Zhoushan's green development path

A marine ranch on Gouqi Island in Shengsi county, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]

Authorities in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, have in recent years been implementing a series of measures to advance its sustainable development.

For example, authorities have explored new ways to deal with the origins of marine pollution, including replacing 550,000 white foam floating balls on Gouqi Island in the city's Shengsi county and establishing a service platform for monitoring ships' pollutants.

Authorities have also set up organizations at the city, county, township and village levels and launched services to improve the management of its bays and beaches.

The city has appointed 409 workers to be responsible for the environment of 321 bays and beaches along the 942 kilometers of coastline.

As of the end of 2022, the city's proportion of excellent seawater quality in coastal waters was 51.7 percent, a year-on-year increase of 9.2 percent.

Zhoushan has also been making efforts to become a no-waste city, including introducing a comprehensive service provider and establishing a digital platform, to deal with industrial solid waste properly.

The platform has provided services to nearly 500 enterprises and collected 56,700 metric tons of industrial solid waste.

In addition, authorities have implemented measures to protect the marine environment, and the city is currently home to 7,270 square meters of marine protected areas, the first national green fishing experiment base and five national marine ranches.

Authorities have also introduced mangroves to bolster the blue carbon economy.