HAIKOU, July 20 -- The government of China's southernmost Sansha City has hired 12 experts to advise local environment protection and improving city planning, local authorities said Monday.

The environment protection commission consists of academics from China's top environment academies and professors from universities famous for construction and city management. The panel will help deal with issues such as the vulnerable eco-system and bad weather conditions, said Xiao Jie, Sansha mayor and Communist Party of China city chief.

Huang Liangmin, with the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized the importance of the panel, of which he is a member.

"Sansha administers a unique and precious area of environmental assets formed over thousands of years, and they will be very difficult to restore if damaged," Huang said, adding that he and fellow members will try their best to provide scientific advice for Sansha's development.

Sansha City, on Yongxing, one of the Xisha islands in Hainan Province, was officially established in 2012 to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

China has taken a variety of measures to enhance local environment, including building sewage plants, launching green projects and cracking down on environmental crimes.