BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- China has rolled out measures for the comprehensive treatment of three major marine areas during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Thursday.

Photo taken on March 31, 2020 shows migrant birds at the Wolong Lake wetland in Kangping County of Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Photo: Xinhua)

Over recent years, the ecological environment has been improved in the Bohai Sea, as well as in marine areas around the Yangtze Estuary-Hangzhou Bay and Pearl River Estuary. However, pressure from pollution and ecological degradation continues to pose arduous challenges to the sustainable improvement of the marine environment from 2021 to 2025.

China aims to raise the proportion of excellent water quality in the three key marine areas by about 2 percentage points by 2025, compared with the 2020 level, according to an action plan jointly issued by the ministry and six other departments. In the meantime, risk prevention and emergency response capabilities in the marine areas will be significantly improved.

The action plan also details specific measures to prevent land-sea pollution and restore ecology, among other areas of work concerning the marine environment.