Towards “land and sea coordination” in China’s offshore environmental protection enforcement: Issues, challenges, and improvement

This paper explores the principle of “land and sea coordination” as a critical framework for enhancing China’s offshore environmental protection enforcement. Over decades of marine environmental protection practices, China has gradually established the guiding principle of “land and sea coordination,” focusing on addressing prominent environmental problems in offshore area by strengthening the prevention and control of land-based pollution. The study examines how the “land and sea coordination” principle can rectify the deficiencies in marine environment protection enforcement, and underscores the importance of establishing a more cohesive legal and regulatory framework that aligns land and sea environmental protection efforts. The methodology includes a comprehensive analysis of existing legal frameworks, regulatory practices, and spatial planning policies. By reviewing these components, the research identifies key gaps in the current enforcement system, particularly in the fragmented approach to land and sea governance. The study offers actionable recommendations, including the need for a strengthened legal framework that better integrates land-sea environmental protection, the promotion of unified spatial planning that resolves conflicts between land and marine policies, the enhancement of pollutant discharge standards tailored to marine ecological needs, and the improvement of sewage outfall regulations. Key results include recommendations for improving the legal framework, promoting unified spatial planning, enhancing pollutant discharge standards, strengthening the regulation of sewage outfalls, and improving environmental protection obligations in coastal reclamation. The findings emphasize that implementing the “land and sea coordination” principle is vital for ensuring the sustainable development of marine ecosystems.