south china sea tagged posts

Marine ecology threats in the South China Sea

Spread over 3.477 million km2 the South China Sea is among the most resource-rich marine areas in the world. It is known to have 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil reserves. It is also home to diverse ecosystems – with 3,000 species of fish and 600 species of coral reef.

In recent times, the South China Sea has been in the limelight due to China’s claims over the waters and what some refer to as Chinese military expansionism, but its environmental impact remains underexplored. As one of the world’s busiest international shipping lanes, the South China Sea’s ecological system is unravelling amidst rampant overfishing, dredging for construction of artificial reefs and hydrofracking by China.

Although other players in the region have also und...

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