Jiulong River-Xiamen Bay Ecosystem Management Strategic Action Plan

The objective of the Ecosystem-based Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay Management Strategic Action Plan (JXSAP) is to establish a trans-jurisdictional Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay ecosystem management framework involving the city of Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Longyan. Based on an ecosystem approach, the JXSAP has identified and analyzed key environmental problems, developed a Jiulong River–Xiamen Bay pollution mitigation plan, ecological conservation and management plan and a monitoring program. Jiulong River is the second longest river in Fujian Province, a major source of pollutants to Xiamen Bay as well. In recognition of the environmental impact of upstream pollution, the Fujian Provincial Government approved a comprehensive water pollution and ecosystem rehabilitation project in 1999, which involved adoption of a number of policies and regulations on water pollution prevention and treatment and investment. Given the complexity of the river basin itself and the socioeconomic pressures from continued growth, the trans-jurisdictional ecological and environmental problems from the river basin to estuary remain unabated. From 1994 to 1998, the Xiamen Municipal government resolved sea use conflicts and coastal environmental pollution through an integrated coastal management (ICM) approach, including innovative legislation and institution arrangements, coordination by the municipal government, scientific support, joint law enforcement and public participation, with the assistance of the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas project. Based on the lessons learned from the water pollution and ecosystem rehabilitation project, and the success of the integrated approach to addressing environmental pollution and sea use conflicts, Xiamen began to scale up its ICM program. The up scaling involved integrating pollution control, ecosystem-based river basin management and Xiamen Bay management into a regional economic development initiative involving downstream and upstream cities. In 2004, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou established the City Alliance, an initiative among the three major cities in southeast Fujian to promote regional economic development. Longyan, a city at the upstream of Jiulong River, north of Zhangzhou City, became a member as well. While economic development topped the agenda of the Alliance, conservation of the water environment of offshore areas and maintenance of ecosystem services of Jiulong River were important elements proposed by the Municipal Government of Xiamen. During the implementation of the second phase of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the Xiamen Municipal Government developed and adopted an ICM Strategic Action Plan in 2005. Integral to the plan were: (a) strengthening the ICM program and the ICM coordinating mechanism; (b) establishing a regional coordinating mechanism and integrated land and coastal area management mechanism; (c) creating an integrated Jiulong River management coordination committee between Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Longyan; (d) establishing an integrated Jiulong River Management Action Plan; and (e) setting up an integrated Jiulong River Management financial mechanism. With the approval of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone in 2009, the incorporation of the integrated Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay management plan into the State economic development strategy gained further momentum. Under this framework, the Xiamen Ocean and Fishery Bureau commissioned a joint study by the Third Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China and Xiamen University to develop a strategic action plan for an ecosystem-based Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay management. The process involved field surveys, interviews with local communities and staff from the sectors of ocean, environment, agriculture and forestry of the three cities, collection of socioeconomic and ecological environment data, desk review of available management plans and management options, and data analysis. SOA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States provided generous support to the project team in scoping, problem analysis, and sharing of lessons from other river basins, in particular the Chesapeake Bay, through their experts. The objective of the Ecosystem-based Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay Management Strategic Action Plan (JXSAP) is to establish a trans-jurisdictional Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay ecosystem management framework involving the city of Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Longyan. Based on an ecosystem approach, the JXSAP has identified and analyzed key environmental problems, developed a Jiulong River–Xiamen Bay pollution mitigation plan, ecological conservation and management plan and a monitoring program. The ultimate aims of the plans are to enhance the management capacity of Jiulong River and Xiamen Bay, relieve pressure of Jiulong River on Xiamen Bay and ensure river-bay ecological safety. There is no doubt that implementation of the action plan will be advantageous to raising awareness of various stakeholder groups, promoting environment education of the public, establishing sustainable financing mechanisms between the river basin and the bay area, enhancing the coordination capacity between upstream and downstream cities and, ultimately, managing a living river basin and bay that can meet the needs of the present and future generations in the area.