9 Chinese Law and Policy on Marine Environmental Protection
159
21 issued by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) in 1996
57 and the White Paper
on the Development of China’s Marine Programs issued by the Information Office
of the State Council in 1998.
58 The two documents provide a general policy framework for ocean sustainable development. The basic elements include to effectively
safeguard the national marine rights and interests, protect the marine environment,
conserve marine resources, enhance international cooperation and establish an integrated ocean management. Regarding the protection of marine environment, China’s
Ocean Agenda 21 clearly sets forth the overall goal, which is to ensure a good
ecological environmental foundation for sustainable development and utilization of
the ocean and by 2020, the trends of ecological and environmental deterioration
and the pollution of near-shore areas would have been basically reversed, and the
marine environmental quality and economic construction would have been further
coordinated.
59 The White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs
sets out that China carries out the principle of putting prevention first and combining
prevention with control on marine pollution management.
60
The third stage is from 2006 to 2011. With these years, China’s marine policy
has been adjusted to pay more attention to marine environmental conservation.
With almost three decades of rapid industrialization, China has been transformed
from one of the poorest nations to the world’s second largest economy. However,
the economic growth and industrialization have provoked enormous environmental
issues. A growing number of potential marine environmental threats have appeared
and become the primary factors for consideration for policymakers. During this
period, the focus of marine policy tends to be on the marine environmental protection, and the intensity of policy enforcement is significantly higher than that of
marine resources development.
61 The leading governmental document issued in this
period is the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs, which was
approved by the State Council in February 2008.
62 It is the first comprehensive plan
on marine affairs. The overall goal of this Program is to build up a strong maritime
country by coordinating and comprehensively developing national marine affairs.
The basic policy of marine exploitation is adjusted to ‘develop in protection and
protect in development’, and it requires the development of marine recycle economy
and the improvement of the quality of marine economic development.
63 As to the
marine environmental protection, the general principle is ‘integrated management
of land and sea, coordinated management of sea and river’. The primary task is to
57 The text of the China Ocean Agenda 21 (in Chinese) is available at www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/huiyi/
lfzt/hdbhf/2009-10/31/content_1525058.htm, last accessed 20 January 2020.
58 The text of the White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs (in Chinese) is
available at www.law-lib.com/fzdt/newshtml/24/20050709190502.htm, last accessed 20 January
2020.
59 China’s Ocean Agenda 21, Strategic Goal 1.11.
60 See the White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs, Chap. 3.
61 See supra note 53.
62 The full text of the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs is available at www.
huaxia.com/hxhy/hykf/2011/08/2523974.html, last accessed 3 June 2020.
63 See the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs, Chap. 2.
159
21 issued by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) in 1996
57 and the White Paper
on the Development of China’s Marine Programs issued by the Information Office
of the State Council in 1998.
58 The two documents provide a general policy framework for ocean sustainable development. The basic elements include to effectively
safeguard the national marine rights and interests, protect the marine environment,
conserve marine resources, enhance international cooperation and establish an integrated ocean management. Regarding the protection of marine environment, China’s
Ocean Agenda 21 clearly sets forth the overall goal, which is to ensure a good
ecological environmental foundation for sustainable development and utilization of
the ocean and by 2020, the trends of ecological and environmental deterioration
and the pollution of near-shore areas would have been basically reversed, and the
marine environmental quality and economic construction would have been further
coordinated.
59 The White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs
sets out that China carries out the principle of putting prevention first and combining
prevention with control on marine pollution management.
60
The third stage is from 2006 to 2011. With these years, China’s marine policy
has been adjusted to pay more attention to marine environmental conservation.
With almost three decades of rapid industrialization, China has been transformed
from one of the poorest nations to the world’s second largest economy. However,
the economic growth and industrialization have provoked enormous environmental
issues. A growing number of potential marine environmental threats have appeared
and become the primary factors for consideration for policymakers. During this
period, the focus of marine policy tends to be on the marine environmental protection, and the intensity of policy enforcement is significantly higher than that of
marine resources development.
61 The leading governmental document issued in this
period is the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs, which was
approved by the State Council in February 2008.
62 It is the first comprehensive plan
on marine affairs. The overall goal of this Program is to build up a strong maritime
country by coordinating and comprehensively developing national marine affairs.
The basic policy of marine exploitation is adjusted to ‘develop in protection and
protect in development’, and it requires the development of marine recycle economy
and the improvement of the quality of marine economic development.
63 As to the
marine environmental protection, the general principle is ‘integrated management
of land and sea, coordinated management of sea and river’. The primary task is to
57 The text of the China Ocean Agenda 21 (in Chinese) is available at www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/huiyi/
lfzt/hdbhf/2009-10/31/content_1525058.htm, last accessed 20 January 2020.
58 The text of the White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs (in Chinese) is
available at www.law-lib.com/fzdt/newshtml/24/20050709190502.htm, last accessed 20 January
2020.
59 China’s Ocean Agenda 21, Strategic Goal 1.11.
60 See the White Paper on the Development of China’s Marine Programs, Chap. 3.
61 See supra note 53.
62 The full text of the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs is available at www.
huaxia.com/hxhy/hykf/2011/08/2523974.html, last accessed 3 June 2020.
63 See the Program on the Development of National Marine Affairs, Chap. 2.