The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered reporters' questions on the "Action Plan for the Comprehensive Management of Key Sea Areas"

Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the China Coast Guard Bureau jointly issued the Action Plan for the Comprehensive Management of Key Sea Areas (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered reporters' questions on the background significance, overall ideas, goals and tasks of the introduction of the Action Plan.

Q: What is the background and significance of the promulgation of the Action Plan?

Answer: Since the "13th Five-Year Plan", under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, remarkable achievements have been made in the protection of the marine ecological environment on the mainland, and the phased goals of the comprehensive management of the Bohai Sea have been successfully completed, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of comprehensive management of coastal waters in a larger region and at a deeper level. The adjacent sea areas of the Bohai Sea, the Yangtze River Estuary-Hangzhou Bay and the Pearl River Estuary (hereinafter referred to as the three key sea areas) are major strategic areas for high-quality development along the coast of the mainland and an important practice area for the harmonious coexistence of people and seas. Although the overall improvement of the ecological environment in the three key sea areas in recent years is still in the peak period of pollution emissions and environmental risks, the superposition period of marine ecological degradation and frequent disasters, the structural, root cause and trend pressures have not been fundamentally alleviated, and the continuous improvement of the ecological environment in the "14th Five-Year Plan" is facing arduous challenges.

On November 2, 2021, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Deepening the Battle of Pollution Prevention and Control (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which listed the comprehensive management of key sea areas as one of the landmark battles of the "14th Five-Year Plan" to fight pollution prevention and control battles, and put forward clear goals and tasks. In order to implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the China Coast Guard and other departments, prepared the Action Plan.

The preparation and implementation of the Action Plan is an inevitable requirement for the in-depth implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, an important measure to implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to fight the battle against pollution, and is of great significance for promoting the continuous improvement of the ecological environment in key sea areas and the high-quality economic development of coastal areas, enhancing the public's sense of gain and happiness in the sea, and promoting the modernization of the governance system and governance capabilities of the marine ecological environment.

Q: Please tell us about the general idea of the Action Plan?

Answer: The Action Plan adheres to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implements Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, closely follows the relevant decision-making and deployment of the Opinions, adheres to the general tone of the work of seeking progress in a stable manner, and follows the basic principles of adapting measures to local conditions and zoning policies, overall planning of land and sea, comprehensive management, systematic protection and synergy, implementation of responsibility and joint efforts to tackle tough problems, focusing on the outstanding ecological and environmental problems existing in the three key sea areas, and systematically deploying key tasks such as pollution control, ecological protection, risk prevention, and quality improvement. And with the "14th Five-Year" ecological environmental protection related special planning and policy documents, etc., fully connected, there are mainly the following three characteristics.

The first is to adhere to the direction of continuous expansion. The scope of the attack has been expanded from the bohai sea in the previous round to the adjacent sea areas of the Bohai Sea, the Yangtze River Estuary - Hangzhou Bay and the Pearl River Estuary, focusing on the pollution control of the "2+ 24" coastal cities and their management areas, maintaining the intensity, extending the depth and expanding the breadth, deeply implementing the systematic treatment, comprehensive treatment and source treatment of various types of land and sea pollution, and promoting the overall improvement of the ecological environment quality of the coastal waters of the country through regional key attacks.

The second is to adhere to the people-centered goal of tackling tough problems. Strive to solve the outstanding ecological and environmental problems around the people, while focusing on promoting the improvement of seawater quality, ecological protection and restoration, environmental risk prevention, etc., emphasize the public's pro-sea environmental protection, further promote the construction of beautiful bays, and continuously enhance the sense of gain and happiness of the general public in the sea.

The third is to adhere to the strategy of accurate landing. Deepen the analysis and traceability of the causes of problems, implement the "five precision" requirements, take action measures that work well and solve problems, and according to the different ecological and environmental endowments and development positioning of the three key seas, accurately implement policies according to local conditions, clarify different key directions, and set differentiated goals and tasks.

Q: What are the main objectives of the Nape?

A: The Action Plan closely follows the requirements of the Opinions and connects with relevant planning goals, and puts forward the main objectives of the battle by 2025: the ecological environment of the Bohai Sea, the Yangtze River Estuary -Hangzhou Bay, and the adjacent waters of the Pearl River Estuary continues to improve, and the comprehensive management of the ecological environment of land and sea has been significantly enhanced. The proportion of excellent water quality (Category I and II) in the three key seas has increased by about 2 percentage points compared with 2020. The investigation and rectification of sewage discharges into the sea has been steadily promoted, and the sections of rivers under provincial control and above have basically eliminated inferior V categories. Coastal wetlands and shorelines have been effectively protected, and the ability to prevent marine environmental risks and respond to emergencies has been significantly improved, forming a number of beautiful bays with national demonstration value.

In the process of formulating the specific targets of the three key sea areas, in accordance with the work ideas of adapting measures to local conditions, zoning policies and precise governance, differentiated targets have been deployed in terms of water quality targets in coastal waters, requirements for the investigation and rectification of sewage discharges into the sea, and requirements for the governance of rivers entering the sea.

Q: What are the key tasks deployed in the NAPA to achieve the above objectives?

A: The Action Plan deploys four main tasks, including 8 special actions and 2 important measures.

The first is to deeply implement the prevention and control of land and sea pollution, based on the ecological environment endowments and development positioning of the three key sea areas, and carry out 7 special actions such as investigation and rectification of sewage outlets into the sea, improvement of water quality of rivers entering the sea, pollution control of coastal cities, pollution control of coastal agriculture and rural areas, environmental improvement of marine aquaculture, pollution prevention and control of ships and ports, and environmental improvement of shore beaches.

The second is to carry out ecological protection and restoration by zoning classification, carry out special actions for marine ecological protection and restoration, consolidate and deepen the effectiveness of ecological protection and restoration of the Bohai Sea, promote the protection and restoration of coastal wetlands and shorelines in the adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary - Hangzhou Bay and the Pearl River Estuary; strengthen the protection of regional precious endangered species and their habitats; and strengthen the conservation of fishery resources.

The third is to strengthen environmental risk prevention, adhere to the principle of prevention, enhance capabilities, and systematically implement important measures such as the investigation and inspection of sea-related risk sources, the rectification of environmental risks, and the capacity building of marine environmental emergencies emergency supervision.

The fourth is to promote the construction of beautiful bays, adhere to the equal emphasis on governance and supervision, implement the comprehensive treatment of "one bay and one policy" bay, and promote the construction of beautiful bays and the normalization of monitoring and supervision of the ecological environment of the bays.

Q: How to ensure the effective implementation of the objectives and tasks of the Nape?

A: In order to ensure that the action is effective, the Action Plan proposes three safeguard measures.

The first is to strengthen organizational leadership and supervision and evaluation. Implement the overall requirements of "overall planning by the central government, overall responsibility for the province, and implementation by cities and counties", focusing on the "2+24" coastal cities and their managed sea areas, decomposing the target tasks step by step, and compacting the responsibilities layer by layer. The relevant departments of the State Council cooperate closely, strengthen supervision and support, establish regular scheduling and evaluation mechanisms, and strengthen law enforcement supervision and accountability.

The second is to strengthen scientific and technological support and financial security. Incorporate the major scientific and technological needs of the battle into the national key research and development plan projects, major scientific and technological projects in coastal provinces and cities, etc., and strengthen the research and demonstration and promotion of relevant key technologies. Coastal localities may, in accordance with regulations, coordinate transfer payments from higher levels and their own financial resources, increase financial input, and encourage the participation of social capital.

The third is to strengthen information disclosure and public participation. Increase the intensity of public opinion publicity, disclose enterprise environmental information in accordance with the law, make good use of the national ecological environment petition complaint and report management platform and network supervision methods, and encourage public participation.