Environmental Policy on Ocean Flower Island: An Actor-Network Perspective

Ocean Flower Island, as a landmark artificial tourism project in the context of Hainan Free Trade Port, has become a typical case of a “failed megaproject” due to the China Evergrande Group’s financial collapse and ecological controversies. This study, based on field research and interviews conducted in Danzhou, Hainan, adopts Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an analytical framework, and explores the interactions among multiple actors in the practice of environmental policy on Ocean Flower Island. Actors range widely from government, developers, local residents, tourists, to non-human entities. The findings reveal gaps in policy implementation, tensions between local governance and central environmental objectives, and structural contradictions between economic development and environmental protection. This paper provides a case study of environmental governance and regional development in the Hainan Free Trade Port through the lens of ANT.