BEIJING -- Over the past decade, China has continued its efforts to expedite legislation aimed at protecting the ecological environment, the country's top legislature has said.

Tuesday marks China's first National Ecology Day, which was established at a session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, in late June.

China now has in place more than 30 laws, over 100 sets of administrative regulations, and many local regulations focused on eco-environmental protection. These efforts contribute to building sound ecological conservation systems, according to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the NPC Standing Committee has formulated and revised 19 laws in this regard, including laws on protecting the country's major rivers, wetlands and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The legislation also increased penalties for violations of relevant laws and regulations, said the top legislature.