Hainan to build on marine strengths

A man dives in the sea area of West Island, Sanya. [Photo/Sanya tourism promotion board]

In recent years, Hainan has achieved results in the implementation of its strategy of becoming a strong marine province.

In order to reach that goal, Hainan issued implementation opinions, revising the administrative measures for the approval and transfer of sea area use rights. It also issued policy documents supporting the use of the sea for marine fisheries and tourism.

Hainan has strengthened the guarantee of sea use elements for the construction of its free trade port, and improved the efficiency of gaining sea use approval. In 2022, about 30,100 mu (2,067 hectares) of sea-land were approved, a year-on-year increase of 41 percent. The newly increased sea sand resources are 697 million cubic meters. It also promoted the pilot reform of oil and gas exploration and management in the South China Sea.

Hainan has made efforts to promote the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems. Last year, ecological protection and restoration plans for wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs were formulated. It also strengthened maritime law supervision and enforcement, and carried out maritime rights protection.

"In the past five years, the retention rate of natural shorelines in the province has maintained the highest level in the country, with 126.59 kilometers of shoreline renovation and repair. In addition, 65,100 mu of sea-land were approved, and the average annual growth rate of marine gross domestic product reached 10.1 percent," said an official of the Hainan Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning.

In the next step, Hainan will promote the construction of major platforms such as the National Marine Comprehensive Test Filed (Deep Sea), and promote the integrated development of the deep-sea high-end equipment industry, oil service bases and South China Sea resource development. A three-year action plan of coral reef ecological protection and restoration will be launched, to produce a new area of coral reef restoration reaching 375 mu. The province will also restore the ecology of gulf areas, adding 4,500 mu of mangroves.