Yantai to boost marine ecological environment protection

The coastal city of Yantai in East China's Shandong province will step up measures to promote the protection and restoration of the city's marine ecological environment during the next five years and maintain ecological security and boost sustainable development of its bay resources.

The municipal government released a marine ecological protection plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) on Dec 31.

Yantai is blessed with beautiful sea views and a 909-kilometer coastline. It also has 26,000 square kilometers of marine area, which is home to more than 500 marine species. In recent years, the city has been beefing up efforts to promote its coordinated land and marine development, aiming to build itself into a modern and strong marine city.

The development plan is of great importance for Yantai to promote the construction of the national pilot zone for the high-quality development of the marine sector.

According to the development plan, Yantai will make continuous improvements to its ecological environment, and promote the synergy of anti-pollution and carbon reduction work. The city will also focus on the construction of a "beautiful bay," and create coordinated pollution control, ecological environmental protection and restoration measures, and climate change policies.

Efforts will also be made to build a complete institutional system, and continue to modernize its governance system to enable marine and environmental governance in an effort to boost the sense of fulfillment, happiness and safety among local residents.

A number of concrete measures have also been rolled out in the development plan, which include building a clean, green, healthy, safe, and beautiful ocean as well as further strengthening its governance capabilities.