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China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announced Thursday that the country has named its first seven national ocean parks to ensure sound ecological environment and sustainable development for coastal tourism.
The seven parks are sprawled along China's coastal areas, with two in Guangdong, two in Shandong, and one in Guangxi, Fujian and Jiangsu, respectively, SOA spokesman Li Haiqing said at a press conference.
According to the SOA, the largest park covers an area of 51,455 hectares and is located in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province.
The SOA also announced the expansion and improvement of five national special marine reserves in eastern Shandong Province.
Chen Liqun, an official with the SOA's environmental protection and management bureau, said the parks and reserves will coordinate oceanic ecological protection with the use of oceanic resources.
"The national ocean parks, which provide beautiful beach resorts for the public, can promote marine eco-environment protection and facilitate sustainable development of coastal tourism," Chen explained.
China established its first national special marine reserve in 2005. With the newly-announced projects, it now has 21 national special marine reserves and seven national ocean parks, covering a total area of nearly 360,000 hectares, SOA figures show.
In addition, the country also has 33 national marine nature reserves.
In contrast to marine nature reserves, which ban or restrict exploitation, special marine reserves and ocean parks are permitted to be developed in a scientific way under the principles of scientific planning, unified management, and a protection-first philosophy with appropriate utilization.