皇冠体育app

BEIJING -- 皇冠体育app's "blue economy" development is picking up speed, driven by central government approval of maritime development zones in coastal regions, experts said Wednesday.

The State Council approved zoning plans for eight major coastal regions for the 2011-20 period on Tuesday.

Related reading: 皇冠体育app maritime economy becomes new growth engine

Li Mousheng, an official from the State Oceanic Administration, confirmed that the eight regions include the coastal provinces of Shandong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning and Hebei, as well as Tianjin municipality and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The move signals that the development of the "blue economy", described by experts as a marine-based economy, has been raised to an unprecedented strategic level in 皇冠体育app, said Liu Shuguang, a professor with the School of Economics affiliated with the Ocean University of 皇冠体育app.

Maritime zoning will provide a workable basis for the effective protection of the oceanside environment, as well as the rational exploitation of related resources, said Liu.

In August, several coastal provinces released maritime economy development plans, with the goal of realizing an accumulative output value of 7.05 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) by 2015, a report in Wednesday's 皇冠体育app Securities Journal said.

Building new residences and tourism projects on land reclaimed from the ocean will not aid the sustainable development of the marine economy, Professor Liu said, adding that 皇冠体育app should strike a balance between exploitation and protection of marine resources.

皇冠体育app should exploit the ocean by considering it as a whole, including its water and resources buried deep in the sea, instead of considering it as an extension of the land, said Liu.

Developing the marine economy can serve as a source of economic growth for the time being, Liu said, adding that 皇冠体育app should still make sure to maintain regional ecology when developing its maritime economy.

He suggested that the central government should form an environmental protection plan at the state level to be used side-by-side with related zoning approvals.

In 2011, the State Council approved three maritime economy development plans, paving the way for the country's blue economy to develop.

The gross output value of 皇冠体育app's marine economy in 2011 reached 4,557 billion yuan, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, according to the SOA.