China

In 1997, responding to the policy of China’s national government to “rigorously enforce laws governing the management and protection of land, water, forests, minerals, and seas”, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) officially proposed the formulation of a law to manage sea use.

What stimulated marine spatial planning in China?

On 27 October 2001, the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress adopted the Law, which entered into effect on 1 January 2002. The law has established three principles:

Right to the sea-use authorization system: According to the law, the sea is owned by the State. The State Council exercises the ownership of the seas on behalf of the State. Any entity or individual who intends to use the sea must apply in advance and obtain the right to use the sea; they are authorized only after the approval of the national government;

Marine functional zoning system: The law stipulates that any use of the sea areas must comply with the marine functional zoning scheme established by the State. The scheme is the foundation for marine management, under which the sea is divided into different types of functional zones (according to the criteria related to ecological functions and priority use), to regulate and guide rational use of the sea area; and

User-fee system: The right to sea use is protected under the State’s legal system. The State imposes a user-fee system, which requires that any entity or individual who uses the sea must pay a fee in accordance with the regulations of the State Council. This system stipulates all entities and individuals who intend to use the sea to carry out production and other economic activities, must pay for its use

Development of marine spatial planning in China

The law has also established a “two-level management system”, i.e., all sea-use applications will be assessed and approved by the provincial, as well as the national government. Governments at city and county levels do not have the authority to approve sea-use applications. This is to ensure that sea-use activities are placed under stricter control of the provincial level and national government. According to the Law, 70% of the fees collected from sea use will rest with the local government, and 30% will go directly to the State revenue, for marine development, protection and management.

Starting in 2000, under the overall supervision of the State Council, SOA, along with other relevant ministries and coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities formulated a nation-wide marine functional zoning scheme. After extensive data collection, intensive studies and several consultations, the National Marine Functional Zoning Scheme was submitted to the State Council and approved on 22 August 2002.

The State Council provided comprehensive guidelines on the national implementation of the zoning scheme and its management, and further defined the responsibilities and mandates of the various competent governmental organizations in ocean management. It emphasized that marine functional zoning scheme is the legal basis of the management of sea use and marine protection and should therefore be strictly implemented. The Council also pointed out that relevant laws and regulations on ocean management should be firmly implemented based on the principle of “development in protection and protection in development”, with the ultimate goal of the rational development and sustainable use of the sea.

The implementation of the National Marine Functional Zoning Scheme marks the initial establishment of a regional planning system and an integrated management framework for marine development and conservation in China. Zoning schemes have been completed in most of the 11 coastal provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities and have been approved by their respective local governments for implementation.

Further information

Additional reading is also available on the references page of this website.

Additional reading

Li, H., 2006. The impacts and implicatios of the legal framework for sea use planning and management in China. Ocean & Coastal Management. 49:717-726.

Last updated: 28 January 2010