Marine Sustainable Development Research Articles

DEVELOPING 4D MALAYSIAN MARINE CADASTRE DATA MODEL BASED ON LADM - PRELIMINARY WORKS

Abstract. The complex interactions between terrestrial and aquatic dimensions make effective land management in coastal and marine settings particularly difficult. For thorough spatial data administration, it has been acknowledged that the traditional Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) must incorporate temporal and three-dimensional (3D) elements. The main goal of this work is to develop a 4D Malaysian marine cadastre data model based on LADM that integrates the temporal dimensions (3D + T= 4D) to the current 3D Malaysian marine cadastre data model and to assess how well the extended model handles issues with the representation of 3D marine environment. The depiction and management of temporal data related to shifting coastlines, fluctuating tides, and seasonal fluctuations in the maritime environment are some of the key questions investigated. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable insights for augmenting land administration methodologies in dynamic marine settings. The outcomes of this research hold significance for sustainable marine development and effective spatial data management in coastal regions.

Improving Water Quality in a Sea Bay by Connecting Rivers on Both Sides of a Harbor

Improving water quality is imperative for many sea bays, including Laizhou Bay, China, to achieve sustainable marine development. In 2010, two 17.3 km long sand-retaining embankments were built in southwestern Laizhou Bay, which weakened the nearshore hydrodynamics and seriously impacted the water quality. To mitigate this issue, this study proposes connecting the two rivers on both sides of the embankments to improve the hydrodynamics and thus water exchange in the sea bay. The effectiveness was examined with a numerical model using Mike 21, which was validated for both tidal current velocity and direction at six monitoring locations in the sea bay. The results show that over 53% of the core research area displays an increase (0.0–0.4 m/s) in tidal current speed after the connection, primarily in and around the Haihengwei Fishing Port. Meanwhile, the Eulerian residual currents in the Haihengwei Fishing Port, Mi River estuary and Bailang River estuary become substantially larger (with a maximum increase of 0.16 m/s). In addition, the net transport distance of particles released near the connection increases by up to 39.89 km in one month. Overall, this case study demonstrates that connecting rivers next to a harbor can effectively improve hydrodynamics and thus improve water quality in the bay.

Where Is the Path to Sustainable Marine Development? Evaluation and Empirical Analysis of the Synergy between Marine Carrying Capacity and Marine Economy High-Quality Development

Enhancing the marine carrying capacity (MCC) is of important value in hastening the transformation of the marine economy and realising the marine economy high-quality development (MEHD). We explore the synergistic mechanism between the MCC and MEHD and its comprehensive indicator system, measure the synergistic relationship between China’s MCC and MEHD from 2006 to 2020 using the improved TOPSIS model and the composite system synergism model, and explore the influencing factors and their interactions using geographic probes. The research findings are (1) that China’s MCC and MEHD show a growing trend during the study period, in which marine green development is at a higher level and the cultivation of marine knowledge improves most significantly, but the general value of the MEHD is relatively low. (2) In terms of the synergistic relationship, the degree of ordering of the two shows a sustained rising trend, and the degree of ordering of the marine economy development as a whole is higher than the MCC; the degree of synergy is increasing, but the general value of synergistic development is low. (3) The main factors driving the MCC and MEHD are the marine consumption capacity, the marine opening, and the marine industrial structure; the explanatory power of most factor interactions tends to decrease, and the explanatory power of the interactions among the development of land-based economy, the marine industry structure, and the marine economy increase, and the impacts of the different factor interactions on the synergistic development are all greater than the factors. The influence of different factors on synergistic development is greater than the influence of each factor alone.

Promoting Sustainable Marine Development: Geotechnical Engineering Problems and Environmental Guarantee Technology in Marine Space, Energy, and Resource Development

To coordinate the conflict between economic development and climate change caused by energy consumption, countries worldwide are actively developing renewable energy, including solar energy, hydropower, and wind energy [...]

Does marine ecological compensation policy have improved marine carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from coastal areas in China.

The marine ecological compensation (MEC) policy is a scheme for protecting and restoring marine ecology. The previous studies have verified that the policy has improved the marine environment, ignoring the comprehensive performance of the economy and environment. Is the MEC policy actually effective for reducing marine carbon emission considering resource input and economy output? To address the question, this paper evaluates the impact of MEC policy on marine carbon emission efficiency by introducing the multi-stage difference-in-difference with propensity score matching. The results show that the MEC policy significantly improves marine carbon emission efficiency, and the positive effects dynamically enhance over time. Low-carbon technology innovation is confirmed to play a mediating role by which the MEC policy improves marine carbon emission efficiency. Therefore, gradually popularizing the MEC policy and accelerating low-carbon technology innovation are crucial measures to improve marine carbon emission efficiency and achieve sustainable marine development.

Analysis of the spatio-temporal changes and driving factors of the marine economic–ecological–social coupling coordination: A case study of 11 coastal regions in China

For the sustainable development of the ocean, examining the coupled and coordinated relationships of the marine economic-ecological-social system (MEESS) is crucial. In this study, data from 11 coastal regions of China from 2006 to 2020 are utilized to quantify and analyze the MEESS coupling coordination relationships and driving factors using the entropy method, mean squared deviation weighting method, coefficient of variation method, improved coupling coordination degree (CCD), GM (1,1) (grey model), and generalized method of moments (GMM) models. The findings show that (1) the comprehensive level of the MEESS in the study area indicates a steady upward trend. The marine economic system maintains a steady rise, the marine ecological system starts at a high level and grows at a low rate, and the marine social system starts at a low level and grows at a high rate. (2) The coupling degree is higher in areas with a higher comprehensive level of marine ecological systems. (3) As of 2020, six study regions were in the moderate coordination stage. Except for Shanghai, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) in other regions shows a fluctuating upward trend. (4) From 2021 to 2026, the coastal area overall will enter the intermediate coordination stage. Shandong will take the lead in the good coordination stage. (5) In terms of drivers, port activity, financial industry development, and government support significantly affect the CCD. The findings of this study demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the improved CCD model in evaluating the interactions of multiple ocean subsystems. This demonstration can help policymakers tailor marine development planning and provide a new perspective on sustainable marine development.

Establishing Integrative Framework for Sustainable Reef Conservation in Karimunjawa National Park, Indonesia

The Coral Triangle region is facing negative impacts due to unbalanced carrying capacity and inappropriate public behavior, leading to unsustainable reef tourism. As a result, there has been increased awareness and preference for sustainable reef conservation (SRC). This study evaluates the integrative perspective framework of tourists’ heterogeneity preferences in SRC programs using a choice experiment conducted in Karimunjawa National Park (KNP), Indonesia. The study found that tourists preferred boat anchoring at the mooring buoy, a lower number of boats, smaller tourist groups with interpretation, added information boards, and environmental awareness education. Additionally, this research revealed that most tourists preferred the alternative SRC program and had a heterogeneous preference, which showed different features among each group. The scenario of an integrative program generated the highest value compared to the “recreational management” and “institutional control” scenarios. This evidence can assist policymakers in adapting policies for SRC programs and in potentially securing conservation funds associated with enhancing the institutional aspects of carrying capacity and marine environmental education for sustainable marine development.

New Exploration of China Bay Water Governance: Traceability, Deconstruction, and Evaluation of Bay Chief System Policy

Given the complexity of bay water ecological environment governance, the bay chief system is a pilot policy carried out by the state as an innovative exploration to establish a new model and systematically solve related marine problems. By exploring the evolution path of policies related to environmental governance, this study demonstrates the theoretical logic between environmental policies such as the bay and river chief systems and comprehensively deconstructs the institutional framework of the bay chief system from the aspects of organizational structure, key tasks, and accountability mechanism. In addition, this study evaluates the implementation effect of the bay chief system based on the differences-in-differences method. Results show that: (i) As an institutional innovation of regional environmental governance, the implementation path of the bay chief system has undergone a bottom-top evolution. (ii) The institutional framework of the bay chief system has changed and promoted the original environmental governance model, providing an important manifestation of the modernization of China’s water pollution prevention and curing capacity. (iii) Empirically, the pilot cities of the bay chief system promote economic growth while reducing pollutant emissions, and achieve a win–win situation between emission reduction and growth. This conclusion remains valid after many robustness tests. In the future, further efforts are necessary to enhance the policy effect of the bay chief system according to local conditions and boost sustainable marine development.

Monitoring Marine Oil Spills in Hyperspectral and Multispectral Remote Sensing Data by the Spectral Gene Extraction (SGE) Method

Oil spill incidents threaten the marine ecological environment. Detecting sea surface oil slicks by remote sensing images provides support for the efficient treatment of oil spills. This is important for sustainable marine development. However, traditional methods based on field analysis are time-consuming. Spectral indices lack applicability. In addition, traditional machine learning methods strictly rely on training and testing samples which are in short supply in oil spill images. Inspired by the spectral DNA encoding method, a spectral gene extraction (SGE) method was proposed to detect oil spills in hyperspectral images (HSI) and multispectral images (MSI). The SGE method contained a parameter and two strategies. The parameter of elimination was designed based on the population genetic frequency. It was used to control the number of spectral genes. The spectral gene extraction strategies, named largest in-class similarity (LIS) strategy and largest inter-class difference (LID) strategy, were proposed to mine the spectral genes by oil spill samples. The oil spills would be determined by calculating the similarity of the extracted spectral genes to the DNA encoded images. In this research, the SGE method was validated by two AVIRIS images of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one MODIS image of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and one Landsat 8 image of a Persian Gulf oil spill. The oil spills in different remote sensing images could be detected accurately by the proposed method in a small set of samples. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method was suitable for detecting marine oil spills in AVIRIS, MODIS, and Landsat 8 images. In addition, the SGE method with the LIS strategy was more suitable for detecting oil spills in HSI. Its proper elimination rates were 0.8~1.0. The SGE method with the LID strategy was more suitable for detecting oil spills in MSI. Its proper elimination rates were 0.5~0.7.

Finding logic models for sustainable marine development that deliver on social equity

Sustainable development is often represented as contributing to desirable outcomes across economic, environmental, and social goals, yet policies and interventions attempting to deliver sustainable development often disagree on the order in which these categories of goals should be addressed. In this Essay, we identify and review 5 approaches (called logic models) for sustainable development in ocean systems based on existing policies and interventions and consider the evidence for their contributions to equity—the ultimate goal of sustainable development according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two of the 5 logic models prioritize economic growth and lead to social and environmental benefits, 2 prioritize environmental health as a prerequisite for sustainable economic and social benefits, and the final logic model is community driven and prioritizes social dimensions. Looking towards the 2030 maturation of the SDGs, we will need to understand what models are best suited to deliver on equity gains and prevent future inequities in development and how best to operationalize them.

Measurement of Indonesian Marine Health Index to Assess The Health of The Coastal Ecosystem of Tuban, East Java

The purpose of this study is to assess marine health on the scale of coastal water and reveal its potential to provide a benchmark for sustainable marine development activities in Tuban Regency. This study uses IKLI (Indeks Kesehatan Laut Indonesia) which is an OHI (Ocean Health Index) framework that has been modified according to the needs and the Indonesian environment. IKLI indicator used is adapted to the Tuban coastal environment. The results showed the overall IKLI value was 58 (out of 100) for the 2016-2020. IKLI value is based on 10 types of marine destinations, namely as a source of food (87), as a support for traditional fisheries (70), as a product of natural materials (65), as a source of livelihood and economy (90), as a provider of tourism and recreation services (80), based on the five objectives shows that the coastal ecosystem of Tuban contributes significantly to community livelihoods and the regional economy. The measurement of low-value IKLI for marine destination types as carbon storage (45), coastal protection (30), protection of species and iconic places (35); clean sea-water (33) and marine biodiversity (41) mean the coastal waters of Tuban with sandy beaches indicate the impact of sea-level rise and excessive activities in coastal areas causing pollution levels to increase.both.

Coupling Coordination between Marine S&T Innovation and the High-Quality Development of the Marine Economy: A Case Study of China’s Coastal Provinces

Promoting coupling coordination between marine scientific and technological (S&T) innovation and the high-quality development of the marine economy is an important measure to realizing sustainable marine development. Based on the complex adaptive systems theory, sustainable development theory and regional coordinated development theory, this study analyzed the coupling coordination and its influencing factors between marine S&T innovation and the high-quality development of the marine economy with China’s coastal provinces as study areas. The result showed that: (1) The coupling coordination fluctuated upward, changing from on the verge of dissonance to well-coordinated. (2) There was an agglomeration of high-level coupling coordination in central and eastern coastal provinces while the polarization between high-level and low-level coupling coordination was significant. (3) The improvement of coupling coordination mainly depended on the consumption expansion demand, multidimensional spatial integrated development, and industrial improvement demand. Regional heterogeneity of influencing factors existed in southern and northern coastal regions. (4) To improve coupling coordination, we should establish a demand-oriented mechanism for coordinated development between marine S&T innovation and the marine economy, and strengthen the multi-dimensional spatial planning and the guidance and guarantee functions of coastal governments, in particular to introduce and implement policies that suit local conditions. This research may supplement and improve the theoretical discussion and practical experience concerning sustainable marine development.

How does environmental regulation moderate the relationship between foreign direct investment and marine green economy efficiency: An empirical evidence from China's coastal areas

As a hotspot of foreign direct investment (FDI), China's coastal areas have seen rapid development in its marine economy. However, the frequent occurrence of pollution incidents in multinational companies, along with the continuous deterioration of the marine eco-environment has motivated the government to enact numerous environmental policies to avoid the potential adverse effects of FDI on marine sustainable development. To clarify the effects of these policies, this paper investigates environmental regulations' moderating effects on the relationship between the FDI and marine green economy efficiency, and the spatial performances of these moderating effects by the spatial Dubin model (SDM), using data from 11 provinces and cities in China's coastal areas. The results show that environmental regulation overall has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the FDI and marine green economy efficiency, i.e., it enhances FDI's contribution to marine green economy efficiency. Specifically, different-type environmental regulations' moderating effects are heterogeneous, where command-and-control and public-participation environmental regulations have positive moderating effects, while economic-incentive environmental regulation has a negative moderating effect. From the further spatial performances, these environmental regulations' moderating roles, excluding the economic-incentive environmental regulation, have significant positive spatial spillover effects on the marine green economy efficiency, promoting the marine green economy efficiency in the surrounding areas. Based on the above findings, this paper proposes some recommendations to policymakers.

Orientation of marine spatial planning in Vietnam

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) in Vietnam has an ecosystem-based approach. It allocates and designs a balanced and rational marine space for sustainable marine development for economic, social, and ecological purposes. The four primary targets of the MSP are related to socio-economic development, ensuring national defense - security, rights and interests at sea; ecological balance maintenance and environment protection; sustainable marine management. MSP is defined to 2030, with a vision to 2050, based on five viewpoints and ten basic principles. The MSP framework consists of 10 basic activities: Strengthening institutions and policies to create a legal corridor; organizing and enhancing the capacity of management to implement MSP; establishing financial sources and mechanisms for MSP; participation of stakeholders and scientists; establishment of MSP; appraise and approve the MSP; licensing and revocation of licenses to use marine space; harmonize and minimize conflicts of interest in the maritime area use; MSP monitoring and evaluation; MSP adjustment. These activities are arranged in a 5-step cycle. According to MSP, the allocation of marine space is classified into four main groups of use sectors: Marine economic development, conservation, and protection of nature; particular use; reserved area. Depending on the MSP levels, the sectors of marine spatial use can be divided in more detail. MSPs are proposed to be decentralized into three groups: National, regional, and local. Each MSP level has an accompanying planning map at an appropriate scale. Each MSP level has relevant authorities responsible for establishment, submission, approval and implementation.

Remote Sensing of the Coastline Variation of the Guangdong–Hongkong–Macao Greater Bay Area in the Past Four Decades

In this study, a combination of example-based feature extraction and visual interpretation was applied to analyze the coastline variations in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA) from the past four decades based on the Landsat satellite remote sensing image data from 1987–2018, using ENVI and ArcGIS software. The results showed that the total length of the coastline of the GHMGBA increased in the past four decades, rising from 1291 km in 1987 to 1411 km in 2018. Among these, artificial coastline increased by 450 km, while the other coastline types decreased. The type of coastline that decreased the most was bedrock coastline, by a total of 172 km. The silty coastline disappeared, and almost all of it was converted to artificial coastline. Variations in the coastline of the GHMGBA were mainly connected to human activities and showed an overall trend of advancing towards the ocean. Dynamic monitoring of coastline variations can provide a reference for the protection of natural resources, sustainable marine development and rational planning of the coastal zone.

The Role of Port States in Safeguarding Maritime Security and Protecting the Marine Environment

This paper will examine the potential of port states in combating marine accidents; illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, as well as ship-sourced pollution first. Then conclude that port states actively take measures to protect maritime security in accordance with the jurisdiction conferred by a number of international conventions and regional memoranda of understanding (MOUs). These enforcement measures are not only benefiting its national interests but also contributes to the whole international community and the sustainable marine development.

How do carbon trading platform participation and government subsidy motivate blue carbon trading of marine ranching? A study based on evolutionary equilibrium strategy method

Amidst the efforts to develop a low-carbon economy, blue carbon sequestration provides new approaches and opportunities for economic growth. Not only will blue carbon sequestration trading increase the value added for marine ranching firms, but it will also be conducive to conserving the ocean ecology and safeguarding sustainable marine development. From the supply chain perspective, this paper develops an evolutionary game model with three players: the marine ranching firm, the carbon trading platform, and the government. The model is then employed to examine the impacts of the carbon trading price, the government subsidy, and consumers’ willingness to pay for blue carbon on the participants’ choice of strategy in a blue carbon trading regime. The MATLABR2016b application is employed to perform numerical simulations and analyses. The following conclusions can be drawn from the research findings: The strategies chosen by the marine ranching firm, the carbon trading platform, and the government affect each other. Both the marine ranching firm and the carbon trading platform are affected by the choices of the other two players, while the government’s choice of strategy is only affected by the platform’s strategy. Reductions in carbon emitted by the marine ranching’s aquaculture activity, increases in the blue carbon trading price, improvements in consumers’ willingness to pay for blue carbon, and deceases in transaction costs to the marine ranching firm and the trading platform all motivate the marine ranching firm and the platform to choose a cooperative strategy. Government subsidies can encourage the marine ranching firm to improve its carbon sequestration capacity and incentivize the platform to cooperate. However, when the subsidy to the platform is too high, the system does not have an evolutionarily stable strategy. If the marine ranching firm reasonably uses the government subsidy to sequester carbon and improve the environmental friendliness of its products, the government’s willingness to subsidize will increase. Our findings will contribute to the theory on managing marine ranching blue carbon sequestration. This paper can provide evidence to improve the utilization of blue carbon sequestration, the development of the blue carbon sequestration trading market, and the design of the government subsidy mechanism.

Aiding ocean development planning with SDG relationships in Small Island Developing States

Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must contend with the often siloed nature of governance institutions, making the identification of cooperative institutional networks that promote SDG targets a priority. We develop and apply a method that combines SDG interaction analysis, which helps determine prerequisites for SDG attainment, with the transition management framework, which helps align policy goals with institutional designs. Using Aruba as a case study, we show that prioritizing increased economic benefits from sustainable marine development, including those of tourism, provides the greatest amount of direct co-benefits to other SDGs. When considering indirect co-benefits, reducing marine pollution emerged as a key supporting target to achieve SDGs. The results also show that, as in many other small island states, sustainable ocean development in Aruba depends on international partnerships to address global issues—including climate change mitigation—over which it has little control. Using SDG relationships as a guide for institutional cooperation, we find that the institutions with the most potential to coordinate action for sustainable ocean development are those that address economic, social and international policy, rather than institutions specifically focused on environmental policy. Our results provide key methodologies and insights for sustainable marine development that require coordinated actions across institutions. Cooperative institutional networks are essential to achieve SDG targets. Combining SDG interaction analysis with a transition management framework, this study finds that in Aruba prioritizing benefits from sustainable marine development leads to the greatest amount of direct co-benefits to other SDGs.

How do environmental regulation and technological innovation affect the sustainable development of marine economy: New evidence from China’s coastal provinces and cities

As marine economy has entered a new normal, the transformation and upgrading of marine economy has reached a crossroads in coastal regions, and there is an urgent need to change the development mode and the growth momentum of marine economy. Exploring reasonable environmental regulation means and appropriate environmental regulation intensity to promote green technological innovation and lead the transformation of marine economy is the only way for China's marine sustainable development in the future. Through theoretical analysis and empirical tests, this study examines the influential mechanisms of environmental regulation and technological innovation on GTFP of marine economy to provide a theoretical basis for local government and enterprises to make decisions under environmental regulation. The empirical process adopts a direct effect, an intermediary effect, and a threshold effect model based on panel data from 11 provinces and cities in China's coastal regions. The results show that China's marine environmental regulation is still in its initial stage, which is not conducive to the improvement of GTFP of marine economy. Technological innovation plays an intermediary role between environmental regulation and GTFP of marine economy, but the intermediary effect is very small-only 0.0920, so there is still significant room to improve. During the sample period, taking marine technological innovation as the threshold variable, environmental regulation has significant double threshold effect of technological innovation on GTFP of marine economy. Different levels of technological innovation decide which effect, either the “offset effect” or the “compensation effect” dominates. Finally, this paper puts forward the corresponding policy recommendations.

¿Cooperar o no cooperar? Crónica del dilema por el espacio compartido del Golfo de México

Este documento examina el dilema de la gestión de los bienes comunes en un espacio delimitado del Golfo de México. Nuestro interés es revisar las oportunidades que brinda la teoría de cooperación de Ostrom para examinar un caso en un espacio tridimensional marino. La propuesta importa ya que estamos ante el desafío de revisar alternativas y discutir cómo es posible un desarrollo sostenible marino en espacios de costas rurales latinoamericanas. Así que nos proponemos revisar la crónica de la construcción del espacio compartido entre el petróleo y la pesca, donde el mar actúa como el sistema en el que se encuentran los recursos de uso común.