Editor's Note: China Daily is running a series of articles on the South China Sea covering a range of topics that provide fascinating insights into what life is like on islands in that area. Today, our reporters examine China's efforts to protect the environment and ecological systems, including recycling.

Streetlights powered by solar panels have been installed on Zhaoshu Island in the Xisha Islands. [Photo by Zhang Yunbi/China Daily]

 

China has dedicated "an incomparable amount of research, effort and funds" to protecting the South China Sea's vulnerable ecological system, a leading ocean ecology expert said on Tuesday.

Chen Chang, who leads an observation and research station focusing on the deep waters off the Xisha and Nansha islands, also voiced regret about the lack of effort by other countries to preserve and protect the fragile coral reefs in the areas they occupy.

Some in the region have been more concerned about exploiting the vast oil and gas resources under the sea while ignoring the ecological situation.

Chen said that more than 95 percent of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea were composed of coral that has been damaged because of "global warming and excessive fishing".

Underwater ecosystems thrive on coral reefs, which provide sustenance for about 25 percent of all marine species globally, yet they account for less than 0.1 percent of the ocean surface.

Chen warned that fishermen from some countries in the region were involved in unregulated and uncontrolled fishing. He didn't mention a country by name.

"They often fish by poisoning the water or detonating explosives, which is destructive to the coral reefs in the fisheries," Chen said.

Chen's station, which operates under the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has tracked and studied ecological systems in the sea and the coral reefs since the 1990s and has accumulated a massive trove of data.

"The key to rebuilding ecological systems for the reefs in the Xisha Islands is bringing back the species needed and the environment required," Chen said.

"We are working on a plan to build a pasture of oceanic ecology based on coral reefs. Measures include assigning sample areas, placing artificial reefs to accommodate the regeneration of the coral and boosting the reproduction of fish and shellfish."

As part of China's increased investment in the ecological buildup, the Ministry of Science and Technology invested 19 million yuan ($2.9 million) in 2009 in a research program examining the reproduction and recovery of biological resources in the ocean.

And in 2014, Sansha - China's southernmost municipality, which governs the South China Sea islands - dedicated 10 million yuan in the first batch of capital aimed at helping Chinese fishermen start new businesses.