BEIJING — Beijing will step up efforts in wetland restoration and construction, with 1,600 hectares of wetlands to be recovered and 600 hectares of new wetlands to be built in 2020, authorities said.

At present, the total area of wetlands sized over 400 square meters in Beijing has amounted to 58,700 hectares, accounting for 3.6 percent of the city's land area, according to the municipal gardening and greening bureau.

Beijing has restored and built a total of 8,921 hectares of wetlands since 2016, with steadily expanding wetland areas and improving wetland landscapes, said Huang Sanxiang, with the bureau.

The city so far has 12 national and municipal-level wetland parks, covering a total area of more than 2,800 hectares, Huang added.

Monitoring data show that Beijing has enjoyed increased wetland biodiversity in recent years due to the expansion of wetland areas. A total of 369 wild plant species and 202 wild animal species have survived and reproduced in the city's wetlands.

Sept 20 marks the 8th Beijing Wetlands Day.