Strengthening the Regulatory Framework for Marine Environmental Protection of Islands and the Surrounding Sea Areas in China

China‘s islands possess fragile, unstable and yet valuable ecosystems created by special regional geographic conditions and unique ecological environments. By gradually improving its recognition of the importance of marine biodiversity conservation, China has committed to marine environmental protection of its islands and their surrounding sea areas as special ecosystems. The development of an effective policy and legal regime to support this goal is a crucial element of China‘s long-term plan to address the major environmental challenges in its marine and coastal waters. This thesis examines opportunities to improve China‘s regulatory framework for marine environmental protection for islands and surrounding waters. It addresses the challenge of incorporating a new legally defined terminology - ‗ecosystem of islands and the surrounding sea areas‘ - into the State‘s regulatory framework on marine environmental protection. It draws upon developments in international environmental policy and law, in particular, the ecosystem approach and its usage in area based and integrated coastal zone management approaches. Analysis is provided of the key elements required in any national marine environmental protection regime, revealing that although China‘s present policies and laws address the environmental challenges in islands and surrounding waters, shortcomings are apparent. Opportunities to strengthen the national regulatory framework are identified, informed by case studies of three coastal provinces and special administrative regions in China concerning their marine environmental protection measures and plans for islands and the surrounding sea areas. The thesis concludes that there are deficiencies in the current legal, policy and institutional frameworks regulating China‘s marine environmental protection for its islands and the surrounding sea areas. It proposes options for legal and policy reforms to improve the regulatory framework.