Hainan Province scraps local GDP targets to save beaches

Often dubbed the Hawaii (or Florida) of China, Hainan Island has seen an explosion in tourism and associated development in recent years, with more than 53 million visitors in the first 10 months of 2017, a 12 percent year-on-year increase. But the boom has come at a price, as noted by environmental ministry inspectors in a report last week.

• The report offered a harsh critique of local practices that have put money first, damaging the coastal ecology, according to Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese).

• Hainan authorities say they are heeding the criticism. “Twelve of the island’s 19 regions will dump targets for gross domestic product, industrial value and fixed-asset investment so that local officials can focus on protecting its beaches and tropical rainforest instead of trying to woo investors,” the South China Morning Post reports, citing Xinhua.
• Beijing also sent inspectors to six other provinces in August and September, where they uncovered more than 40,000 incidents involving damage to the environment. This week, two of those provinces — Shandong and Jilin — were singled out for lying to evade central environmental controls.  

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