Real estate projects on Ocean Flower Island, Hainan province, have been suspended as a result of damage to coral reefs and whitelip oysters. (Photo by CUI JIA/CHINA DAILY)
Lack of evaluation
Construction of the restaurant, about 100 meters offshore in Dadonghai Bay in Sanya, was completed in May 2011. It was not subject to environmental evaluation, despite being built within the boundaries of the Sanya Coral Reef National Nature Reserve, founded in 1990.
The restaurant, covering 805 square meters, was a key attraction of the five-star Intercontinental Hotel on the shore.
"The corrosive effect of the sea water peeled concrete from the foundations and the waves carried it to other parts of the reserve, covering the coral and killing many marine creatures that are extremely sensitive to their environment," Chen said.
According to the inspection report, human activity has resulted in coral coverage in the waters of Dadonghai Bay, near the Luhuitou Peninsula, falling from 42 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2016.
The Sanya government has started demolishing the Sea Pavilion and the illegal construction is expected to be fully removed by May.
China's Florida
Sanya is known as China's Florida; the population booms in the winter as people migrate temporarily from other parts of the country to escape the cold.
That has led to a surge in demand for holiday homes, so Sanya's streets are packed with real estate agencies offering viewings 24/7. The city has long been a key battleground for property developers, who fight to place their projects as close to the ocean as possible.
Although people assume that the coral reserve is entirely underwater that isn't the case, according to Chen. To minimize the impact of human activity, part of the reserve covers Sanya's coastline.
"The odd thing is that the reserve's administrators don't really have any say about the operation of the land-based part of the reserve, but real estate developers do," he said.
The central inspection team stated that the Sanya government not only backed the construction of a resort within the reserve's boundaries on the Luhuitou Peninsula, but it also interfered with law enforcement activities several times between 2012 and 2015.
Additionally, it illegally issued a construction permit to the resort's developers in 2016, only to withdraw it when the inspectors arrived, according to the report.
The pursuit of economic growth is the main reason some local governments in Hainan have offered real estate developers almost unconditional support, according to Qin Tianbao, director of the Research Institute of Environmental Law at Wuhan University in Hubei province.
"For decades, GDP has been the most important indicator for decision-makers because it is closely linked with their performance and promotion. Therefore, it guides the direction of policies and development plans in cities and counties," he said.
