On August 28, 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MOE) held a press conference to respond to issues related to marine ecological environment protection.

Strengthen the treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution into the sea

At present, there is still a distribution of poor four water quality in near-shore waters, and the main exceeding indicators are inorganic nitrogen and reactive phosphate.

Nitrogen and phosphorus in seawater in near-shore waters mainly come from river input, agricultural surface pollution, industrial wastewater and domestic sewage discharge from towns and cities, mariculture activities and marine atmospheric deposition.

Wang Juying, director of the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, said that it is necessary to adhere to the land and sea integration, river and sea linkage, and continuously and deeply strengthen the treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution into the sea. Reinforce the construction of sewage collection and treatment facilities in coastal towns, strengthen the management of agricultural surface pollution, implement artificial wetland purification and ecological expansion projects according to local conditions, and promote the comprehensive management of the ecological environment of the bay, and other key tasks, in order to further cut down the amount of total nitrogen and phosphorus discharged into the sea by rivers entering the sea. Through a variety of initiatives, the ecological and environmental quality of near-shore waters will be gradually improved.

Solidly promoting the construction of beautiful bays

In 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the first batch of eight excellent cases of beautiful bays.

In 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the second batch of 12 excellent cases of beautiful bays to the public at its regular press conference in August.

They are the southeastern sea area of Xiamen, Fujian; Chuandong Harbor, Yancheng Dafeng, Jiangsu; Sanggou Bay, Weihai, Shandong; the shore section of Sino-Singapore Eco-city, Binhai New Area, Tianjin; Haikou Bay, Hainan; Nammun Bay-Maluan Bay section of Dongshan Island, Zhangzhou, Fujian; Yintan, Northwest China Sea, Guangxi; International Tourism Island and Longdao Area, Tangshan Bay, Hebei; Sanya Bay, Hainan; Nanji Island bays, Wenzhou, Zhejiang; Bajiao Bay, Yantai, Shandong; and Miaodo Island bays, Yantai Changdao, Shandong.

The construction of beautiful bays is the centralized embodiment and important carrier of beautiful China in the field of marine ecology and environment, as well as the inevitable requirements and key tasks for accelerating the construction of a strong marine country. According to the relevant requirements, the creation of beautiful bay has set up a total of "the proportion of good water quality in the bay", "the cleanliness of the bay", "the protection of marine life", "the protection of coastal wetlands and shoreline", "the protection of the coastal wetlands and shoreline", "the protection of the coastal wetlands and shoreline". Coastal wetlands and shoreline protection" "sea bathing beaches and coastal tourism resort environmental conditions" and other five indicators, while also encouraging local conditions to set up additional indicators of characteristics, so that the general public better understand and feel the environmental excellence of the beautiful bay, the beauty of the ecology and the effectiveness of governance.

According to the "14th Five-Year Plan for Marine Ecological Environmental Protection" issued and implemented by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources, 283 bays have been designated in the nation's near-shore waters with the construction of beautiful bays as the main line. Over the past few years, coastal areas have implemented initiatives such as land and sea pollution prevention and control, ecological protection and restoration, and sea-friendly environmental remediation, and the ecological and environmental quality of the bays has been gradually upgraded.

The third baseline survey of marine pollution highlights four "more focus"

This year, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment launched the third baseline survey of marine pollution. The baseline survey of marine pollution is a major national survey, a comprehensive mapping of the basic conditions of the marine ecosystem during a certain historical period.

China conducted the first and second national baseline surveys of marine pollution in 1976 and 1996, respectively. Compared with the previous survey, this survey highlights four "more emphasis": the scope of the survey focuses more on the near-shore waters and 283 bays that are most directly and intensively affected by human activities; the means of the survey pays more attention to the use of satellite remote sensing, aerial photography by unmanned aerial vehicles and other high-tech; the survey indicators pay more attention to the integration of traditional and new pollutants; and the survey content pays more attention to the investigation of environmental pressure and ecological status of the coastline. The survey method pays more attention to the use of satellite remote sensing, unmanned aerial photography and other high-tech; the survey indicator pays more attention to the integration of traditional and new pollutants; and the survey content pays more attention to the investigation of environmental pressure and ecological status of the coastline.

The third baseline survey of marine pollution will be carried out in 2023, and it is planned to complete all survey and assessment work in 2025.