Local practice of marine protected areas legislation in China: The case of Zhoushan

Recognizing the ever-increasing importance of laws in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) construction and management, more and more countries have begun to seriously make MPA laws, from national to local. In China, as a new Protected Areas system with national parks as the mainstay is adopted, the establishment of a MPA legal system is put on the agenda. As the first and only local legislation for multiple-use MPAs in China, the Regulation on Management of Zhoushan National Special MPAs, together with three complementary Measures, has been implemented since 2017 and went through an amendment in 2021, thereby providing a rare opportunity to explore how the special characteristics of marine ecosystem might interact with the management and enforcement mechanisms. Based on the first-hand data collected from the process of post-legislative assessment and provision amendment, this article presents a thorough analysis of this local legislation and its implementation from seven aspects: managing agencies, division of responsibilities, law enforcement capabilities, subsistence and conservation, public participation, supporting infrastructure and innovation. In conclusion, this article offers important lessons for improving MPA governance through local legislation. They are (1) a more flexible model of “a basic law plus special laws” might better strengthen the managing agencies of MPAs by assigning them appropriate responsibilities and resources; (2) MPA planning should respect local subsistence and development so as to get citizens involved in marine conservation; (3) a successful innovation in local legislation must take enforceability, especially the supporting infrastructure in place, into consideration.