9 Chinese Law and Policy on Marine Environmental Protection
167
(MEC). Both are defined as the fundamental system for marine environmental protection.
107 The MERL is a major institutional innovation in China and it refers to a type
of marine spatial planning with the aim to protect marine ecosystem and environment. It is not only a geographical boundary line, but also a bottom line for the marine
environmental management. The main objective of drawing a MERL is to identify
three types of sea areas, which are important marine ecological functional areas,
marine ecological fragile areas and marine ecological sensitive areas.
108 When the
above areas are to be delimited, they will be further subdivided into prohibited zones
and restricted development zones, to which the management control measures will be
applied respectively, according to ecological characteristics and management objectives. The overall management goal and indicator must be inserted when drawing
MERLs. Take the MERL of Bohai Sea as an example,
109 the control indicators were
promulgated as following ‘the retention rate of Bohai shoreline is not <40%; the
proportion area of the MERL zones in the Bohai Sea area under Shandong province
is not <40%; by 2020, in the MERL zones, 100% of the pollutants discharged from
direct drain outlets must meet the acceptable standard and the total amount of landbased pollutants entering into the sea must be reduced by 10–15%.’ In comparison
with Marine Reserves, MERL has a border scope and coverage both in geographic
area and management measures. Generally speaking, the core zones and buffer zones
of marine nature reserves and the key protected areas and the reserved areas of special
marine reserves are identified as prohibited zones in MERL area, and other areas of
marine reserves would be classified as the restricted development zones in MERL
area. However, in MERL area, there are various restricted development zones other
than that, such as the important coastal wetland, fishing ground, estuarine ecosystem,
sandy shoreline, coastal tourist areas, nature landscape and historical sites, and the
island with special protection. The MERL, together with the Marine Functional Zone,
constitutes a comprehensive and fundamental marine spatial planning in China and
promotes the coordination of resources exploitation and environmental protection.
110
107 ‘The SOA interprets the revision of the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People’s
Republic of China’, available at www.scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/gbwxwfbh/xwfbh/hyj/Document/154
6466/1546466.htm, last accessed 26 January 2020.
108 See Opinions on Defining and Protecting Ecological Redlines, issued by the Party Central
Committee and the State Council in February 2017, available at www.gov.cn/zhengce/2017-02/
07/content_5166291.htm, last accessed 26 January 2020.
109 See Opinions of the General Office of Shandong Provincial People’s Government on Establishing
and Implementing the System of Ecological Red Lines of Bohai Sea, in S.X. Wang, The Marine
Ecological Red Line of Shandong Province (in Chinese), Beijing: Ocean Press, 2017), pp. 7–16.
110 Marine Functional Zoning (MFZ) is another type of marine spatial planning, which aims to
regulate the activities of use of marine resources. It divides the ocean into different functional zones
in accordance with its geographical features, natural resources distribution and socio-economic
development needs. The MERL can be regarded as the supplementation of MFZ. The delimitation
of MERL usually based on and compliance with the requirements of MFZ and the MERL sets
out restrictions in MFZ with the purpose of environmental protection. In Bohai Sea, there are 10
types of MERL and all of them are included in the MFZ. For detail interpretations relating to the
relationship between MERL and MFZ, see W.H. Lu, J. Liu, X.Q. Xiang, et.al, A comparison of
167
(MEC). Both are defined as the fundamental system for marine environmental protection.
107 The MERL is a major institutional innovation in China and it refers to a type
of marine spatial planning with the aim to protect marine ecosystem and environment. It is not only a geographical boundary line, but also a bottom line for the marine
environmental management. The main objective of drawing a MERL is to identify
three types of sea areas, which are important marine ecological functional areas,
marine ecological fragile areas and marine ecological sensitive areas.
108 When the
above areas are to be delimited, they will be further subdivided into prohibited zones
and restricted development zones, to which the management control measures will be
applied respectively, according to ecological characteristics and management objectives. The overall management goal and indicator must be inserted when drawing
MERLs. Take the MERL of Bohai Sea as an example,
109 the control indicators were
promulgated as following ‘the retention rate of Bohai shoreline is not <40%; the
proportion area of the MERL zones in the Bohai Sea area under Shandong province
is not <40%; by 2020, in the MERL zones, 100% of the pollutants discharged from
direct drain outlets must meet the acceptable standard and the total amount of landbased pollutants entering into the sea must be reduced by 10–15%.’ In comparison
with Marine Reserves, MERL has a border scope and coverage both in geographic
area and management measures. Generally speaking, the core zones and buffer zones
of marine nature reserves and the key protected areas and the reserved areas of special
marine reserves are identified as prohibited zones in MERL area, and other areas of
marine reserves would be classified as the restricted development zones in MERL
area. However, in MERL area, there are various restricted development zones other
than that, such as the important coastal wetland, fishing ground, estuarine ecosystem,
sandy shoreline, coastal tourist areas, nature landscape and historical sites, and the
island with special protection. The MERL, together with the Marine Functional Zone,
constitutes a comprehensive and fundamental marine spatial planning in China and
promotes the coordination of resources exploitation and environmental protection.
110
107 ‘The SOA interprets the revision of the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People’s
Republic of China’, available at www.scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/gbwxwfbh/xwfbh/hyj/Document/154
6466/1546466.htm, last accessed 26 January 2020.
108 See Opinions on Defining and Protecting Ecological Redlines, issued by the Party Central
Committee and the State Council in February 2017, available at www.gov.cn/zhengce/2017-02/
07/content_5166291.htm, last accessed 26 January 2020.
109 See Opinions of the General Office of Shandong Provincial People’s Government on Establishing
and Implementing the System of Ecological Red Lines of Bohai Sea, in S.X. Wang, The Marine
Ecological Red Line of Shandong Province (in Chinese), Beijing: Ocean Press, 2017), pp. 7–16.
110 Marine Functional Zoning (MFZ) is another type of marine spatial planning, which aims to
regulate the activities of use of marine resources. It divides the ocean into different functional zones
in accordance with its geographical features, natural resources distribution and socio-economic
development needs. The MERL can be regarded as the supplementation of MFZ. The delimitation
of MERL usually based on and compliance with the requirements of MFZ and the MERL sets
out restrictions in MFZ with the purpose of environmental protection. In Bohai Sea, there are 10
types of MERL and all of them are included in the MFZ. For detail interpretations relating to the
relationship between MERL and MFZ, see W.H. Lu, J. Liu, X.Q. Xiang, et.al, A comparison of