China - ICM Country Profile

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Contacts
Basic Data
The Coastal Setting
Status of ICM Program
ICM Program Information
Other links and sources

State Oceanic Administration
1 Fuxingmenwai Avenue
Beijing, People's Republic of China 100860

OCEAN AND COASTAL AREAS

The Coastal Setting

Coastal areas of the People's Republic of China comprise an area of approximately 346,983 square kilometers with an 18,000 kilometer coastline stretching across tropical, subtropical and temperate zones from north latitude 20 to north latitude 40 degrees. Key coastal habitats include mangroves, wetlands, corals, coastal dunes, estuaries, lagoons, salt marshes, sea grass beds, barrier beaches, and other ecosystems. China's coastal zone is defined as an area 10 kilometers inland and 15m isobath seaward from the mean high water tide line. (?) China's coastline is contiguous with the Korean and Indochina peninsulas, including more than 6500 islands and islets. Major sea areas include the Yellow sea, East China sea, and the South China seas. China's coastal population totals approximately 500 million people with an average coastal provincial population density of 383 people per square kilometer (1995). In 1998, 51 cities in the coastal region exceeded 100,000 people. The largest of these are Shanghai (population 13.4 million), Tianjin (over 9 million), Hangzhou ( 1 million), and Guangzhou (4 million).

China's overriding national policies call for economic expansion to meet the basic and growing human needs for its population of 1.3 billion people. As a result, from 1979-1998, China's overall economic expansion averaged a notable 9% per year, with even faster growth concentrated in coastal regions. In the early 1980s, the Chinese government undertook a series of comprehensive national resource assessments, including those situated in the coastal marine environment. These assessments and surveys became a key foundation in developing administrative and legal structures for guiding the development planning, establishing jurisdictional and zoning boundaries, and allocating use rights for coastal and marine resources. In 1994, a National Plan for Marine Development was completed to promote and guide marine development activities. By 1996, the gross industrial and agricultural output of coastal cities and counties accounted for approximately 60% of national gross output value. Although economic growth has been slowing since 1998, it continues to expand rapidly; growth targets for the year 2000 call for 7% national expansion. Other policy statements outline targets for annual growth of the ocean economy to exceed 15% by 2000, constituting 5-10% of the Gross Domestic Product. Emphasis on ocean resource development as a cornerstone in economic development is expected to continue and underpin China's modernization priorities through the early 21^st century.

One coastal consequence of economic expansion has been extensive land and sea reclamation. From 1950 through 1985, China reclaimed more than a third of its national tidal areas, or 7.26 million acres (2.94 million hectares), for salt-making fields, agriculture, port development and industrial uses. Mangrove areas were reduced from 120,000 acres (48,583 ha) to less than 50,000 acres (20,243 ha). In Jiangsu province, between 1949-1999, over 1,364 square miles (2,200 square km) of saltmarsh wetland was reclaimed. Over the past two decades, attention has risen to preserve and protect remaining ecological systems to support traditional economic sectors (such as fishing) as well as emerging industries (such as ecotourism). In 1988, the Chinese State Council called for the designation and management of marine reserves. China's first marine reserves were established in the early 1990s.

Marine natural disasters have considerable impact along China's coasts. On average, the coast is affected by 2-5 strong storm surges per year. In one 1922 storm surge event, over 70,000 people died in Guangdong province. Economic losses exceeded 18 billion yuan (or approximately $2.2 billion USD) as a result of an August 1994 typhoon landing in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Harmful algal blooms are also increasing in both frequency and intensity with 22 documented outbreaks along the coast in 1998 alone. Of these, one event was reported as the worst toxic algae event in China's history: 350 tons of fish were lost and economic losses exceeded 32 million yuan ($4 million USD). Submarine geological events, tsunamis, and sea ice problems periodically occur. Sea level rise projections and land submergence also promise to impact China's coastal development in the next century, especially in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Shandong. Overall, since the 1980s, the economy of coastal China has grown approximately ten-fold. However, losses due to marine disasters have also increased ten-fold.

Status of ICM Program

Although the Chinese have populated the coasts and developed coastal resources for more than 4,000 years, efforts to institutionalize a sustainable, balanced, national resource management regime only began in the 1970s. Use conflicts have arisen from population pressures, limited fiscal resources, pollution, demands for economic opportunity, regional differences, and calls for environmental protection. Some prominent sectoral conflicts involve coral and sand mining, aquaculture, fisheries, transportation, coastal construction, offshore oil drilling, marine pollution, and environmental protection.

National governmental organizations allocate development rights, permitting, enforcement of laws and regulations, and environmental protection. These organizations include the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, State Oceanic Administration, State Administration for Environmental Protection (SEPA), Ministry of Transportation, the People's Liberation Army (Navy), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Science and Technology and others, as well as associated provincial and local government bureaus. Of these, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) is the lead agency responsible for China's ocean policy making and overall management of ocean affairs. SOA is responsible for supervision and management of the marine environment and organization of investigations, monitoring, evaluation, and scientific research of the marine environment. In 1985, Jiangsu province was the first provincial government to establish a provincial coastal marine resource management authority. By 1996, eleven provinces had established such authorities.

China's strategic ocean and coastal-ocean policies are most comprehensively outlined in The China Ocean Agenda 21 (1996). The Agenda aims to develop the marine economy while enhancing the role of a healthy, productive coastal marine environment. It is also the guideline and framework for the exploration and protection of maritime resources, the improvement of the polluted marine environment, and the implementation of sustainable development. Chapter 7 describes the process by which China will establish an integrated coastal management regime and create an integrated marine management system.

Other key coastal management legislation adopted or drafted in recent years and constituting key parts of the evolving coastal management framework include the Fisheries Law, Mineral Resources Law, Law on Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf, and others. On April 1, 2000, a new Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China came into force. This law defines a coordinated system of pollution management among various government ministries, including SOA, SEPA, and others.

Based upon these developments, the Chinese State Council points out that from 1989 to 1995, 3,663 marine zones were divided into development and utilization zones, control and protection zones, nature preservation zones, special function zones, and reserved zones. The China ocean zoning system and national and regional plans for ocean exploration include a licensing system for waste discharge into the sea with 38 waste discharge zones. The State Administration for Environmental Protection "Report on the State of the Environment (1998)" describes coastal water pollution as "serious" with growing impacts on fisheries and biological productivity. As a result, major policy, regulatory, and administrative initiatives are beginning to address a growing need to improve the effectiveness of coastal water quality management, from point and nonpoint marine and land-based sources of pollution.

In November 1998, the State Oceanic Administration was made responsible for designating and managing marine reserves. Since then, at least 25 coastal and marine nature reserves have been set up, covering a total area of more than 1.58 million acres (650,000 hectares). Also, a special marine reserve is planned to protect typical ocean ecosystems and endangered species. Several of these reserves have international linkages with UNESCO World Heritage Site and other similar sites in the world.

Internationally, China has endorsed the U.N. Agenda 21, the U.N. Law of the Sea, the Biodiversity Convention, Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Global Program of Action for Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollutionókey international conventions relevant to the development of integrated coastal management practices and norms.

To develop its coastal management capacities, the Chinese government also promotes training to develop a professional science and management cadre as well as general education and outreach efforts. Key domestic university training centers include Nanjing University, Qingdao Ocean University and Xiamen University. During 1998, the International Year of the Ocean, 14 government ministries and commissions organized a national media publicity campaign to raise awareness of marine environmental and development issues along the coast.

Current challenges to continued development of an ICM regime in China are the completion of the emerging ICM system, acquisition of needed human, technical, and fiscal resources, and effective communication between decision-makers, resource managers, and citizens to support the nation's development policies.

ICM Program Information

The Chinese government has promoted demonstration experiments to test various applications of ICM models. Four of these have been undertaken in Xiamen in Fujian Province, Fangcheng in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yangjiang in Guangdong Province, and Wenchang in Hainan.

From 1994 to 1999, the Global Environmental Facility, the UNDP, and International Maritime Organization sponsored an effort to strengthen regional capacity to manage marine pollution, implement international conventions, develop a pollution-monitoring network, and initiate long-term financial sourcing to manage pollution from land- and sea-based sources including untreated sewage, industrial effluents, oil, pesticides, and hazardous wastes. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of integrated coastal management in tackling marine pollution from land-based sources by establishing a decision-making framework and management process involving all major stakeholders, including government, the private sector, local communities, and scientific and educational institutions. The integrated coastal management program at Xiamen, Fujian Province, is now providing important "lessons-learned" for management of local coastal and marine activities.

A second effort began in 1996 to develop integrated management of the Northern Southern Sea under the auspices of the UNDP and the State Oceanic Administration under which Strategic Management Plans for Fangcheng, Guangxi, and Qinglan have been developed. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2000.

Since 1993, China has approved six sea islands as national comprehensive experimental development areas (Changdao Island of Shandong Province, Zhoushan Liuheng Island of Zhejiang Province, Haitan Island of Fujian Province, Changhai Island of Liaoning Province, Nan'ao Island of Guangdong Province, and Weizhou Island of Guangxi Province.) By 1997, notable results were reported. For example, in Liaoning's Changhai Island, local people developed floating-raft aquaculture projects and seabed-sowing technology for shrimp and scallops.

In recent years, the Chinese government has adopted policies to promote the sustainable development of coastal resources within an ICM framework and has implemented various measures to test such frameworks according to the Chinese context. Much has been accomplished since the 1970s, yet much remains in developing a national integrated system to balance multi-stakeholder interests in the world's largest developing nation. The progression and evolution of China's experiences in developing its ICM system will continue to be an exciting source of case studies for many years.

Other information and links:

Prepared by Jonathan Justi, International Affairs Specialist, International Program Office, NOAA, with input from the State Oceanic Administration.