Global Times:

My main interest is the issue of inland sea ecological management, as this is considered a global challenge. The Bohai Sea is China's only inland sea. As such, could you provide an overview of the ecological governance efforts in the Bohai Sea in recent years? What exemplary measures have we taken that could serve as models for other countries and regions worldwide? Thank you.

Guo Fang:

Thank you for your questions, and for your interest in the governance of the Bohai Sea. As you mentioned, inland seas extend deep into the continent and are only connected to the open ocean by straits, often resulting in small sea areas, slow water exchange rates, poor marine environmental capacity and significant human activity. These characteristics make inland seas a challenge for marine environmental governance. There are many international examples, such as the Chesapeake Bay in the United States, the Baltic Sea in Europe and the Seto Inland Sea in Japan, all of which have through years of management practices. The Bohai Sea is China's only semi-enclosed inland sea and has experienced ecological difficulties such as nearshore water quality deterioration, ecological degradation, resource depletion and frequent disasters. China attaches great importance to the governance of the Bohai Sea and has been continuously working on it. Particularly since 2018, we have carried out two rounds of key comprehensive governance campaigns, achieving significant results. In 2023, the proportion of nearshore areas in the Bohai Sea with good to excellent water quality reached 83.5%, an increase of 18.1 percentage points compared to 2018, exceeding our average growth rate.

In the practice of governing the Bohai Sea, China has explored and developed a comprehensive inland sea ecological governance model that integrates land and sea management, with three key elements.

First is coordinated land-sea management. The pollution in the Bohai Sea is mainly due to an excess of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients. While the problem seems to be in the sea, its roots are on land. In recent years, improvements to the Bohai Sea's water quality have been achieved by controlling the two "pathways" of seagoing rivers and sea-entering discharge outlets. We have implemented a comprehensive approach to control total nitrogen in seagoing rivers and conducted meticulous work on inspecting, measuring, tracing and managing sea-entering sewage discharge outlets. We have established a mechanism to control land-sea pollution encompassing "river basin-estuary-nearshore sea areas." I can report to you today that the water quality of the Bohai Sea continues to improve.

The second key is pollution reduction and capacity expansion. Pollution reduction is relatively straightforward; it involves reducing the discharge of pollutants into the sea through measures such as cutting total nitrogen emissions from seagoing rivers and rectifying sea-entering sewage discharge outlets. Capacity expansion, as Mr. Sun mentioned, involves enhancing the marine environment's capacity through the protection and restoration of coastal wetlands and ecological shorelines. For example, the restoration of coastal salt marshes and seagrass beds in the Yellow River and Luan River estuaries has effectively enhanced the region's capacity to accommodate and degrade pollutants. By simultaneously addressing pollution control and ecological restoration, we have effectively promoted the improvement of the Bohai Sea's marine ecological environment.

The third key is regional coordination. Managing the Bohai Sea involves multiple departments and regions. In the governance process, China's institutional advantages have been fully demonstrated, with all resources and forces being mobilized effectively. We have established a coordination and collaboration mechanism with clear responsibilities and divisions of labor, promoting joint efforts. We have improved the collaborative governance and consultation notification mechanisms for nearshore waters and strengthened the joint prevention and control mechanisms for the upstream and downstream of seagoing rivers, ensuring the implementation of various governance tasks. The results of the Bohai Sea governance are the outcome of collaborative efforts.

These three key elements of the comprehensive governance of the Bohai Sea have become a new model for global inland sea ecological governance, reflecting China's approach and wisdom. We look forward to strengthening technical cooperation and exchanges in this field with relevant countries. Moving forward, we will continue to maintain our efforts in the governance of the Bohai Sea to promote continuing improvements to its ecological environment. Thank you.