BEIJING -- The coverage of desertified land in Beijing has decreased by 24,840 hectares during the past five years, thanks to the city's anti-desertification effort, authorities said Wednesday.

Hu Jun, an engineer with the Beijing landscaping bureau, said the capital began plant forests to prevent and treat desertification in the 1980s.

"The city increased desert control efforts by launching the Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source control project in 2000 and a large-scale afforestation project in 2012," he said.

Statistics show the Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source control project increased the city's forest coverage by more than 460,000 hectares.