Announcement of the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress
No. 80
The "Hainan Free Trade Port Regulations on Ecological and Environmental Zoning-Based Control" were adopted at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh Hainan Provincial People's Congress on July 30, 2025. They are hereby promulgated and shall come into effect on September 1, 2025.
Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress
July 31,2025
Hainan Free Trade Port Regulations on Ecological and Environmental Zoning-Based Control
(Adopted at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh Hainan Provincial People's Congress on July 30,2025)
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Hainan Free Trade Port" and other relevant laws and regulations, in light of the actual circumstances of the Hainan Free Trade Port, for the purposes of standardizing the implementation of ecological and environmental zoning-based control, enhancing the level of ecological and environmental governance, and promoting high-quality economic and social development.
Article 2 The ecological and environmental zoning-based control system shall be implemented in the Hainan Free Trade Port. The term"ecological and environmental zoning-based control" as mentioned in these Regulations refers to an environmental management system that plays a foundational role in the source prevention system for the ecological environment, aiming to guarantee ecological functions and improve environmental quality through the implementation of differentiated and precise control by region.
Article 3 People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen leadership over ecological and environmental zoning-based control work, establish sound working coordination and communication mechanisms, coordinate and resolve major issues in ecological and environmental zoning-based control work, and implement funding guarantees according to the principles of division of financial powers and expenditure responsibilities based on the work objectives and tasks of ecological and environmental zoning-based control. The competent ecological and environmental departments of the provincial and city,county, and autonomous county people's governments shall take the lead in formulating and adjusting ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans. The competent ecological and environmental departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall take the lead in organizing the implementation,publicity and training, and supervision and management of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans. The development and reform,business environment, natural resources and planning, agriculture and rural affairs, industry and information technology, marine, housing and urban-rural development, transport, water affairs, forestry, and other relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall carry out information sharing, implementation application, and supervision and management related to ecological and environmental zoning-based control in their respective fields according to their functions and responsibilities. Industrial park management agencies shall cooperate in carrying out ecological and environmental zoning-based control work within the parks.
Article 4 The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall strengthen the digital construction of ecological and environmental zoning-based control, establish a provincial ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform, collect and exchange relevant resultant data, and form an ecological and environmental zoning-based control "one map". The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall,relying on the provincial ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform, achieve whole-process online management of ecological and environmental zoning-based control resultant data management, spatial access assessment, tracking and evaluation, comprehensive decision-making, and public services. It shall fully utilize advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, explore functions such as intelligent analysis and judgment, and intelligent forecasting and early warning, to enhance the intelligent level of the information platform. The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall,together with the natural resources and planning departments, promote the linkage between the ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform and the territorial spatial basic information platform and other platforms, establish data sharing and business collaboration mechanisms, and achieve real-time update pushing and sharing of data results.
Article 5 Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans are formulated at two levels, provincial and city/county/autonomous county. They are organized and compiled by the people's government at the same level, submitted to the competent ecological and environmental department of the people's government at the next higher level for filing/record, and then issued and implemented by the people's government at the same level. Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans shall in principle remain stable and be adjusted periodically every five years in conjunction with the evaluation of the national economic and social development plans and territorial spatial plans. Technical coordination for periodic adjustments, and the filing and issuance of results, shall be carried out according to the procedures for plan compilation. Content of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans disclosed to the public shall comply with state regulations on confidentiality and map management.
Article 6 Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans shall implement the requirements for ecological conservation red lines, environmental quality bottom lines, and resource utilization upper limits, determine ecological and environmental control units, and clarify ecological and environmental access lists. Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans shall coordinate with territorial spatial plans. The compilation of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans shall comply with national and provincial standards and norms for ecological and environmental zoning-based control.The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall, together with the natural resources and planning departments, formulate provincial standards and norms for ecological and environmental zoning-based control.
Article 7 Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans, based on regional characteristics such as ecological environment structure, function, and quality, and through environmental assessment, delineate ecological and environmental control units on the basis of management zones for various ecological and environmental elements such as atmosphere, water, soil, ecology, noise, and ocean. These control units include ecological and environmental priority protection units, ecological and environmental key control units, and ecological and environmental general control units. Ecological and environmental priority protection units refer to areas that require strict protection,based on the ecological conservation red lines, including:
(1)Ecological conservation red lines determined by territorial spatial planning;
(2)Other important ecological spaces outside the ecological conservation red lines that require special protection after assessment, such as drinking water source protection zones, aquatic germplasm resource protection zones, and coastal shelterbelts (hereinafter referred to as other important ecological spaces). Ecological and environmental key control units refer to areas that require strengthened pollution prevention and control,mainly comprising regions with significant pressure to improve ecological environmental quality, high resource and energy consumption intensity, concentrated pollutant discharge, serious ecological damage, high environmental risks, and prominent conflicts between development and protection, including:
(1)Industrial parks approved and established by the state, province, or city, county, or autonomous county people's governments;
(2)Areas requiring key control for various ecological and environmental elements such as atmosphere, water, soil, ecology, noise, and ocean;
(3)Other areas assessed as requiring key control. Areas other than ecological and environmental priority protection units and key control units are classified as ecological and environmental general control units.
Article 8 Ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans shall formulate differentiated ecological and environmental access lists for priority protection units, key control units, and general control units, based on the functional positioning, industrial development planning, and territorial spatial planning of each region and each ecological and environmental element. These lists shall specify development and construction activities that are permitted, restricted, or prohibited, covering aspects such as optimizing spatial layout, controlling pollutant discharge, preventing environmental risks, and improving resource and energy utilization efficiency:
(1)Ecological conservation red lines within ecological and environmental priority protection units shall be strictly managed in accordance with laws, regulations, and state relevant regulations. Other important ecological spaces shall be managed as restricted development zones; those with single functional attributes and clear control requirements shall be managed according to existing regulations; those with multiple functional attributes and clear control requirements shall be managed strictly according to the most stringent control requirement; for those without clear control requirements for the time being, development and construction activities that damage the dominant ecological service functions shall be restricted;
(2)Ecological and environmental key control units shall clarify environmental quality bottom line targets and environmental infrastructure construction requirements, and propose NIMBY (Not-In-My-Backyard) and environmental risk prevention measures. Where ecological and environmental contradictions and problems exist, precise tracing of sources shall be carried out; where environmental quality fails to meet standards, requirements for pollutant emission reduction or abatement shall be specified;
(3)Ecological and environmental general control units shall propose control requirements aimed at maintaining basic stability of ecological environmental quality, reserving development space and potential. Units and individuals shall carry out production and construction activities strictly in accordance with the requirements of the ecological and environmental access lists.
Article 9 Under any of the following circumstances, the ecological and environmental zoning-based control plan may be dynamically updated. It shall be published and implemented after approval by the original plan compiling authority and filed with the competent ecological and environmental department of the people's government at the next higher level:
(1)Where new provisions are stipulated in laws or regulations;
(2)Where adjustments are lawfully made, such as to ecological conservation red lines;
(3)Where changes occur in the national economic and social development plan, territorial spatial plan, major strategies, ecological environmental protection objectives, industrial access policies, etc.;
(4)Where detailed measures for ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans formulated by industrial parks are incorporated into the ecological and environmental access list;
(5)Other circumstances where an update is indeed necessary after demonstration. For circumstances specified in items(3), (4), and (5) of the preceding paragraph, the competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall organize scientific demonstration.
Article 10 When compiling or revising territorial spatial overall plans, detailed plans, and special plans, the ecological and environmental zoning-based control plan shall be considered, focusing on improving ecological environmental quality and reasonably optimizing the pattern of territorial spatial development and protection. The competent natural resources and planning departments and competent ecological and environmental departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall coordinate the management of territorial spatial use and the control requirements of the ecological and environmental access list,strengthen interaction during the implementation and application process, effectively prevent environmental risks, and guarantee the safety of the human living environment. Spatial access opinions issued by the competent natural resources and planning departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall comply with the requirements of ecological and environmental zoning-based control.
Article 11 When people's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments formulate policies involving regional development and construction activities, optimization and adjustment of industrial layout, and development and utilization of resources and energy, they shall implement the requirements of ecological and environmental zoning-based control, strictly control the construction of projects with high energy consumption, high emissions, and low levels, and guide the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the rational layout of strategic emerging industries. People's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments shall strengthen publicity on the application of ecological and environmental zoning-based control,guiding enterprises to conduct conformity analysis between proposed construction projects and ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements in advance during the investment decision-making process. The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall set up public access permissions on the ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform to provide services for enterprises analyzing the conformity of construction projects with ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements.
Article 12 Industrial parks shall use ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements as an important basis for investment promotion. Various development and construction activities within parks shall strictly implement the ecological and environmental access list. When revising plans for industrial parks at the provincial level and below,the optimization work of planning environmental impact assessment can be carried out for the revised content, relying on the periodic adjustment and dynamic update mechanism for ecological and environmental zoning-based control of the city, county, or autonomous county where they are located. Industrial parks are encouraged to carry out coordinated linkage between ecological and environmental zoning-based control and environmental impact assessment, pollutant discharge permit management, environmental monitoring, law enforcement supervision, etc.
Article 13 The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall formulate a comprehensive management catalogue for construction project environmental impact assessment and pollutant discharge permits in the Hainan Free Trade Port, based on the implementation effectiveness of ecological and environmental zoning-based control. For construction projects that are required by law to conduct environmental impact assessment,the construction unit shall carry out an ecological and environmental access assessment on the ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform. If the assessment conclusion does not meet the ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements, the ecological environmental feasibility shall be further demonstrated, and the project construction content optimized and adjusted or the site re-selected. The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall integrate spatial data such as ecological and environmental zoning-based control,ecological and environmental functional zones, and ecological and environmental element management to promote the intellectualization of construction project site selection demonstration and the simplification of environmental impact assessment document compilation content.
Article 14 The competent ecological and environmental departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall, in the environmental management of atmosphere, water, soil, noise, ocean, solid waste, etc., utilize the results of ecological and environmental zoning-based control to implement differentiated and precise control, and carry out governance in areas with prominent ecological problems such as substandard ecological environmental quality, concentrated environmental complaints, and high environmental risks.
Article 15 People's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments shall establish a coordination mechanism between ecological and environmental zoning-based control and the coordinated governance of pollutants and carbon emissions, conduct coordinated effectiveness assessments of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, incorporate pollution reduction and carbon reduction requirements into ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans, strengthen pollution reduction and carbon reduction governance in key industries, and promote the updating and replacement of production equipment and pollution control equipment with excessively high energy consumption and emission levels in various fields.
Article 16 The competent ecological and environmental departments and relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall utilize the results of near-shore marine ecological and environmental zoning-based control to implement hierarchical and classified management of sea-outfall sewage outlets, strictly control pollutants entering the sea, and strengthen land-sea coordinated pollutant discharge control. The protection,development, and utilization of coastal zones shall implement marine ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements, optimize the development and protection pattern of coastal segments, protect typical marine ecosystems and biodiversity such as important estuaries, bays, lagoons, mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and large macroalgal fields, and guarantee the function of marine blue carbon sinks.
Article 17 People's governments at or above the county level and relevant departments shall utilize the results of ecological and environmental zoning-based control to strengthen the protection and control of ecological resources, conduct tracking and assessment of changes in ecological functions and environmental quality, prevent ecological and environmental risks, and promptly repair damaged ecological environments based on assessment results. The management agency of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park shall implement ecological and environmental zoning-based control requirements,carry out protection of habitats and original environments of unique, rare, and endangered species, conduct ecological environmental monitoring and assessment, strengthen the protection and restoration of tropical rainforest ecosystems, and innovate modes and pathways for realizing the value of ecological products.
Article 18 The competent ecological and environmental departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall implement supervision and management of ecological and environmental zoning-based control according to their division of responsibilities. Matters for supervision and management of ecological and environmental zoning-based control include:
(1)The formulation and implementation of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans;
(2)The adjustment, update, and filing of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans;
(3)Changes in ecological functions of ecological and environmental priority protection units, and changes in ecological environmental quality of key control units and general control units;
(4)The handling of violations of the ecological and environmental access list;
(5)Other supervision and management matters stipulated by laws and regulations.
Article 19 The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall, together with relevant departments, establish a sound whole-process supervision and management mechanism for ecological and environmental zoning-based control. Relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall,according to their division of responsibilities, utilize relevant supervision platforms such as the ecological and environmental zoning-based control information platform and employ advanced technical means to conduct dynamic monitoring, and carry out on-site inspections for discovered prominent problems and risk hazards. Under any of the following circumstances,the competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall carry out special supervision together with relevant departments:
(1)Major problem clues are discovered through public opinion monitoring, media exposure, public reports, etc.;
(2)The ecological function of an ecological and environmental priority protection unit significantly decreases;
(3)Ecological and environmental problems in a key control unit are prominent;
(4)The environmental quality of a general control unit significantly declines;
(5)Other circumstances requiring special supervision. Problem clues discovered through supervision and management shall be promptly transferred to the department or agency with supervisory and management responsibilities for handling according to laws and regulations. The provincial people's government shall incorporate prominent problems existing in the implementation of the ecological and environmental zoning-based control system into provincial ecological environmental protection inspections,urging relevant units and departments to make rectifications within a time limit according to laws and regulations.
Article 20 The competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall organize and carry out tracking and assessment work for provincial ecological and environmental zoning-based control. Tracking and assessment work shall strengthen coordination with environmental quality monitoring and evaluation,ecological status surveys, ecological conservation red line effectiveness assessments, and nature reserve effectiveness assessments, etc. The results of tracking and assessment shall serve as an important reference and basis for optimizing ecological and environmental zoning-based control management,supporting the adjustment and update of ecological and environmental zoning-based control plans, the allocation of funds in the field of ecological environmental protection, and the creation of related demonstration zones.
Article 21 The competent ecological and environmental departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall, for production and construction units that have relatively good implementation of the ecological and environmental access list, consider other factors comprehensively, and promote their inclusion in the ecological environment supervision and law enforcement positive list, implementing incentive measures such as administrative inspections primarily conducted through non-on-site methods. For those who violate the ecological and environmental access list in production and construction activities, they shall be removed from the positive list and penalized according to relevant laws and regulations.
Article 22 Ecological and environmental zoning-based control work shall be incorporated into the Hainan Free Trade Port ecological environmental protection assessment and evaluation. People's governments at or above the county level shall assess and evaluate lower-level people's governments and departments within their own level responsible for ecological and environmental zoning-based control work. The assessment and evaluation results shall serve as an important basis for the comprehensive assessment, evaluation, accountability, reward/punishment, appointment/removal,departure audit of responsible persons of the assessed governments and departments, as well as for the arrangement of funds related to ecological and environmental zoning-based control.
Article 23 If a city, county, or autonomous county people's government fails to organize the compilation, or fails to organize the compilation, periodic adjustment, or dynamic update of an ecological and environmental zoning-based control plan as required, the competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall order it to make rectification within a time limit. If it fails to make rectification by the deadline, the competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall interview its principal responsible person.
Article 24 If, in the compilation, periodic adjustment, or dynamic update of an ecological and environmental zoning-based control plan, a city, county, or autonomous county people's government engages in falsification, lowers standards, finds flexible ways to break through requirements, etc., the competent ecological and environmental department of the provincial people's government shall not accept it for filing and data entry; if it has already been filed, it shall be revoked. If a city,county, or autonomous county people's government's ecological and environmental zoning-based control plan is not accepted for filing and data entry due to falsification, lowering standards, finding flexible ways to break through requirements, etc., the directly responsible supervisor and other directly responsible personnel shall be given sanctions according to law; if losses are caused to the lawful rights and interests of parties, compensation shall be made according to law.
Article 25 If production or construction activities are carried out in violation of the ecological and environmental access list, and penalties are stipulated in relevant laws or regulations, those provisions shall apply. If no penalties are stipulated in relevant laws or regulations, the competent ecological and environmental department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order the cessation of illegal acts, demand removal within a time limit and restoration to the original state, with the costs borne by the violator, and impose a fine of not less than 5% nor more than 10% of the total investment amount; if the circumstances are serious, it shall report to the people's government with approval authority to order shutdown.
Article 26 For administrative penalties stipulated in these Regulations, if comprehensive administrative law enforcement management has been implemented, those provisions shall apply. For acts violating these Regulations for which no penalty is stipulated herein,but penalties are stipulated in other laws or regulations, those provisions shall apply.
Article 27 These Regulations shall come into effect on September 1, 2025.
Source: Hainan People's Congress Website