Benrong Peng

Regional Ocean Governance in China: An Appraisal of the Clean Bohai Sea Program

In 2001 China embarked on an ambitious program to improve water quality through creation of the Clean Bohai Sea Program (CBSP). It is the first regional ocean governance program in China. The joint conference of central and local government units directed CBSP under the leadership of the State Environment Protection Administration. To meet the environmental objectives established by the joint conference local governments must pay for the program and operate it, but to date they have not been able to fully fund the effort. Although data indicate a decline of polluted discharges to the Bohai, one tabulation shows that the area of the sea that is polluted has increased each year from 2001 to 2005. Future enhancement of CBSP depends on revising incentives to better link local environmental programs and development, establishing funding mechanisms to equitably spread costs throughout watersheds, and creating comprehensive monitoring programs to better appraise program results.

Evaluation of marine spatial resources and its application to the establishment marine usage charge: case study of Xiamen, China

While marine environmental destruction and marine resource over-consumption are urgent challenges facing us today, the value of marine spatial resources continues to be overlooked and undervalued. We have begun to reach the limits of the oceans and must now begin to utilize and govern them in a more sustainable way. Imposing usage charges in sectors that utilize marine areas for production or for waste disposal would be an efficient economic instrument to discourage waste, optimize distribution, promote conservation and provide funds to improve sea areas health. The essential task for establishing the usage charges for marine spaces is to estimate the value of marine areas. In this study, two operative models are developed to assess the value of marine spaces and the models are applied in order to evaluate the price of different types of marine spatial functions in Xiamen. This study could help decision makers to improve management of sea spatial resources. The principles for establishing the usage charges for marine spaces are also discussed.