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	OFFICIAL REPLY OF THE STATE COUNCIL REGARDING FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS OF THE SEA NATIONWIDE

	(Letter No. 77 [2002] of the State Council promulgated on August 22, 2002)


SUBJECT : THE SEA NATIONWIDE; FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS
ISSUING DEPARTMENT : THE STATE COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
ISSUE DATE : 08/22/2002
IMPLEMENT DATE : 08/22/2002
LENGTH : 692 words
TEXT :

Request for Instruction on Approving Functional Divisions of the Sea of the Whole Country (No. 223 [2002] of the Ministry of Land and Resources) has been received. We hereby give our reply as follows:

I. We approve, in principle, the Functional Divisions of the Sea of the Whole Country (hereinafter referred to the "Divisions"), which shall be promulgated and enforced by the State Oceanic Administration.

II. The sea is an important resource for the sustainable economic and social development of China. Presently, the use of sea areas in China lacks the overall planning, the excessive utilization of resources exists with the insufficient development, and the pollution of sea areas along the shore and the ecological deterioration has become more serious than before. Therefore, with regard to the use and administration of the sea areas, we must earnestly implement the laws and regulations on sea administration, and adhere to the guideline of developing in protection as well as protecting in development, and also strictly apply the system of functional divisions of the sea, so as to realize the reasonable development and sustainable utilization of the sea areas.

III. Functional divisions of the sea are the basis for the administration of sea areas and the protection of marine environment, which have legal binding force and must be strictly implemented. The people's governments of all sea-coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, according to the targets determined in the "Divisions", make plans on the adjustment of key sea areas, determine the time table for stopping, dismantling, moving or closing the projects under use of the sea, which do not conform to the functional divisions of the sea, and propose rectification measures for recovering the environment of the sea areas where these projects are located.

IV. The people's government of all local levels shall earnestly work out the functional divisions of the sea. The people's governments of all sea-coastal provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall follow the principles for working out the functional divisions of the sea determined in the Law on the Administration of Sea Areas, and shall, under the guidance of the "Divisions", work out or revise the functional divisions of the sea at all local levels as soon as possible, and strictly approve the functional divisions of the sea worked out and revised level by level. The State Oceanic Administration shall formulate, as soon as possible, the Measures for Examination and Submission for Approval of the Functional Divisions of the Sea at the Provincial Level, and submit them to the State Council for approval.

V. The maritime administrative departments at all levels shall, jointly with the relevant departments, work out the planning on marine environment protection according to the functional divisions of the sea, and shall strengthen the marine environment protection accordingly.

VI. The survey and appraisal of marine resources and the situation on marine environment and use of the sea shall be further strengthened, and the system of information on administering the functional divisions of the sea shall be established. The situation on the use of sea areas and environmental quality shall be followed up and monitored thoroughly, the supervision of the government on the use of sea areas and the protection of marine environment shall be intensified, and the comprehensive decision-making ability and administration quality of the maritime administrative departments at all levels and of other departments involving marine affairs shall be improved.

VII. The State Oceanic Administration shall, jointly with the relevant departments, earnestly ensure the implementation of all tasks and measures proposed in the "Divisions". The maritime administrative departments at all levels and their respective sea supervision institutions shall intensify their effort on enforcing law, rectify and regulate the order to develop and utilize the sea. The financial departments at all levels shall bring the expenses for the work of functional divisions of the sea into the budget. Each department having to do with marine affairs shall coordinate or link up the relations between the relevant divisions or planning and the "Divisions" in accordance with the law, so as to guarantee the realization of the targets in the "Divisions".