China's Yellow River basin is greener as its vegetation coverage has expanded in the past 20 years, said an official of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Wang Zhibin, director of the ministry's Department of Natural Ecology Conservation, said the basin is covered by more vegetation and enjoys greater biodiversity.

The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of 5,464 km. Once notorious for its frequent devastating floods and course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, the Yellow River basin, covering an area of 752,443 sq km, used to feature deserts and desertified land. Taming the river and restoring the ecology of the river basin have been top on the work agenda of the Chinese government since 1949.

"In line with the major strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River, the latest survey completed the remote sensing assessment on ecological changes in the Yellow River basin over the past 20 years, which found that the vegetation coverage of the Yellow River basin has expanded markedly," said Wang.

He said the ministry has supervised the ecological and environmental management of the Yellow River basin, worked with relevant departments to push for the conservation and restoration of mountains, water bodies, forests, farmland, grassland and desert ecosystems on the upper reaches of the river and rehabilitation of wetlands in the Yellow River Delta.

He said bird species in the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve have increased from 187 in 1992, when the nature reserve was established, to the present 371.

(Cover images via VCG)

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