China’s Framework Plan for the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA)

China is a coastal nation endowed with vast land areas and sea expanse, with 18,000 km of mainland coastline, 14,000 km of island coastline and more than 6,900 islands, each with a land area of over 500 m2 . The rich marine natural resources and valuable ecosystem services of the country’s coastal and sea areas provide the foundation for its continued national economic and social development. Yet fragility of coastal and marine ecosystems, failure of coastal governance to underpin the interconnectedness between land and sea, nutrients and sediments from land-based sources from urban and agricultural production, sea use conflicts, frequent incidences of natural and manmade disasters, and other driving forces are increasingly becoming constraints to sustainable coastal and marine development. A shift to a new paradigm of coastal and ocean governance has become an urgent priority in China and other countries bordering the seas of East Asia.