Beibu Gulf to become a pilot zone for eco-environment restoration

Guangxi will establish a pollution control system for coastal waters and develop Beibu Gulf into a pioneering area for comprehensive ecological environment management, according to Cao Boxiang, deputy head of the Ecology and Environment Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

Beibu Gulf is one of the cleanest bays in China, with a total area of 63,400 square kilometers belonging to Guangxi. According to a 2018 bulletin issued by the Guangxi Ecological Environment Department, the coastal waters of Guangxi are in good condition. The proportion of water with excellent or good quality in 44 regional-controlled monitoring points and 23 State-controlled monitoring points were at 81.8 percent and 91.3 percent respectively.

Cao also stated that the ecological environment protection of coastal waters in Guangxi is facing severe challenges. These challenges mainly come from the pollution of local sea areas such as Maowei Sea, Qinzhou Port, Lianzhou Bay, and the east and west bay of Fangchenggang. Pollutants caused by urban and rural domestic sewage, livestock and aquaculture sewage, as well as agricultural non-point source pollution enter the coastal waters through rivers and surface runoff, making phosphate and inorganic nitrogen in the seawater, exceed the standard.

To date, Guangxi is vigorously working on the clean-up and remediation of the sea drain, and 113 of the 114 sewage outlets have been rectified. In the future, Guangxi will identify the main sources of pollution in the region, formulate practical measures, and establish a pollution control system for coastal waters to develop Beibu Gulf into a pilot zone for ecological environment management and accelerate the governance of the coastal waters of the area.