Integrated Coastal Management Paves Way for High-quality Environment

During the 2024 East Asian Seas Congress and the World Ocean Week in Xiamen, which opened on Wednesday in the coastal city of Fujian province, officials and authorities shared the city's experience in fostering harmony between humans and the sea.

Dubbed a "garden on the sea", Xiamen is a typical bay city, with sea areas of 333 square kilometers and a coastline stretching for 265 km.

Over the decades, the city has released a batch of policies and measures on marine ecological protection and sustainable utilization, achieving fruitful results. These became known collectively as "Xiamen Practice".

To establish an effective and extensive legal framework, city authorities have issued more than 20 laws and regulations on ecological civilization construction so far, and developed pollution emission standards higher than national benchmarks.

Xiamen's integrated maritime law enforcement team was formed in 2003. It then created a collaborative enforcement mechanism, strengthening law enforcement and authority.

Focusing on sewage treatment, the city has invested 17.3 billion yuan ($2.42 billion) building or renovating 757 kilometers of sewage pipelines since 2020.

A comprehensive water quality monitoring system has been established, which features the process of examination, testing, tracing and treatment, and covers all 412 discharge outlets across the city.

Local authorities said they adhere to scientific management and have set up four marine affairs academician workstations and launched four satellites to support marine science research.

Since 2002, the city has initiated an array of integrated control and restoration projects in bay areas. These involve measures such as opening sea dikes, restoring reclaimed land to the sea, clearing out aquaculture and repairing coastlines. According to official data, the city's combined investment in marine ecological protection and restoration has reached 100 billion yuan.

Additionally, Xiamen has participated in numerous cooperative governance programs and initiatives to build a maritime community with a shared future.

In collaboration with surrounding cities in Fujian province, it carried out the coordinated management of the Jiulong River and removed floating garbage.

The World Ocean Week in Xiamen has been held for 19 consecutive years, attracting participants from more than 130 countries and regions. The Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions program initiated by Xiamen University has been included into the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-30).

Thanks to all these sustained efforts, Xiamen has earned more than 20 international and national honors in the ecology and environment sector, including the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award and the International Awards for Liveable Communities.

During the eighth Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities held in Colombia at the end of October, Xiamen was inscribed onto the "Biodiversity Charming City" list and joined the CitiesWithNature initiative.

The summit is a parallel event of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, or the COP 16.

Also, Xiamen was presented the "Achievement Award for Best Practice in Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration" by the EASC during the event's opening ceremony.

Unitizing the favorable marine environment and rich resources, Xiamen has long been committed to ocean-based industries, and achieved a mutual promotion between high-level environmental protection and high-quality development. Data from the Xiamen bureau of ocean development showed that the marine economy accounted for 33 percent of the regional GDP in 2023.

With the goal of developing a marine powerhouse, Xiamen has established the country's first offshore automated terminal. The Xiamen Port ranked 13th in the world in terms of the annual container throughput in 2023.

Local authorities said a modern marine industrial system is forming in the city. They are making efforts to build marine high-tech industrial parks; promote the transformation and upgrading of marine fisheries and coastal tourism; and cultivate emerging industries such as marine pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, high-end marine equipment and new materials.