BEIJING — China will strengthen biodiversity conservation supervision and biodiversity research to protect important natural ecosystems and wildlife, the environmental protection watchdog said on May 22.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 25th International Day for Biological Diversity, Huang Runqiu, vice-minister of ecology and environment, said China understands the importance of biodiversity conservation and regards it as an important part of development.

The protection of biodiversity has been included in ecological protection framework of local governments and results have been good, said Huang.

Huang stressed that China will improve conservation supervision and publicity, raise public awareness and build a protection network to bring more people to participate in conservation.

So far, China has a land conservation areas of over 1.7 million square kilometers, accounting for 18 percent of the total land area, ahead of the schedule of reaching 17 percent by 2020 required by the Convention on Biological Diversity, according to Huang.

Over the past years, China has made solid efforts in biodiversity conversation. Last year, China released a plan on the national park system, demanding the strictest protection for parks and placing them within “red line” zones, a key government strategy putting designated areas under mandatory protection.

By 2020, China aims to set up a batch of national parks and form a unified management system, according to the plan. The system will be improved with added management efficiency by 2030.