Wild animals thrive as environment improves

Green efforts

Environmental protection has been a key task for the central government in recent years.

From 2016 to last year, China established numerous nature reserves, covering 18 percent of its land area. The reserves have protected 90 percent of the country's plants and 85 percent of its wild animals.

In the past five years, the nation has also made significant progress in terms of greening and protecting natural resources, with 36.33 million hectares of trees being planted and comprehensive vegetation coverage on natural grassland rising to 56.1 percent.

Moreover, wetlands in China have expanded by 202,600 hectares during that time, making a significant contribution to water safety and environmental protection.

In February, a new List of Wild Animals under State Priority Conservation was released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs－protecting 980 wild animals.