Search

With the continuous development of coastal urbanization and socio-economy, sea reclamation has become a common way to solve land shortage and urban expansion in China, but it has also triggered a series of ecological and livelihood issues. In the early years, Xiamen faced severe environmental change and ecological damage during the process of reclamation and development of Yundang harbor. In order to improve the environmental quality, Xiamen has carried out decades of effective integrated treatment for the Yundang Lagoon. At the same time, Xiamen has planned and constructed a new urban area in an orderly manner in the reclamation area of the Yundang Lagoon. By the measures such as formulating legal systems and urban development plans，interception of sewage, sediment dredged, bringe in the tide to rejuvenate the lagoon, planted mangrove, builded an ecological island, the ecological environment of the sea reclamation areas has been significantly improved. These measures have significantly improved the ecological environment of the reclamation area, effectively promoted the development, upgrading and transformation of the city, and promoted the formation of a high-quality development model that attaches equal importance to ecological protection and economic construction in Xiamen, with significant social, ecological and economic benefits.

The problem of inadequate connection between sea area management and land management related to sea reclamation projects has long been a sore point in marine management. In this study, the system and practical experience of sea reclamation projects management in Zhejiang Province on replacing sea area use right certificate to land use right certificate, planning and use control, use fee collection were sorted out, investigated and researched, the existing problems were analyzed, management suggestions were put forward. This study showed that the main problems in the connection between sea reclamation and land management were as follows: ① the land management indicators required for the replace of land use right certificates were insufficient; ② the use right value of the sea area and land were inconsistent; ③ planning and use control were not sufficiently connected; ④ the use fee collection standards were not unified. To standardize the connection between sea reclamation and land management, the following suggestions were put forward: ① coordinate land and sea planning and use control; ② establish the management system of sea reclamation project indicator (plan) ; ③ explore the value realization form of sea area use right; ④ improve the connection of sea area use fee and land use fee; ⑤ promote joint auction of sea area use right and land use right. This study can provide reference for the formulation of relevant policies.

In order to alleviate the contradiction between human and land, and expand the city living space, the sea reclamation activities have been developed rapidly in a short time. However, while the reclamation projects have brought remarkable economic benefits, they have caused a lot of negative effects on marine environment and biological resources in the coastal areas.In this paper,the threats of sea reclamation activities on marine hydrological dynamic conditions, water quality, disaster prevention and mitigation were analyzed, and the damages to biodiversity, habitat protection and ecosystem service function value were discussed. The practical countermeasures were put forward, such as improving the management system of national policies and regulations on sea reclamation, strengthening research on ecological restoration planning, and establishing a system for assessing the impact of land reclamation on the ecological environment.

Long-term and large-scale reclamation activities have not only revitalized the economy of coastal areas, but also severely damaged coastal ecosystems. This paper sorted out a series of policy requirements and technical guidelines on strengthening coastal wetland protection and strict management and control of reclamation. Taking Taiping Bay Port Area of Dalian Port and Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City as examples, the treatment of historical reclaiming problems and ecological protection and restoration practices in the port industrial area and the coastal eco-tourism area was analyzed, respectively. Suggestions for the protection and restoration of marine ecology in the new development stage were put forward, including taking ecology as a priority, keeping ECO development, implementing natural restoration mainly supplemented by artificial restoration, coordinating land and sea and coastal ecological protection and restoration, keeping problem-oriented and scientifically repairmen, supporting with science and technology and driving by demonstration.

The Pearl River Estuary is in the geometric center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is one of the main battlefields to drive the high-quality development of China's economy. This paper uses seven sets of typical satellite images in Pearl River Estuary for nearly half a century (from 1973 to 2021) to analyze the changes of coastline and sea reclamation. The results show that from 1973 to 2021, the total length of the coastline of the Pearl River Estuary increased from 240.09 km to 416.00 km, and that of the continental coastline from 186.87 km to 246.21 km (but the length of natural coastline in the continental coastline decreased from 136.91 km to 15.17 km). In the same period, the total reclamation area of the Pearl River Estuary increased by 28,256.06 ha. Before 2012, the growth rate of reclamation was generally fast. After 2012, the reclamation in China has entered a period of reflection. With reclamation was strictly controlled in the new era, only the previously approved reclamation projects and national major projects have been guaranteed, which makes the average annual growth rate of the coastline length and the reclamation area in the region show a significant downward trend. The reclamation in early days was largely for agriculture and pond culture purposes, but is shifting to transportation, industrial development, and urban construction in recent decades. This study scientifically analyzes the coastline and reclamation changes of the Pearl River Estuary in the past half century, which has a very important reference value for the next step to formulate marine ecological protection and restoration strategies, and construct a new pattern of marine space development and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northeastern coastal zone of Vietnam possesses high biodiversity and rich ecosystems like coral reefs, seagrasses, beaches and mangroves. It also includes the Ha Long Bay Natural Heritage site (UNESCO 1994) and the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve (MAB/UNESCO 2004) as well as hosts the Economic Development Triangle (Hai Phong−Ha Noi–Quang Ninh) established by the Government of Vietnam. As one of the coastal ecosystems, sandy beach ecosystems attracted more attention during recent decades because of their essential role for human welfare and in environmental protection. A few studies concentrated on sustainable management of sandy beach based on environmental and ecological protection and enhance the beach quality for recreational use. The DPSIR (Driving force Pressure State Impact Response) framework describes the logical interaction among systems and finds out the cause and consequence of social-economic development activities to the environment and resources. In this study, the DPSIR was applied on the sandy beaches in the Northeastern coast of Vietnam to reveal the main environmental problems on sandy beaches including the decline of the natural landscape around the beaches and the degradation of the environment. It also pointed out that tourism development in association with urbanization and sea reclamation is the main driving forces for environmental degradation of the sandy beaches. Therefore, local authorities of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh should take into account several main responses to policies on inter-province coordination and managerial measures with a wider scope, which integrate socio-economic and physical factors, proximity, accessibility, and neighborhood to manage healthy coastal ecosystems and sandy beaches in particular. An integrated coastal management program for the Northeastern coast of Vietnam needs to be developed and carried out to follow the laws of Vietnam as well as to meet local urgent requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pearl River Estuary is in the geometric center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is one of the main battlefields to drive the high-quality development of China’s economy. This paper uses seven sets of typical satellite images in Pearl River Estuary for nearly half a century (from 1973 to 2021) to analyze the changes of coastline and sea reclamation. The results show that from 1973 to 2021, the total length of the coastline of the Pearl River Estuary increased from 240.09 km to 416.00 km, and that of the continental coastline from 186.87 km to 246.21 km (but the length of natural coastline in the continental coastline decreased from 136.91 km to 15.17 km). In the same period, the total reclamation area of the Pearl River Estuary increased by 28,256.06 ha. Before 2012, the growth rate of reclamation was generally fast. After 2012, the reclamation in China has entered a period of reflection. With reclamation was strictly controlled in the new era, only the previously approved reclamation projects and national major projects have been guaranteed, which makes the average annual growth rate of the coastline length and the reclamation area in the region show a significant downward trend. The reclamation in early days was largely for agriculture and pond culture purposes, but is shifting to transportation, industrial development, and urban construction in recent decades. This study scientifically analyzes the coastline and reclamation changes of the Pearl River Estuary in the past half century, which has a very important reference value for the next step to formulate marine ecological protection and restoration strategies, and construct a new pattern of marine space development and protection.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), were studied in the surface sediments of Qingduizi Bay (Yellow Sea, China). The goal was to identify whether their distribution and levels can be influenced by aquaculture activities in ponds. The total concentration of PCBs in mariculture ponds (MP) and the outer bay (OB) ranged from 0.61 ng g–1 to 2.10 ng g–1 dry weight (dw) and from 0.79 to 2.41 ng g–1 dw, respectively. The concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), ranged from 0.03 to 0.18 ng g–1 dw and from 0.24 to 31.14 ng g–1 dw, respectively. The levels of PCBs were significantly different between MP and OB, whereas no significant differences of DDTs and HCHs were detected between the two areas. Among the PCB congeners, tri-PCB and tetra-PCB were dominant, implying a historical input and atmospheric deposition for PCBs. The isomeric ratios of the compositions implicated mixture sources of new and historical inputs for HCHs. However, DDT-containing feed and pesticides in aquaculture activities could be the primary source of newly inputted DDTs. A parallel ecological risk assessment analysis showed the impact of DDTs on marine organisms. In conclusion, aquaculture in ponds influences the occurrence and distribution of persistent halogenated compounds in coastal areas, causing potential ecological impacts. This result should be a baseline for the management of aquaculture ponds regarding these compounds.

Sea area grading of coastal county-level administrative division and sea area benchmark price formulation is a sea area use management work with Chinese characteristics. Sea area grading is the basis for formulating sea area benchmark price, and its essence is to perform suitability spatial differentiation evaluation for different sea uses. This study technical framework, and conducts an empirical research on the sea area grading for sea reclamation and structures in Zhuanghe City, Liaoning Province. The sea area grading range for sea reclamation and structures includes the marine functional zones except for the ''marine protected areas'', ''special utilization zones'' and ''reserved zones''. Six hundred sixty-three (663) 1 km31 km sized grids are divided as the sea area grading units by the dynamic grid-based method. A sea area grading indicator system for sea reclamation and structures is established from three aspects: Sea area natural conditions, constraints of marine ecological spaces and sea area location conditions, The scores of the sea area grading units are calculated by the ArcGIS 10.2 software, and the sea area is divided into five grades. The final scheme is consistent with the sea area conditions in Zhuanghe City. About a half of the sea reclamation and non-permeable structures in Zhuanghe City are distributed in the grade 2 sea area, and the sea area benchmark price corresponding to the sea area grade will realize the value of the sea area resource assets to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a way of turning sea into land for living space for humans, the actions of sea reclamation bring about significant benefits. Nevertheless, it is also an under-recognized threat to the environment and the marine ecosystem. Based on images in two periods, sea reclamation information of countries around the South China Sea was extracted from 1975 to 2010. The spatial state and driven forces of sea reclamation are then discussed. Results show that the overall strength of sea reclamation in the South China Sea was great. New reclaimed land added up to 3264 km2. Sea reclamation for fish farming was the main reclamation type and widely distributed in the whole area, especially on the coast from the Pearl River Delta to the Red River Delta, and the coast of Ca Mau Peninsula. Sea reclamation in China and Vietnam was rather significant, which occupies 80.6% of the total reclamation area. Singapore had the highest level of sea reclamation. New reclaimed land for fish farming holds a key role in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, while new reclaimed land for construction and docks dominated in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Areas and use-type compositions of new reclaimed land in countries varied greatly due to the differences of economic factors, policy inclination, and landscapes in the respective countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cai, Y.-Y., Zhang, Z.-P., Yan, J.-S., Gong, W., and Zhao, Q.-M., 2019. Sea area grading methodology for coastal county-level administrative division in China: A case study. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 237–242. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Sea area grading of coastal county-level administrative division and sea area benchmark price formulation is a sea area use management work with Chinese characteristics. Sea area grading is the basis for formulating sea area benchmark price, and its essence is to perform suitability spatial differentiation evaluation for different sea uses. This study technical framework, and conducts an empirical research on the sea area grading for sea reclamation and structures in Zhuanghe City, Liaoning Province. The sea area grading range for sea reclamation and structures includes the marine functional zones except for the "marine protected areas", "special utilization zones" and "reserved zones". Six hundred sixty-three (663) 1 km×1 km sized grids are divided as the sea area grading units by the dynamic grid-based method. A sea area grading indicator system for sea reclamation and structures is established from three aspects: Sea area natural conditions, constraints of marine ecological spaces and sea area location conditions, The scores of the sea area grading units are calculated by the ArcGIS 10.2 software, and the sea area is divided into five grades. The final scheme is consistent with the sea area conditions in Zhuanghe City. About a half of the sea reclamation and non-permeable structures in Zhuanghe City are distributed in the grade 2 sea area, and the sea area benchmark price corresponding to the sea area grade will realize the value of the sea area resource assets to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]