BEIJING -- Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, will play host to the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP14) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 2021, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced Thursday.

This will be the first time for China to host such a meeting.

Wuhan has about 1,624 square km of wetlands, accounting for 18.9 percent of its total area.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Convention on Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It has 170 contracting parties so far.

Every three years representatives of the contracting parties meet at the COP, where they adopt decisions to administer the Convention and guide its implementation.

China has taken diverse actions to tackle global challenges such as the decreasing wetland area and degradation since its accession to the treaty in 1992. It has adopted a series of measures aimed at the protection of wetlands. They include the adoption of wetland protection laws, launching wetland surveys, implementing programs for wetland protection and rehabilitation, as well as expanding international cooperation and exchanges.

China has more than 600 wetland nature reserves and over 1,000 national wetland parks.