中国生态文明建设（中英对照）连载之十二
海洋环境保护
本书由北京语言大学出版社出版，2014（教学课件光盘版） 作者 蒋高明
2.2.4海洋环境保护
2.2.4 Marine environmental protection
2009年10月27日，中广网珠海频道报道了下面一则消息：珠海香炉湾一带海面，出现了大量泡沫，海水呈现褐色，外观像酱油，水中还可见白色条状物。这已是当地一天之内第二次出现海水变“酱油”了。“酱油海水”出现的原因，是严重的海洋污染造成的大规模赤潮。那么，赤潮是怎么产生的呢？
On October 27, 2009, Zhuhai Channel of CNR reported that a lot of foam had appeared on the surface of Xianglu Bay Zhuhai. The water became as brown as soy sauce, carrying some white stripes of substances. This was the second occurrence of “soy sauce” seawater in one day. The reason was large-scale red tides resulting from serious marine pollution. Then, how is red tide generated?
陆地上的各种污染物，尤其是含氮、磷成分的污染物质，随着水流、风力和重力作用，最终在海洋里集中。海洋中那些喜欢高氮、高磷的褐甲藻、裸甲藻等浮游植物，超常地大量繁殖，以至于覆盖了海水水面。因为这类浮游植物颜色以红褐色为主，所以称为赤潮。海洋赤潮的成因在陆地，是陆地上工厂、农田、城市排污过量造成的。
Various pollutants on the land, in particular those containing nitrogen or phosphorus, flow into the sea and are concentrated there by the tide, wind and gravity. Phytoplankton seeking a high nitrogen and high-phosphorus environment, such as brown dinoflagellates and Gymnodinium catenatum, will multiply at an extraordinary rate to the extent that the surface of the sea is covered with them. Because this type of phytoplankton is reddish brown, so it is called red tide. The red tide originates on the land, specifically through excessive discharge of pollutants from factories, farmland, and cities.
赤潮多发期为5~8月，高发期在5月和6月。2012年，中国沿海共发现赤潮73次，12次造成灾害。其中5月发现赤潮31次，累计面积达3746平方千米；6月发现赤潮11次，累计面积达3909平方千米。2012年，赤潮造成的直接经济损失达20.15亿元。海洋的出现已有几十亿年历史，但人类利用海洋的历史仅几千年。历史上海洋并未发生严重的污染问题，这是因为海洋对有害物质具有巨大的代谢能力。污染物质进入海洋后，经过扩散、稀释等物理过程，氧化、还原等化学过程，以及生物降解等过程，部分或全部被海水吸收、沉降或转化，使海洋环境恢复到健康的状态。然而，海水的巨大代谢能力也不是无限的。现在，海水遭受的污染已经超过了限度，使得海洋出现了史无前例的环境污染和生态破坏。
The red tide often occurs from May to August, the high-incidence months being May and June. In 2012, there were 73 red tides in China’s coastal areas, and 12 of them caused disasters. In May, there occurred 31 red tides, with the total affected area of 3,746 square kilometers; and in June, there emerged 11 red tides, with the total inflicted area of 3,909 square kilometers. In 2012, the direct economic losses caused by these phenomena reached 2.015 billion Yuan. The ocean has existed for billions of years, but human use of the oceans could be traced to only a few thousand years ago. In history, serious marine pollution did not occur, and that’s because the ocean has tremendous metabolic capacity of dealing with hazardous substances. Pollutants in the sea underwent a physical process of diffusion and dilution, chemical processes of oxidation and reduction, and other processes such as biodegradation. Thus, these pollutants would be partially or completely absorbed, settled or transformed by the seawater and in this way the marine environment would return to a healthy state. However, the metabolic capacity of the sea is not unlimited. Now, water pollution exceeds the limit, thus giving rise to unprecedented marine environmental pollution and ecological destruction has occurred.
为了保护海洋生态，控制赤潮之类的环境事件发生，中国于1982年颁布了《海洋环境保护法》，并经1999年修订后，从2000年4月开始实施。《海洋环境保护法》颁布之前，许多长期在海上作业的人员，海洋环保意识淡薄，经常违规向海中排放油污水、洗舱水、生活污水，抛弃船舶垃圾等。海洋保护法律实施后，上述违法情况明显减少。
In order to protect the marine ecosystem and to control environmental events like red tides, China promulgated the Marine Environment Protection Law in 1982, which eventually came into effect in April 2000 after amendment in 1999. Before the execution of the law, many long-time maritime practitioners often discharged oil, soiled water, sewage, garbage, etc. into the sea as they were scarcely conscious of their duty to protect marine environment. Now, such undesirable acts have seldom occurred.
“渤海碧海行动计划”是近年来清洁海洋的举措之一，该计划对海上油（气）田、船舶的废弃物排放入海和废弃物海洋倾倒等海洋排污行为，作了限制性规定。
“The Clean Bohai Sea Program” (CBSP) is one of such protective and recovery measures. The Program enumerates restrictive provisions for oil (gas) fields and ships in terms of waste discharge and waste dumping into the sea.
建立海洋保护区也是有效控制海洋污染的重要途径之一。目前，全国已建成各类海洋自然保护区80余个，其中国家级海洋自然保护区24个。在海洋保护区的核心区，严格禁止工业开发、旅游、捕鱼、养殖等一切经济活动；在缓冲区，允许少量的科研活动；在过渡区，允许符合环境保护要求的经济活动。海洋自然保护区的目的，是保护具有较高科研、教学、自然历史价值的海岸、河口、岛屿等海洋生态环境，保护类似中华白海豚等珍稀濒危海洋动物及其栖息地，保护红树林、珊瑚礁、滨海湿地等典型海洋生态系统。
The establishment of marine protected areas is also an effective measure. Currently, the country has built more than 80 marine nature reserves of various types, including 24 state-level marine nature reserves. In the core area, all economic activities such as industrial development, tourism, fishing, aquaculture, etc. are strictly prohibited; in the buffer zone, a small-scale research activity is allowed; and, in the transition region, economic activities complying with environmental requirements are allowed. The purpose of marine nature reserves is to protect marine ecological environments like coast, estuaries, islands, etc., with higher scientific, educational and natural historical value, to protect endangered animals like the Chinese white dolphin and their habitats, and to protect typical marine ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, coastal wetlands, etc.
全球生态是一个整体，海洋是全球生态的重要组成部分。治理污染是被动的、抢救性的举措，是不得已而为之。治理污染的最终目的，是恢复原有的健康生态，使当地生态重现活力，进而重新发挥生态系统在生物多样性保护、调节气候等方面的巨大作用。下一章，让我们看看中国在恢复陆地生态方面取得的成效。
The ecology of the world is a monolithic whole, in which the ocean is an important part. Pollution control is a passive and a rescue practice of necessity. The ultimate goal of pollution treatment is to restore a healthy ecology, to restore the vitality of the local ecology, and then to revive the ecosystems’ function of biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and other aspects. The next chapter will introduce the achievements of China’s restoration of the terrestrial ecology.
