十大自然保护成功与失败案例(图文）

Currently the Amazon rainforest is being cleared at a staggering rate of 24,000 km² per year – that is an area about the size of New York’s Central Park disappearing each hour. The Amazon is the world’s largest remaining tropical forest – 40% of the world’s rainforest is now found in Brazil. Other nations, such as the Philippines, have been totally deforested, says Jeff McNeely, chief scientist with the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In total, about 80% of all the forests that covered the Earth 8000 years ago have been cleared or degraded by man.

目前亚马逊雨林以每年2万4千平方公里的惊人速度砍伐－相当于每小时不见了一个纽约中央公园的面积。亚马逊雨林是仍然保留的世界上最大的热带雨林－巴西占有世界雨林的40％。其他国家，如菲律宾，已经完全砍伐一空，世界自然保护联盟首席科学家Jeff McNeely说。8000年前覆盖地球的森林，现在约有80％已遭人类砍伐而退化。

2. SUCCESS: Reforestation of China

In 2002 the Chinese government began an ambitious project to reforest 5% of the nation, an area the size of California. The 440,000 km² project is the largest ever undertaken in history. The aim is to prevent soil erosion, disastrous droughts and floods, and reduce the severity of dust storms. The plan has also called for the creation of nature reserves for pandas, Tibetan antelopes and rare orchids. “The purpose is to recreate forests to influence the hydrological cycle, and stop the encroachment of the desert towards Beijing,” says the IUCN’s McNeely. “It’s remarkable how green China is now.”

2002年中国政府开始一项雄心勃勃的退耕还林计划，还林全国面积的5％，相当于加州的面积。44万平方公里的工程，也是历史上最大的。工程的目标是以此来减少和调节土壤流失，大面积的干旱，洪水，以及严峻的沙尘暴。这一计划也被称作为熊猫，藏羚羊和珍稀的兰花实行自然生态保护。”重新造林的目的是通过影响水文环境来阻止向北京方向的沙漠化。”世界自然保护联盟的McNeely说。”现在中国明显变绿了。”

3. FAILURE: Saiga antelope

In 1993 more than a million saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) crowded the steppes of central Asia. However, by 2004 just 30,000 remained, many of them female. The species had fallen prey to relentless poaching – with motorbikes and automatic weapons – in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. This 97% decline is one of the most dramatic population crashes of a large mammal ever seen. Poachers harvest males for their horns, which are used in fever cures in traditional Chinese medicine. The slaughter is embarrassing for conservationists. In the early 1990s, groups such as WWF actively encouraged the saiga hunt, promoting its horn as an alternative to the horn of the endangered rhino. “The saiga was an important resource, well managed by the Soviet Union,” says John Robinson, at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York City, US. “But with the breakdown of civil society and law and order, that management ceased.”

1993年在中亚西伯利亚大草原上有一百多万只赛加羚羊。到2004年只剩下3万只，大多数是雌性羚羊。赛加羚羊物种的锐减是在苏联解体这个薄弱的时期，遭到骑着摩托车带着自动化武器的偷猎者无情猎杀。盗猎者为雄性羚羊角而去，传统中医学上，羚羊角能治愈发烧。屠杀者让保护管理者为难。1990s年代初，一些组织如世界野生动物基金积极鼓励赛加羚羊狩猎，推荐用赛加羚羊角替代犀牛角，以保护濒危的犀牛。”赛加羚羊是一种很重要的资源，曾经很好的被苏联管理。”美国纽约的野生动物保护协会John Robinson说。”但随着社会法律和秩序的崩溃，管理中止了。”

4. SUCCESS: The American Bison

From herds numbering tens of millions, Bison (Bison bison) were hunted down to as few as 750 animals in the 1890s. Between 1868 and 1881, 31 million were slaughtered by hunters and fur traders. However, like the North American gray wolf, the bison has made a remarkable comeback. Through conservation initiatives, re-introduction, population management and the development of the bison meat industry, the population has rebounded to around 350,000 individuals.

原数千万的成群美洲野牛，大量被猎杀，到19世纪90年代只剩750只。1868年到1881年期间，3千1百万的野牛被打猎者和毛皮贩卖者屠杀。幸好，象北美灰狼一样及时发起保护，重新引进，种群数量管理，发展野牛肉产业的，使野牛数量已经有了显著回升，现在回弹到大概35万只。

5. FAILURE: Northern white rhino

The northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) was once common – and as many as 2250 still remained across five African countries in the 1960s. However the intense pressure of poaching had reduced the sub-species to just 10 animals by February 2005, making it the most endangered large mammal on the planet. About 40 animals still remained as recently as 2003, but the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Garumba National Park has not been able to offer these animals the protection they need. An emergency plan to airlift five animals to Kenya has been scuppered by the DRC’s resentment of outside interference, meaning the animals’ prospects are bleak. “We’ve been losing them one by one,” says Robinson of the WCS, “and a last-ditch attempt to move them into captive breeding has now failed”.

北方白犀牛曾是非常之常见，在 20世纪60年代还多达2250只分布在非洲5国。到2005年2月，在激烈的盗猎下，白犀牛各亚种总共只剩下10只，成为地球最有灭绝危险的大型哺乳动物。2003年时还有40只，但刚果Garumba国家公园一直没有提供任何措施保护白犀牛。由于刚果对外界干涉的愤恨，空运5只白犀牛到肯尼亚的紧急方案搁浅，意味着动物保护前景黯淡。”我们在一个一个失去。”野生动物保护协会的Robinson说。”把他们转移进行圈养的最后努力也失败。”

6. SUCCESS: Southern white rhino

In stark contrast to its northern relative, the recovery of the southern white rhino sub-species (Ceratotherium simum simum) is one of the world’s greatest conservation success stories, according to conservation group WWF. In the late 1800s it was considered extinct, but a small population of perhaps 50 animals was rediscovered in Natal, South Africa. The subsequent creation of protected areas and breeding rhinos on private ranches has been a spectacular success. Though poaching is still a problem, the population has swelled to 11,000 and growing, making this the most numerous of all rhino sub-species. The success can partly be attributed to allowing rhinos to be bought and sold for tourism and sport hunting. “Giving them an economic value caused them to bounce back like crazy,” says Robinson at the WCS.

根据世界野生动物基金的说法，与其亲缘动物北方白犀牛形成明显对比，南方白犀牛亚种的恢复是世界上动植物保护最成功的例子。19世纪末，人们已经认为南方白犀牛灭绝了，后来在非洲南部港口城市纳塔耳，南非又发现大概50只的小种群。紧接着成立保护区，并且私营大农场可以圈养，成功的得以保护。虽然盗猎仍然是个问题，但种群数量已经增至11000，还在增长中，使南方白犀牛成为所有犀牛亚种中数量最多的。成功保护的部分原因在于允许犀牛作为娱乐观光和运动打猎的商品来买卖。”赋予他们经济价值，是南方白犀牛数量疯狂反弹”，野生动物保护协会的Robinson说。

7. FAILURE: Worldwide amphibian declines

Frogs and their amphibian kin are dying in droves and no one really understands why. The first global amphibian survey in 2004 revealed that almost one-third of the 5743 known amphibian species are under threat worldwide, compared with just under one-quarter of mammals and almost one-eighth of birds. Overall 43% of all populations surveyed were declining. “It’s depressing news,” says McNeely of the IUCN. “The survey found that 3% to 4% of amphibians had probably fallen extinct already and that a third of them are threatened.” Climate change, environmental stresses such as droughts and pollution, habitat loss and the fungal disease chytridiomycosis are all suspected causes.

蛙类及亲缘的两栖动物类成群的死亡，没有人明白为什么会这样。2004年第一次全球两栖类动物调查结果显示世界范围内已知的5743种两栖动物中，近1/3受到威胁，与此相比，哺乳动物不到1/4，鸟类几近1/8。调查种群中的43％数量在减少。”真让人难过”，世界自然保护联盟的McNeely说。调查发现3％－4％的两栖类动物已经濒临灭绝，1/3受到威胁。气候变化，生存环境压力，比如干旱，污染，生存地丧失，真菌病害chytridiomycosis都是可疑的原因。

8. SUCCESS: Wildlife reserves cover 10% of the Earth’s land

In 1872 Yellowstone National Park in the US became the world’s first modern wildlife reserve – now there are 44,000. This growth is described as “one of the greatest conservation achievements of the twentieth century” by the IUCN. The areas cover almost 14 million km², an area equivalent in size to India and China combined. In 2004, Brazil established the world’s largest reserve, Tumucumaque National Park, which is larger than Belgium. The growth in protected areas is because “the public have recognised the impact we are having on the environment”, says McNeely of the IUCN.

1872年美国黄石国家公园成为世界第一个现代的野生动物保护地，现在有动物44000。数量的增长被世界自然保护联盟形容为”20世纪最伟大的保护成绩之一”。野生动物保护地近1千4百万平凡公里，相当于印度和中国面积总和。2004年，巴西建立世界上最大的保护区，Tumucumaque国家公园，比比利时还大。保护区面积的不断增长表明”公众已经认识到我们对环境的影响”，世界自然保护联盟的McNeely说。

9. FAILURE: Orang-utan

Orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) declined by more than 90% during the 20^th century. As few as 40,000 are thought to remain on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. About 1000 are currently killed each year in order to kidnap their young, which poachers sell into the pet trade. Loss of habitat is also a big problem. “I expect we may lose them in the wild within the next 10 years,” says Robinson at the WCS.

20世纪红毛猩猩数量减少了90％多。只剩4万只保留在婆罗岛和苏门答腊岛上。偷猎者为捉到小红毛猩猩当宠物卖，每年约要杀死1000只的成年红毛猩猩。栖息地丧失也是个大问题。”预计在未来十年，野生红毛猩猩也将消失。”野生动物保护协会的Robinson说。

10. SUCCESS: Golden lion tamarin monkey

Golden lion tamarins are small and striking Brazilian monkeys (Leontopithecus rosalia). They were thought extinct until the 1970s, when 200 were discovered in the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. A concerted conservation effort and captive breeding programme, assisted by international organisations, has paid off. The monkey has now been reintroduced to 17 forest fragments and 1200 or more now live in the wild.

金丝猴是一种娇小引人注目的巴西猴子。人们以为灭绝了，直到1970s在大西洋海岸巴西森林种发现200只。由国际组织援助的联合保护努力和圈养计划，此项目已经完成。金丝猴已被引进到17个森林地区，野外生存的大概有1200只或者更多。

Posted by changism on 8月 24, 2007 at 12:16 上午
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