Regulation of waste dumping at sea: The Chinese practice
Abstract It was common along China's coastal region to throw wastes, including domestic and industrial, to the sea at random and without care. This has caused severe environmental problems, not only harming the marine environment, but also damaging the residential habitats of the coastal region itself. Unfortunately, before 1982 offshore wastes dumping was not regulated in China. The actual regulations governing such dumping in China formally began in 1982 when the basic law on marine environmental protection, i.e., the Marine Environmental Protection Law came into being. The significance of the regulation of wastes dumping lies in the fact that it consists of an indispensable part of the comprehensive marine environmental protection system in China. What is more significant is that under the current circumstance that China has been building a harmonious society for its people, the reach of the harmony between Nature and human beings is critical. Thus effective control of wastes dumping at sea is a necessary component in the efforts towards that reach. Since China is the biggest country and has longest mainland coastal line in East Asia, its laws and practice in this regard concerns with the marine environmental protection of the whole East Asian seas. This paper will address the wastes dumping issue in a legal perspective, including analyzing and assessing the relevant laws and regulations, their implementation and enforcement in China. In addition, it will compare the Chinese regulations with relevant international laws to see whether the Chinese law and its implementation are in line with them. For the purpose of the better explanation of China's law and practice, some relevant cases regarding wastes dumping will be addressed.