State Council Information Office releases white paper on 'China's Marine Ecological Environment Protection', using the power of governance to safeguard the marine ecological environment
2024-07-12
The ocean is a treasure trove of natural resources and a strategic location for high-quality development. Currently, global ocean security, development, and governance are facing a series of prominent challenges. China has always actively promoted the process of global ocean governance and is a firm promoter and active actor of marine ecological environment protection. On July 11th, the State Council Information Office released the White Paper on China's Marine Ecological Environment Protection (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"). Xing Huina, Deputy Director of the News Bureau of the State Council Information Office and spokesperson, introduced that the White Paper systematically introduces China's policy concept of building a harmonious marine ecological environment with a large number of people, comprehensively elaborates on China's important measures to comprehensively promote marine ecological environment protection, systematically carry out marine ecological environment governance, and enhance the level of green and low-carbon development of the ocean, demonstrates China's practical actions and world contributions in extensively carrying out international cooperation in marine ecological environment protection and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for the ocean, and calls on all countries to jointly protect the marine ecological environment, promote sustainable development of the ocean, and jointly build a cleaner and more beautiful world. It is worth noting that the White Paper specifically elaborates on the relevant situation of China's legal construction of marine ecological environment protection. A beautiful scarf with bright colors, caring for the ocean like treating life, appeared at today's press conference of the State Council Information Office. This was specially brought to the venue by Guo Fang, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment. If it weren't for her personal confirmation, it's hard to imagine that this scarf was actually made from three waste plastic bottles, all of which came from the public welfare beach cleaning campaign in Nansha District, Guangzhou. This model of ocean plastic pollution control and high-value resource recycling is a microcosm of the innovation in marine ecological environment protection and governance practices carried out in various parts of China. We should care for the ocean like we do for life. As Sun Shuxian, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Director of the State Oceanic Administration, said, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has carried out a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term work in the field of marine ecological environment protection, promoting historic, turning point, and global changes in marine ecological environment protection, achieving a series of landmark achievements, and paving the way for a harmonious sea of people with Chinese characteristics. The concept of marine ecological environment protection is innovative in its adherence to principles. Adhere to ecological priority and incorporate the construction of marine ecological civilization into the overall layout of marine development; Adhering to the coordination of land and sea, river sea linkage, and systematic governance, we have achieved a transformation from a single element to overall policy implementation, and from end of pipe governance to full chain management; Adhering to the guidance of technology, diverse governance, public participation, and win-win cooperation, we aim to enhance our comprehensive governance capabilities from multiple perspectives and in all aspects. As a result, a number of exemplary projects such as the "Xiamen Practice" have emerged in the construction of a beautiful China and the harmony of the human sea. The practice of marine ecological environment protection is advancing through exploration. China has taken the lead in proposing and delineating ecological protection red lines, improving the system of marine protected areas, implementing major projects for marine ecological protection and restoration, and significantly enhancing the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems. China's maritime management model has also shifted from "flat" to "three-dimensional", with rapid development of marine renewable energy development and utilization technology, and a significant improvement in the level of efficient and intensive utilization of marine resources. China continues to improve its laws, regulations, and institutional system, comprehensively utilizing various monitoring and supervision methods such as land, sea, air, and space to promote marine ecological early warning and monitoring, enhance marine disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, and build a safety barrier for marine ecology. Consolidate consensus on marine ecological environment protection with countries around the world. Since 2012, China has submitted over 800 proposals to international organizations and actively participated in the formulation of international rules for environmental protection and resource conservation. Adhering to the rule of law to promote environmental improvement, as we have all seen, in recent years, the sea water has become cleaner, beaches have become cleaner, seabirds have increased, and coastal wetlands have become more beautiful... The marine ecological environment is continuously improving. According to Guo Fang, China has always focused on the strategic intersections of the Bohai Sea, the Yangtze Estuary Hangzhou Bay, the the Pearl River Estuary and other coastal areas, implemented key governance measures, fought several beautiful battles, and achieved a major change in the quality of the ecological environment from stabilizing to improving to significantly improving. According to statistics, in 2023, the area of excellent seawater quality in nearshore waters will reach 85%, setting a new historical high, an increase of 13.7 percentage points compared to 2018, and achieving continuous growth for 6 years; 24 typical marine ecosystems have eliminated their 'unhealthy' status since 2021. Adhering to the rule of law in governing the sea and continuously strengthening the supervision and law enforcement of marine ecological environment are key factors for the sustainable improvement of marine ecological environment. A good ecological environment must rely on the protection of the rule of law, "Guo Fang said. China has always protected the ocean with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law. China has formulated a comprehensive law on marine ecological environment protection, namely the Marine Environment Protection Law. Guo Fang said that since 2012, the law has undergone three revisions and one revision. Especially the newly revised Marine Environmental Protection Law last year, which changed from 97 articles in ten chapters to 124 articles in nine chapters, added 27 articles, of which only 8 were not modified at all. This law has many institutional innovations and practical measures, such as making land sea coordination the principle of marine ecological environment protection, focusing on detailed provisions for marine garbage management, supervision of discharge outlets into the sea, and prevention and control of river pollution into the sea. It also increases punishment items, intensifies punishment intensity, enriches punishment methods and means, etc. China has also formulated and revised 7 relevant administrative regulations and more than 10 departmental rules. For example, the Wetland Protection Law, Fisheries Law, and Coast Guard Law have made clear provisions on coastal wetlands, marine fishery resource protection, and marine environment law enforcement, respectively. In addition to the national level, coastal regions are also actively carrying out local legislation to crack down on illegal activities in key areas. For example, Hainan Province has issued regulations for the protection of coral reef clams, and Xiamen City has issued regulations for the protection of the population and habitat of Chinese white dolphins. The effects of these legislations are very evident. Taking Xiamen as an example - the population of Chinese white dolphins has increased from 60 in the early 1990s to nearly 80 now. In terms of law enforcement, "we always adhere to strict supervision and law enforcement," Guo Fang said. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the China Coast Guard have established a regulatory and law enforcement mechanism, and jointly carried out the "Green Shield" and "Blue Sea" special regulatory and law enforcement actions on the basis of regular inspections and law enforcement. From 2020 to 2022, more than 19000 inspections were conducted on marine engineering, oil platforms, islands, and dumping areas, and over 360 cases of illegal land reclamation, illegal dumping, and destruction of islands were investigated and dealt with, severely cracking down on illegal and criminal activities in key areas of marine ecological environment protection. In addition, more than 53000 discharge outlets entering and leaving the sea have been inspected so far, and over 16000 have been rectified. And implemented three rounds of central environmental inspections, during which more than 200 prominent issues related to the sea were discovered and urged to be rectified. Guo Fang stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will continue to cooperate with the legislative body to compile the Ecological Environment Code, improve and perfect the legal system of marine ecological environment, and use the power of governance to protect the marine ecological environment. I hope that under the guarantee of the rule of law and the joint efforts of all parties, the future marine ecological environment will be like the scenery depicted on the silk scarf in Guo Fang's hand: clear waters and beaches, fish and seagulls gathering, and harmonious sea of people. (New Society)
Edit：Ying Ying Responsible editor：Shen Chen
Source：http://www.legaldaily.com.cn
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