Scope 1: Marine and Coastal Policy and Law (Center of Ocean Policy and Law)

Director: Prof. Kuenchen Fu

Co-Director: Dr. Qinhua Fang

Research in this scope aims at providing services for national strategic development, exerting the advantages of Xiamen University on interdisciplines of social science and natural science, developing into the leading center of research on marine and coastal policy and law in China and the Southeast Asia. The research fields include: marine rights, marine policy and law, marine culture and marine history. Current research interests are the study of policy and law on: marine delimitation, marine function zoning, marine environmental protection, land-based pollution control, coastal reclamation planning, marine resources development, marine economic development, building of marine protected area, adaptation to climate change, marine fishery management, shipping dispute, protection of underwater cultural heritage etc.

Scope 2: Integrated Watershed and Ocean Management (Center for Integrated Watershed and Marine Management Research)

Director: Dr. Jinliang Huang

Researches in this scope highlight the integrated study from watershed to ocean, using interdisciplinary approach from science to management that convokes scientists, engineers and managers together. Most of projects are designed and conducted to answer the key scientific issues and promote the integrated river-estuary-coastal management. The overall goal is to provide solid and sound scientific support for management on watershed and ocean water environment as well as the sustainable development of coastal zones. Under this scope, there are various areas of research specialization (in point form):

- Security of drinking water sources;

- Eutrophication and harmful algal bloom;

- Non-point source pollution control and management;

- Aquatic ecosystem dynamic modeling, prediction and early warning;

- Ecosystem-based management;

- Flood hazard assessment and risk management;

- Storm tide forecasting technique;

- Regional information sharing system;

- etc.

Scope 3: Marine Environmental and Resources Economics (Center for Marine Economics)

Director: Dr. Benrong Peng

Center for Marine Economics(CME) focuses on the following research fields to provide scientific support for the ocean related policy evaluation and policy making.

- Assessment of marine environmental and resource economic value;

- Evaluation of marine policy;

- Marine ecological damage and compensation;

- Evaluation of watershed-ocean ecosystems services;

- Watershed ecological compensation

- Modeling cost-efficient pollution load reductions to the watershed and coastal water.

Scope 4: Capacity building for Ocean and Coastal Management (Xiamen International Training Center for Coastal Sustainable Development)

Executive Director: Prof. Xiongzhi Xue

Xiamen International Training Center for Coastal Sustainable Development is devoted to the capacity building of government officials and relevant practitioners from China’s coastal cities and East Asian countries. The research area of the training center includes: Research on the evolution of ocean and coastal management in East Asia Seas, with focus on exploring relevant theories and practices; Exploration on the requirement of capacity building especially manpower development on ocean and coastal management in south China sea, Taiwan straits and East Asia; Collaboration with top-grade universities in developing qualified curriculum on ocean and coastal management as well establishing specific database; Promotion of  the establishment and operation of the regional leading universities group on collaborative degree training projects of ocean and coastal management.