Study on the Interactive Relationship Between Marine Economic Growth and Marine Environmental Pressure in China

Abstract

To have a clear understanding of the interactive relationship between the marine economy and marine environment in China and to further promote the sustainable development of China’s oceans, this study evaluates the level of coordinated development between China’s marine economy and marine environment by defining and calculating marine eco-efficiency. Next, it uses the Tapio decoupling model to analyze the decoupling relationships among the marine environment, its determinant factors, and the marine economy. This reveals the nature and development trend of the internal relationship between dynamic changes in the marine economy and the marine environment. The results show that, during the study period, there is improvement in the marine eco-efficiencies of 11 Chinese coastal provinces and cities, and there exists a spatial pattern comprising higher marine eco-efficiency in the central regions and lower in the southern and northern ones. Further, the decoupling relationship between the marine economy and marine environment in 11 coastal areas mainly showed a decline from 2006 to 2015. Massive investment of marine resources was not only the major contributor to marine economic growth but also the main factor exerting pressure on the marine environment.