Lesson 16

Sustainable Marine Development Strategy 海洋可持续发展战略
China has a population of more than 1.2 billion, and its land natural resources per capita are lower than the world's average. Official statistics show that China has a land area of 9.6 million sq km, making it the third-biggest country in the world. However, the land area per capita is only 0.008 sq km, much lower than the world's average of 0.3 sq km per capita. In recent years China's average annual amount of freshwater resources has been 2,800 billion cu m, ranking sixth in the world; but the amount of freshwater resources per capita is only one fourth of the world's average. China is rich in land mineral resources, but the amount per capita is less than half the figure per capita worldwide. As a major developing country with a long coastline, China, therefore, must take exploitation and protection of the ocean as a long-term strategic task before it can achieve the sustainable development of its national economy.  
中国有12亿多人口，陆地自然资源人均占有量低于世界平均水平。根据中国有关方面的统计：中国有960万平方公里的陆地国土，居世界第三位，但人均占有陆地面积仅有0.008平方公里，远低于世界人均0.3平方公里的水平；全国近年来年平均淡水资源总量为28000亿立方米，居世界第六位，但人均占有量仅为世界平均水平的四分之一；中国陆地矿产资源总量丰富，但人均占有量不到世界人均量的一半。中国作为一个发展中的沿海大国，国民经济要持续发展，必须把海洋的开发和保护作为一项长期的战略任务。

China boasts a mainland coastline of more than 18,000 km. There are more than 5,000 islands in China's territorial waters, each with an area of more than 500 sq m, and the islands' coastlines total more than 14,000 km. China also exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the vast continental shelves and exclusive economic zones (EEZs), as defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Located in medium and low latitudes, China's sea areas have comparatively advantageous natural environmental and resource conditions. Some 20,278 species of sea creatures have been verified there. The fishing grounds that have been developed in China's sea areas cover 818,000 square nautical miles. The shallow seas and tidelands have a total area of 13.33 million ha, of which 2.6 million ha of water surface are suitable for the raising of aquatic products in terms of the current scientific level. So far, 938,000 ha are being utilized for this purpose. Scattered in these offshore waters are more than 30 sedimentation basins, with a total area of nearly 700,000 sq km. It is estimated that there are about 25 billion tons of oil resources and 8.4 trillion cu m of natural gas in these basins. More than 160 bays are spread along China's coasts, plus the deep-water stretches of coast with a total length of several hundred kilometers.Many spots along the coastline are suitable for constructing harbors and developing marine transportation. There are more than 1,500 tourist, scenic and recreational spots favorable for developing marine tourism. In addition, China's offshore areas abound in seawater resources and regenerable marine energy resources. 中国拥有大陆岸线18000多公里，以及面积在500平方米以上的海岛5000多个，岛屿岸线14000多公里；按照《联合国海洋法公约》的规定，中国还对广阔的大陆架和专属经济区行使主权权利和管辖权；中国的海域处在中、低纬度地带，