Developers in Hainan ordered to fix damage

Hainan’s provincial government ordered developers of some sea reclamation projects on the island to submit assessment reports about the marine ecological impacts of their projects before the end of the year, authorities in Haikou said on Tuesday.

The developers were also told they must restore any marine environment they had damaged. The directives were detailed in a rectification plan released by the government.

In December, the central government released a report after a monthlong inspection in Hainan, criticizing local authorities for some construction projects that had broken the law and left “scars” on the environment that would be hard to heal.

The projects, including Riyue Bay in Wanning, Ocean Flower Island in Danzhou and Phoenix Island in Sanya, were required to suspend construction, sales or both in January.

Restarting specific projects can only be considered after corrections are made, the plan said, adding that some developers will be fined and handed administrative sanctions for their destruction of the marine environment.

Some officials connected to projects that violated the law have been detained. Further inspections are ongoing.

The province released a detailed list of 172 measures aimed at resolving the 56 issues listed in the central government’s report. It will carry out 21 measures in six categories to further protect the environment, according to the plan released on Tuesday.

It said a more strict system and more standardized approval procedures on land reclamation projects will be implemented. Approvals for general-purpose reclamation projects will be halted.

“The plan aims to make sure the environmental quality of the province will be improved and that a long-term mechanism of ecological construction will be established,” Mao Dongli, deputy director of Hainan’s department of ecology and environmental protection, said at a news conference in Haikou on Tuesday.

Hainan has improved its performance appraisal and accountability systems for government officials. Traditional evaluation standards, such as GDP growth, industrial production and fixed-asset investment, have been canceled in more than half the island’s cities and counties, with a view toward protecting the area’s ecology.

Measures such as establishing green industrial systems, carrying out pollution prevention campaigns, strengthening environmental law enforcement and deepening reforms in environmental protection have been conducted.

A system of chiefs for rivers, island and bay has also been implemented across Hainan, similar to the chief system set up elsewhere in the country.