2023 Marine Ecology & Environment Status Review
By CWR 25 June, 2024
The marine ecology & environment of China continues to improve, with a remarkable 85% of its coastal waters classified as 'Excellent/Good'. Dive deeper into our review of MEE's annual report to learn more
On 24 May 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) released the 2023 Bulletin of Marine Ecology and Environment Status of China reporting that “the marine ecology and environment remains stable and is improving”.
Key highlights from the 2023 MEESC Bulletin are…
- The overall water quality of the seas under jurisdiction “remained stable” & improved. Sea areas with Grade I category slightly improved from 97.4% in 2022 to 97.9% in 2023.
- The overall seawater quality of coastal areas continues to improve steadily. Coastal areas with “Excellent/Good” category (Grade I-II) improved from 81.9% in 2022 to 85% in 2023.
- Sea areas with worse than Category IV water quality are mainly distributed in coastal waters such as Liaodong Bay, Yangtze River Estuary, Hangzhou Bay, and Pearl River Estuary.
- The overall water quality of rivers flowing into the sea across the country is generally in good status.
- The environmental quality of beaches and marine fishery areas is generally in good status.
We deep dive into seawater quality of China’s coastal areas below…
| To better understand the terminology of seawater quality used by the report, please refer to the following list:
Grade I: suitable for fishery, ocean natural reserves & rare/endangered aquatic lives |
Coastal Area seawater quality continues to improve
Seawater quality in China’s coastal areas has been improving steadily. As shown in the chart below, between 2018 and 2023 there was an improvement in seawaters with “Excellent/Good” category (Grade I-II) . Grade I-II category improved from 81.9% in 2022 to 85% in 2023; Grade IV+ also improved by decreasing from 8.9% to 7.9%.
The upward trend for the “Excellent/Good” category (Grade I-II) since 2018 continues
Sea areas under jurisdiction of China remained stable
The status of seas under China’s jurisdiction remained stable and continued to improve in 2023.
The sea areas meeting Grade I slightly improved from 97.4% in 2022 to 97.9%. while Grade IV+ slightly improved from 0.8% in 2022 to 0.7% in 2023.
As most of the seawater category is Grade I, we take a deeper look into the 4 major seas’ water that are worse than Grade I (Grade II-IV+) below.
East China Sea has the most area not meeting Grade I; Yellow Sea has the least
The overall seawater quality in China remained stable with the majority in Grade I category. However among the four major seas, only Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and South China Sea saw improvements in their Grade II-IV+ waters, while the East China Sea Grade II-IV+ waters deteriorated by 35%.
All seas’ Grade II-IV+ figures have improved except for East China Sea, which deteriorated 35%…
…plus its Grade IV+ waters increased a significant 47%
In 2023, the East China Sea had the most sea area in Grade II-IV+ category with 39,070km² while Yellow Sea had the least with 5,700km².
In terms of percentage of Grade II-IV+, South China Sea has the highest share of Grade IV+ category (39%) while Yellow Sea has the least (9%), as shown in the bottom chart below.
When taking a closer look at the sea area with Grade IV+ category between 2022-2023, we note that only East China Sea’s Grade IV+ category had deteriorated, by a whopping 47%. On the other hand, Bohai, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea improved by 70%, 79% and 52% respectively.
On June 7, MEE issued an Action Plan to construct more than 110 beautiful bays in 7 coastal cities…
…with ~40% completed by 2027
This year, on June 7, MEE issued the Action Plan for Enhancing the Beautiful Bay Development (美丽海湾建设提升行动方案), a plan focused on promoting the construction of more than 110 bays into beautiful bays in seven coastal cities, including Xiamen. They stated that in 2027, the completion rate of the beautiful bays will reach about 40%. Three specific actions were detailed in the plan: improving the quality and efficiency of the construction of the beautiful bays, protecting and restoring marine ecosystems and regulating key sewage outlets into the sea.
Further readings
- 2022 Marine Ecology & Environment Status Review — Though overall coastal water quality remained stable, there’s still a lot of clean-up needed. Get the latest in our review and find out which sea’s Grade IV+ worsened by a whopping 388% and more
- 2020 Marine Ecology & Environment Status Review — Oceans have become a new driving force of economic development. How are China’s oceans doing on pollution? Check out our review
- First-ever 14FYP for Water Security – 8 Key Thoughts — China’s first-ever 14FYP for Water Security signals that it is well ahead in water adaptation & the IPCC’s “climate resilient development”. CWR’s Tan & Low share more key thoughts
More on Latest
- 2023 State of Ecology & Environment Report Review – How has China’s water quality progressed in 2023? Check out our review for a blow-by-blow account of water quality movements by key rivers & reservoirs for 2023 as well as historic trends since the release of its 14FYP in 2021
- Water Crises Warrants River Ethics – Can better river ethics be a solution to the global water crisis? Water gurus Biswas & Tortajada think so – join them to explore the current progress & evolution of river ethics & management in China & around the world
- 10th World Water Forum Bali 2024 – 5 Key Takeaways – The 10th World Water Forum was held in dreamy Bali but how dreamy was the Forum? Are global water conversations advancing? What were the hot topics? CWR’s McGregor & Low share their 5 key takeaways
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