The Chinese Marine Conservation Organizations Directory (2015 version), updated and organized by Rendu Marine, will be published this month.
The 2015 directory includes 176 marine conservation organizations, 65 more than the previous year’s one. This year’s directory gives a more specific classification of marine conservation organizations, including 34 domestic marine conservation organizations, 18 domestic marine conservation student societies, 7 domestic marine-related conservation foundations, 13 international marine-related conservation social organizations, 54 domestic marine-related conservation social organizations, 14 domestic marine-related conservation students societies, 4 domestic supporting social organizations, 30 domestic supporting institutions, and 2 international marine conservation organizations. It should also be noted that out of 75 organizations for which related information is lacking, 29 are domestic marine conservation supporting institutions.
Geographic Distribution
The distribution of China’s marine conservation organizations has an obvious geographical bias. These organizations are all located in the eastern coastal areas, and especially the south-eastern ones. The top three provinces containing the most social organizations are Hainan, Guangdong, and Beijing. However, the number of marine conservation organizations in an area has no relation to its economic growth.
Time of Establishment
Five of China’s marine conservation organizations were established before 1995 (the earliest one is the China Marine Academy, established in 1979); the organizations’ numbers are increasing year by year. China’s marine conservation organizations are in general young, which reflects the growing attention of the society towards marine protection.
Distribution of registration types
Social groups and private non-enterprise units are the main forces behind marine protection. Other types of registration, for instance for foundations and companies, are rarely seen.
Stay tuned as the complete directory will be presented on the websites of the China Nonprofit Forum for Oceans, China Development Brief, and the China Environmental Organization Map.
