Xiamen making waves with major events

2024 East Asian Seas Congress and Xiamen World Ocean Week launched in city

The 2024 East Asian Seas Congress and World Ocean Week in Xiamen kicked off on Wednesday in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, marking the first time that the EASC has been held in the city.

At the opening ceremony, Xiamen's achievements in marine ecological conservation and restoration were seen as a strong effort to bring about global change.

A senior official said at the opening ceremony that the important concepts and initiatives, such as the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the blue partnership targeted at promoting maritime connectivity and practical cooperation in various fields, have provided direction and showcased China's solutions for the construction of a common maritime home.

By adhering to the concept of coordinating land and sea, considering rivers and seas as a whole and promoting mutual benefits between mountains and seas, China is working toward fostering its maritime strengths, achieving harmony between people and the ocean, and building up win-win cooperation, the official said.

The official proposed three initiatives at the opening ceremony: to consider the ocean as a key factor for building a community with a shared future for mankind and boosts its prosperity; to view the ocean as a strategic factor for high-quality development and build up a prosperous ocean; and to regard the ocean as a platform for ecological civilization construction and enhance its beauty.

The EASC, organized by the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia and jointly hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Xiamen city government, is themed with Blue Synergy for a Shared Future: One Sustainable and Resilient Ocean.

During the event, the ministry released the China National Ecological Protection and Restoration Bulletin 2024, and PEMSEA awarded Xiamen the "Achievement Award for Best Practice in Marine Ecological Conservation and Restoration".

The award will be used to promote the international dissemination of Xiamen Practice, contributing Chinese wisdom to the protection of marine ecological environments, sustainable use of marine resources and global marine governance cooperation.

More than 19 ministerial-level officials from countries including Cambodia, South Korea, Laos, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Maldives, Antigua and Barbuda and Fiji attended the opening ceremony.

Sun Shuxian, deputy minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said that China is an important participant and contributor to PEMSEA.

China's achievements in promoting high-level protection and high-quality development in the marine field, as well as progress in constructing a community with a shared future for mankind in the ocean field, have enriched PEMSEA's concepts and consolidated the development consensus and momentum of the regional countries.

Vann Monyneath, chairman of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council, said: "Importantly, we must recognize that global impacts often start with local solutions.

"Throughout our region, we see inspiring examples of community-driven initiatives making a real difference. From mangrove restoration projects to innovative waste management systems, these local efforts are the building blocks of global change."

The release of the National Ecological Protection and Restoration Bulletin 2024 during the event was the first publication of ecological protection and restoration achievements in such a form.

The China National Ecological Protection and Restoration Bulletin 2024, in more than 47,000 Chinese characters, details China's ecological protection and restoration practices; ecological protection and restoration systems; ecological assessments of land and space; land and space ecological protection and restoration actions; and China's contributions to constructing a green Earth.

Wang Lei, director of the Ministry of Natural Resources' Land and Space Ecological Restoration Division, said that the purpose of the report is to integrate the basic ecological situation of China's land and sea as a whole and summarize the effectiveness of national ecological protection and restoration work.

According to the report, by 2035, the area within the standard national ecological protection red line will be maintained at more than 3.15 million square kilometers; the proportion of terrestrial natural protected areas to the total land area will not be less than 18 percent; the national park system will be basically completed; and the ecological system pattern will be more stable.

The EASC consists of a ministerial forum, international conference, environmental exhibition, youth forum, general assemblies of local governments and learning centers, field visits and other relevant coastal management practices.

Delegates can attend around 30 sessions anchored on subthemes such as Ocean Science, Policy and Practice, Global Challenges, Local Solutions, Innovation and Digitizing Ocean Action and Blue Financing and Investments.

During this period, professional exhibitions organized by national industry associations and State-owned enterprises in Xiamen, such as marine engineering equipment exhibitions, will be held in the city. Nearly 300 upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry participated in the events.

The Xiamen bureau of ocean development also held seven marine industry investment promotion activities to promote marine economic development.

To engage a broader audience, Xiamen is organizing mass activities such as an art exhibition, concert, culture carnival and open day for marine science that enriches public maritime knowledge and awareness of the ocean.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn