China
Capital:
Beijing
Inland Water Area:
27,060km²
Length of Coastline:
32,000km
In line with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Sea Areas (2001), all 11 coastal provinces (18,000km continental coastline) have developed and passed provincial sea area use ordinances which coordinate allocation of sea areas for various sectoral uses. Use permits providing use rights to about 10,000km2 of sea space including the use for mariculture are issued annually and generate user fees of around 1 billion RMB per year, which safeguard the legitimate right of users legally. Regular field inspections are conducted of the use permits.
In 2002, the country issued a national mechanism to guarantee the implementation of ICM across China. The Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the Administration of the Use of Sea Areas mandates the collection and utilization system of sea-use payment, and the establishment of a sea area functional zoning system and the ecological red line system. Under these key systems, ecological restoration projects were launched nationwide through “Blue Bay,” “Ecological Islands” and “Planting of Mangroves in the South and Tamarisks in the North.” In November 2017, the Master Plan of Guangdong Province on Coastal Integrated Protection and Utilization was issued by the State Oceanic Administration of PRC together with the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, marking the first ever provincial ICM master plan in China.
The country also introduced a new concept called “Bay Chief System,” which centered on clarifying the responsibilities of local governments on every level of marine eco- environmental protection. The Bay Chief System is now implemented in Lianyungang City.
China's growing marine economy was valued at US$435 billion in 2008, accounting for 9.87% of the national GDP and responsible for 32.18 million jobs.
Focal Points:
Ms. Chen Danhong (National Focal Point)
Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)
Ms. Xu Heyun (Operational Focal Point)
Division Director, Department of International Cooperation, MNR
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
2025 MEP Program Planning Workshop
The planning workshop for the 2025 Marine Environment Protector (MEP) Program was conducted on 18-19 March 2025 at Parañaque, Philippines and brought together representatives from MEP partner organizations across six Philippine sites.
Representatives from the four existing MEP program sites presented their 2024 accomplishments and shared lessons learned from implementation. The workshop also served as an introduction for new MEP partners from Bulan and Calbayog who will begin implementation in 2025.
The participants discussed various campaigns and identified effective practices that could be applied across different sites. Together, they drafted comprehensive work plans and timelines aligned with the 2025 implementation guidelines established by the Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU).
The two-day workshop successfully established target outputs for 2025 implementation and developed strategies to effectively impact local communities in their respective sites. Participants focused on ensuring engagement and full support of their respective local government units for proposed marine plastic waste management initiatives.
Proceedings of the 1st Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The First Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting was held on February 25, 2025, online via video conference (Zoom). The meeting was chaired by the Technical Session Chair and Co-Chair of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council (PC) and participated by PEMSEA country partner designated representatives from China and the Philippines; non-country partner representatives from the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Conservation International (CI), Korean Maritime Institute (KMI); PNLC members, Xiamen University, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI); and other collaborators, such as the China Green Carbon Foundation and OceanPixel.
PEMSEA eBulletin - February 2025
Dear PEMSEA community,
As we step into a new month, we are thrilled to share some remarkable milestones and collaborative efforts that highlight PEMSEA’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.
The month began with PEMSEA receiving recognition from the DENR-EMB for the strong collaboration particularly through the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Marine Plastics Project in the Philippines. In the Arafura and Timor Seas, representatives from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste came together in Australia to tackle the ghost net crisis.
Discover how the IRBM Project is fostering transparency and accountability with its new Grievance Redress Mechanism, empowering voices to be heard. Learn more about the data-driven efforts in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, where beach monitoring is shaping policies to tackle marine plastics.
And don’t miss the update from PEMSEA’s inaugural Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting, where stakeholders across the region came together to advance the Blue Carbon Roadmap and set the direction of the program.