Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced the selection results of the 2025 Typical Cases of Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration. A total of 15 typical cases were selected nationwide. Among them, ZEHO ECO's project "On the Maritime Silk Road: Understanding the Ecological Renaissance of 'Mazu's Hometown' — A Typical Case of Ecological Restoration in the Blue Bay Regulation Action of Putian, Fujian Province" was successfully selected, marking that the demonstrativeness and innovativeness of the company's coastal ecological restoration practices have been professionally recognized.

Partial List of Selected Projects in the 2025 Typical Cases of Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration

Putian City is located along the east-central coast of Fujian Province, with a winding coastline. The development of port-based industries has accelerated the intensity of development and utilization of the coastal zone, increasing the carrying capacity of coastal resources and gradually highlighting various contradictions. Before governance in 2020, the Ziyun Lake Wetland in the inner bay of Mazu City was a messy low-lying area with overgrown weeds, accumulated garbage, and severe issues such as random barriers around it.

In the Putian Blue Bay Project, ZEHO ECO restored natural habitats through near-natural ecological engineering methods to enhance blue carbon functions. The project applied various measures according to local conditions, including wetland restoration, retreat from aquaculture to beaches, ecological transformation of seawalls, tidal inlet of inner bays, and windbreak forest restoration, to build ecological waterfront habitats for target species such as herons. It also optimized the ecological landscape to meet the needs of public nature education, leisure visits, etc., creating a sustainable coastal land-water junction zone.

Using Ecological Engineering to Create a Sustainable Coastal Land-Water Junction Zone

Real-scene Photo of Putian Blue Bay Project after Restoration

In addition, to accurately monitor comprehensive indicators of the coastal zone, effectively control coastal environmental pollution, and measure the restoration effects of China's Blue Bay Regulation Action projects and other coastal ecological regulation projects, the Putian Blue Bay Project applied the company's "AI Ecological Butler" product to build the Putian Smart Bay Integrated Management System. Combined with carbon sink monitoring, carbon neutrality deduction assessment, and Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) accounting, it provides scientific data support for the restoration and construction of Putian's coastal ecosystem and blue carbon measurement.

Putian Smart Bay Integrated Management System

The restored Putian Blue Bay has achieved the shared goals of seawall consolidation and upgrading, ecological environment improvement, and landscape remodeling. Today, the Ziyun Lake Wetland, just a few hundred meters away from the sea, has become a coastal ecological park where humans and nature coexist harmoniously. It plays a role in stabilizing the coastline and restoring intertidal habitats. With the improvement of the surrounding water and vegetation environments, many fish and birds have also inhabited here. Now, the inner bay area is covered with green plants, with a restored ecological area of 22 hectares, and supporting fitness trails. The ecological construction goal of a "blue bay" with "clear water, green shores, clean beaches, and beautiful bays" has been gradually achieved.

The Restored Putian Blue Bay Attracts Egrets to Return

In recent years, ZEHO ECO has achieved fruitful results in the field of marine ecological restoration. In 2022, the company co-established the "Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration" with the Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources. Relying on the national laboratory platform, the company took the lead in formulating three industry standards: Technical Guidelines for Island Ecological Restoration, Acceptance Guidelines for Marine Ecological Restoration, and Technical Guidelines for Vital Coast Construction, becoming authoritative norms in the field of marine ecological governance. It also led the undertaking of national key R&D projects such as "Construction and Demonstration Application of Vital Coast Models" and jointly undertook multiple marine ecological protection and restoration design and engineering projects, including the "Dongfang City Duntou Bay Coral Reef Ecological Protection and Restoration Project" and the "Sanya Tielugang Mangrove Coastal Wetland Protection and Restoration Comprehensive Improvement Project". Currently, the company is collaborating with Zhipu AI and the Third Institute of Oceanography to fully invest in the research and development of a river-lake-ocean large model, which will significantly enhance the scientificity and implementation efficiency of marine ecological restoration projects and inject strong new momentum into marine ecological protection.

The selection of the Putian Blue Bay Project into the "2025 Typical Cases of Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration" is another important milestone for the company in marine ecological restoration practices. In the future, the company will continue to uphold the spirit of innovation, increase R&D investment, and provide replicable and promotable practical solutions for promoting the construction of beautiful bays.