Drying city hopes to reverse the trend, director says

After Beijing said it will issue a regulation about the protection of wetlands, we ask what is the current situation in the capital, what are the challenges, and how can the city better protect the wetlands. METRO reporter Shen Jingting talked with Yang Zhihua, director of the wetland office at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry.

METRO: What is a wetland? Is Beijing full of wetland resources?

Yang: Actually, wetlands are everywhere. People often assume swamps are wetlands, but they are wrong. Wetlands are divided into two categories - natural wetlands and artificial wetlands. Natural wetlands refer to rivers, such as Yongding River and Chaobai River. While reservoirs, ponds, even paddy fields are all artificial wetlands.