BEIJING -- Beijing plans to plant 10,000 hectares of trees this year in an effort to raise the city's forest coverage rate to 44.8 percent, local authorities said Thursday.

Beijing will improve its ecosystem diversity, connectivity and security to ensure the new round of afforestation to be completed in 2022, according to the government work report delivered by the capital city's mayor Chen Jining at the ongoing fifth session of the 15th Beijing Municipal People's Congress.

Chen said Beijing will improve forest quality, formulate and implement biodiversity protection plans and wildlife habitat planning, as well as a three-year action plan for wetland conservation and restoration, with the establishment of 20 biodiversity conservation demonstration areas.

The city started a new round of afforestation in 2017. It is scheduled to plant a total of over 66,000 hectares of forests by the end of 2022.