GUANGZHOU — China will step up efforts to establish and optimize the system for natural protected areas, said a forestry official.

The system would include a series of policies and mechanisms, such as ecological compensation and transfer payments, said Li Chunliang, deputy head of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration at the first World Forum on Nature Conservation.

China has established a number of natural protected areas with various functions and types, which have played a significant role in protecting biodiversity, preserving natural heritage, improving the environment and safeguarding national ecological security, Li said.

It is an institutional innovation to establish a system for natural protected areas with national parks as the main body, he said, adding that China will further optimize the legal system with the law on natural protected areas as the basis.

Li also called on the establishment of database and supervision platforms based on biodiversity investigation and species monitoring and reinforcing relevant international exchanges and cooperation.

China now has 11,800 natural protected areas including national parks, nature reserves and natural parks, accounting for 18 percent of its total land territory and 4.6 percent of its territorial waters.