This looks like good news for China's remaining coastal wetlands.
Many areas have already suffered ill thought out reclamations; here in Hong Kong, for instance, we have good wetland (Deep Bay) on northwest coast, but just across border, in Shenzhen, has been destruction. Birds such as Saunders' Gull - nesting in saltmarshes along more northern coasts of China - have suffered from such reclamations.
As economic development drives up demand for land in coastal provinces Chinese officials have announced rigorous measures to control projects which involve land reclamation.
"Projects involving infilling and sea enclosures will not be approved unless hearings are held and the projects thoroughly discussed," Lin Shanqing, a senior official with the State Oceanic Administration said in Beijing on Sunday.
Infilling would be strictly banned in the natural habitats of marine life and birds, Lin said and cited a regulation published on Friday by the government on protecting oceanic environments from construction pollution.
China to Restrict Sea Reclamation Activities
