The ecological environment in the South China Sea has improved steadily — thanks to significant strides in ecological conservation made by China on the back of science-based visions — offering valuable experience for global ocean governance.

Both nationally and locally, China has developed a robust system of laws and regulations for marine environmental protection, tailored to the characteristics of the South China Sea.

The revised Marine Environment Protection Law, which took effect in 2024, adheres to the principles of land-sea coordination and systemic governance, significantly strengthening the prevention and control of pollution, the protection of marine biodiversity, and the oversight of the marine environment. The Ecological and Environmental Code, which was adopted in March, views the marine environment, river basins, and coastal land areas as an indivisible whole, and carries out unified planning and systematic governance. Other existing maritime legislations — such as those on the island protection and fisheries — are interconnected with the code to form a comprehensive and well-structured legal framework, which establishes binding requirements for systemic governance and ecological conservation in the South China Sea.

Additionally, Guangdong province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Hainan province — the three provincial-level coastal regions of the South China Sea — have introduced targeted local regulations based on their specific conditions. For instance, while the code prioritizes the protection of reefs, each of the three regions has enacted dedicated local legislation on coral conservation to ensure effective protective measures.

The country tackles priority issues such as cleaning up the waters near the Pearl River estuary by improving sewage treatment; upgrading urban and rural environments; controlling pollution in sea-bound rivers; conducting inspection, monitoring, source tracing, and remediation of sewage outfalls into sea; and cleaning up marine litter. Land-sourced pollution has been effectively reduced.

Simultaneously, China is working to prevent and control pollution in mariculture, which is the cultivation of marine organisms both in land-based seawater systems and in their natural environment, by establishing standards and implementing category-based regulation and monitoring. Oversight of marine engineering projects has been tightened, and end-to-end treatment of waste from ports and ships is being implemented, to steadily enhance marine pollution control.

Data show that since 2012, the water quality in the South China Sea has remained consistently good and continues to improve. In 2025, the proportion of nearshore waters with good quality reached 93.9 percent. In addition, the density of microplastics in the South China Sea's coastal waters is low, contributing to the best offshore environmental quality in China.

China is committed to integrated marine protection and systematic restoration, prioritizing areas with critical ecological functions and highly fragile ecosystems in the South China Sea as the red line for stringent protection. By 2025, approximately 27,000 square kilometers of marine conservation red lines had been established in this region, safeguarding vital ecosystems, biodiversity and key habitats.

To date, over 170 marine protected areas (PAs) of various levels have been established in the South China Sea. These PAs encompass critical ecosystems, habitats, and spawning grounds for rare and endangered, as well as flagship, species. Among them are 7 national-level nature reserves involved in protecting coral reefs.

Tailored coral reef conservation and restoration efforts have been successfully implemented in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; Zhanjiang, Guangdong province; and Sanya and Sansha, Hainan province. In key areas of Beihai's Weizhou Island, live coral coverage increased from 5.1 percent to 19.7 percent. In Xuwen county of Zhanjiang, illegal aquaculture and fishing activities were cleared and regulated, while cultivation of coral seedlings has been advanced. In Sanya, the integration of marine ranching with coral reef restoration has led to an increase in live reef-building coral coverage in the nearshore waters of Wuzhizhou Island. As a result, rare marine species such as sea turtles and spotted seals have reappeared.

After more than a decade of efforts, the expanded islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands have progressed toward ecological and natural development. Plant, insect, and bird communities are evolving favorably. Vegetation coverage is increasing, leading to more forests, shrubs, grasslands, sandy shores, and wetlands. Some islands have even developed natural freshwater layers. Meanwhile, natural sandy beaches and reefs continue to grow, with patches of natural vegetation providing habitats for sea turtles and seabirds.

A 2025 scientific investigation shows that the waters surrounding the expanded islands and reefs are home to 335 species of reef-building corals, accounting for 75.3 percent of all known reef-building species in the South China Sea. In certain areas of Meiji Reef and Huayang Reef, live reef-building coral cover is comparable to that of the renowned Great Barrier Reef.

China has established a comprehensive and regular ecological monitoring system. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, relevant authorities have carried out surveys and monitoring of the ecological environment, resources, and early-warning indicators in the nearshore areas, key islands and reefs, and surrounding waters of the South China Sea. Long-term monitoring stations have been set up to dynamically track indicators such as environmental quality, coral reef ecosystem health and biodiversity.

Since 2024, the country has released a series of reports, such as those on the marine eco-environment of Huangyan Island and Xianbin Reef, as well as a bulletin of marine ecology and environment status of the South China Sea in 2025.

In the meantime, China has strengthened inter-agency collaboration to build a multi-tiered, full-coverage marine supervision and law enforcement network. Regular ecological patrols are conducted, along with special enforcement campaigns targeting illegal coral mining, unauthorized discharge of pollutants, and unlicensed aquaculture and fishing, creating a strong deterrent.

China's governance practices have laid a solid foundation for the steady improvement of the ecological environment in the South China Sea. However, protecting the marine ecosystem remains a long-term and challenging task because of pressures from climate change and human activities. Conservation and restoration require sustained efforts. Looking ahead, China will continue to strengthen land-sea coordination and collaborative governance, increase protection and restoration efforts, and enhance regulatory oversight and technological innovation. These initiatives aim to foster harmony between people and the ocean and contribute to China's efforts toward building a clean and beautiful marine world.

The author is the director of the Marine Eco-Environmental Research Center, South China Institute of Environmental Science, Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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