China announces addition of 18 wetlands of international importance

This aerial photo taken on Nov. 15, 2022 shows a view of the Shajiabang national wetland park in Changshu, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced on Thursday that China has added 18 wetlands of international importance, including Yanqing Wild Duck Lake in Beijing and Baima Lake in Huai'an, Jiangsu province.

Thursday is World Wetlands Day, which falls annually on Feb 2.

China now has 82 wetlands of international importance covering about 7.6 million hectares, ranking fourth in the world, according to the administration.

A report on the 2022 environmental status of the wetlands that was released on Thursday showed that their biodiversity has improved, with 2,391 species of plants inhabiting them. In addition, degraded wetlands in Heilongjiang, Hubei, Shandong and Hainan provinces have been restored, according to the report.

Since 1992, China has added 202,600 hectares of wetlands and has restored 467,400 hectares of degraded wetlands, the administration said.

Special measures to protect mangroves and to limit the spread of smooth cordgrass, an invasive species, have been taken.