mangrove ecosystem damage, illegal land reclamation from the sea that encroaches coastal zones, and nearshore water pollution.

With determination, the inspection teams have taken resolute measures to ensure environmental protection mechanisms are put in place at the local level. Their work has been central to problem-solving, gaining approval from the central authorities, recognition from the public, and support from all sectors.

China carries out provincial-level inspection on eco-environmental protection, with a focus on addressing acute marine eco-environmental problems. Routine inspections are conducted regularly, special inspections have been strengthened, and inspection mechanisms comprising routine inspection, regular inspection, and ad-hoc inspection have been established. Supervision and inspection of key projects, key areas, and key links has been advanced across the board, targeting marine pollution, ecosystem destruction, and other pressing problems.

Enforcing national inspection of natural resources with a focus on marine eco-environmental protection. In the Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, China proposed to implement the marine inspection system and have regular marine inspections.

In 2017, the first round of marine inspection of 11 coastal provincial-level governments was launched, focusing on the local implementation of major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on marine resources and the marine eco-environment, of relevant laws and regulations, and of relevant national plans, programs, and key policy measures. The inspection teams referred the problems identified to provincial-level governments, making sure that local governments fulfill their primary responsibilities in marine eco-environmental protection and reasonably allocate resources in the sea areas and islands under their jurisdiction by law.

In recent years, national natural resources inspection teams have carried out annual marine inspections of local governments in coastal areas, focusing on strict land reclamation control and coastal wetland conservation. These inspections ensure that provincial-level governments fulfill their primary responsibilities, and target new cases of illegal land reclamation, encroachment on conservation red lines, illegal approval of sea utilization projects, destruction of mangrove forests, uninhabited islands, and natural coastlines, and other pressing problems that adversely impact the marine eco-environment.

Problems identified are forwarded to the relevant provincial-level governments in the form of inspection notifications, and leaders of prefecture-level and city governments found with severe violations are summoned for questioning. Prominent problems are notified and made public. Follow-up inspection is then conducted to ensure local governments have fulfilled their duties.