2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英語：什么是野化？

 

Animal and plant species are disappearing at frightening levels. The problem has led to efforts to "rewild" places where such life existed before human development, pollution and climate change forced it out.
動植物物種正以驚人的速度消失。這個問題導致人們努力在人類發(fā)展、污染和氣候變化迫使其滅絕之前存在此類生命的地方“重新開墾”。
 
The American city of Detroit, Michigan is an example of how human actions can increase rewilding, whether on purpose or not.
美國密歇根州底特律市就是一個例子，說明人類行為如何能夠增加野化，無論是有意還是無意。
 
What is rewilding?
什么是野化？
 
Up to 1 million animal species are at risk of dying off, says a 2019 United Nations report.
聯(lián)合國 2019 年的一份報告稱，多達 100 萬種動物面臨滅絕的風險。
 
The U.S. Forest Service estimates 2,428 hectares of open space are lost daily as cities and suburbs grow. More than two-thirds of the world's people will live in urban areas by 2050, the U.N. says.
美國林業(yè)局估計，隨著城市和郊區(qū)的發(fā)展，每天有 2,428 公頃的開放空間消失。聯(lián)合國表示，到 2050 年，全球超過三分之二的人口將居住在城市地區(qū)。
 
This expectation has led some large cities – such as Detroit – to begin rewilding. Rewilding generally means helping natural systems in damaged locations. That might mean removing dams or building tunnels to reconnect animal pathways cut by roads. Workers also sometimes reenter animals to an area. Predators, such as wolves, can help reestablish balance to an environment, for example.
這種預期導致一些大城市（例如底特律）開始重建荒野。重建通常意味著幫助受損地區(qū)的自然系統(tǒng)。這可能意味著拆除水壩或建造隧道以重新連接被道路切斷的動物通道。工人們有時也會讓動物重新進入一個區(qū)域。例如，狼等捕食者可以幫助重建環(huán)境平衡。
 
Detroit
底特律
 
Detroit's population reached a high of 1.8 million in the 1950s. Then the population began dropping. By 2000, there were fewer than one million people living in the city. Thousands of houses and other buildings were left empty over the years. Some structures were destroyed, leaving empty areas that plants and animals regained as habitats. Nonprofit groups have planted trees, community gardens and pollinator-friendly plants in these areas also.
底特律的人口在1950年代達到了180萬的高峰。然后人口開始下降。到 2000 年，居住在這座城市的人口不足 100 萬。多年來，數(shù)以千計的房屋和其他建筑物被空置。一些建筑物被毀，留下空地，植物和動物重新成為棲息地。非營利組織也在這些地區(qū)種植了樹木、社區(qū)花園和適合傳粉者的植物。
 
Special projects brought back birds of prey such as ospreys and peregrine falcons.
特殊項目使猛禽回歸，例如魚鷹和游隼。
 
Bald eagles found their way back as bans on DDT and some other insect poisons were put in place nationwide. Anti-pollution laws and government-supported cleanups made nearby rivers better for fish, beavers and native plants, such as wild celery.
隨著滴滴涕和其他一些昆蟲毒藥在全國范圍內(nèi)的實施禁令，白頭海雕又回來了。反污染法和政府支持的清理工作使附近的河流更適合魚類、海貍和野生芹菜等本土植物。
 
John Hartig of University of Windsor was the former head of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. He described Detroit as a great example of urban rewilding. He says the process has been organic as opposed to planned. "We created the conditions, things got better environmentally, and the native species came back," he said.
溫莎大學的約翰·哈蒂格 (John Hartig) 是底特律河國際野生動物組織的前負責人避難所。他將底特律描述為城市重建的一個很好的例子。他說這個過程是有機的，而不是計劃的。他說：“我們創(chuàng)造了條件，環(huán)境變得更好了，本地物種又回來了。”
 
The refuge, a half-hour's drive from downtown, is made up of 30 areas of land totaling 2,509 hectares. It includes islands, wetlands and former industrial sites. It is home to 300 bird species and is a busy visiting place for ducks, raptors and others during migration, said Manager Dan Kennedy.
避難所距離市中心有半小時車程，由 30 塊土地組成，總面積2,509 公頃。它包括島嶼、濕地和前工業(yè)用地。它是 300 種鳥類的家園，游客絡繹不絕
 
To Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris, Detroit offers a special way to study plants and animals in urban settings.
對于耶魯大學野生動物生物學家 Nyeema Harris 來說，底特律提供了一種在城市環(huán)境中研究植物和動物的特殊方式。
 
Unlike most big cities, its population is decreasing but its streets, buildings and other infrastructure remain in place.
與大多數(shù)大城市不同，底特律的人口正在減少，但街道、建筑物和其他基礎設施仍在原地.
 
And there are many kinds of habitats, including large lakes, rivers and human neighborhoods - some occupied, others mostly unoccupied. Harris also noted Detroit's parklands, which she described as so quiet "you don't even know you're in the city."
棲息地種類繁多，包括大型湖泊、河流和人類居住區(qū)——一些被占用，另一些則大部分無人居住。哈里斯還提到了底特律的公園，她形容那里非常安靜，“你甚至不知道自己身處城市。”
 
"It used to be that you had to go to some remote location to get exposure to nature," said Harris. "Now that's not the case. Like it or not, rewilding will occur. The question is, how can we prepare communities and environments and societies to anticipate the presence of more and more wildlife?"
“過去，你必須去一些偏遠的地方才能接觸到大自然，”哈里斯說。 “現(xiàn)在情況并非如此。不管你喜不喜歡，野化都會發(fā)生。問題是，我們?nèi)绾巫屔鐓^(qū)、環(huán)境和社會做好準備，以預測越來越多野生動物的存在？”
 
Around the world
世界
 
Detroit is not the only city involved in rewilding.
底特律并不是唯一參與野化的城市。
 
The German cities of Hannover, Frankfurt and Dessau-Rosslau set aside areas, including parkland and waterways, where nature could take its course. As native wildflowers have appeared, so too have birds, butterflies, bees, and hedgehogs.
德國城市漢諾威、法蘭克福和德紹-羅斯勞留出一些區(qū)域，包括公園和水道，讓大自然順其自然。隨著本土野花的出現(xiàn)，鳥類、蝴蝶、蜜蜂和刺猬也出現(xiàn)了。
 
Britain's capital, London, is carrying out a huge effort to rewild the city. Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the plan last year. It includes support for 45 projects to improve the environment for stag beetles, water voles and birds such as swifts and sparrows.
英國首都倫敦正在大力重建城市。市長 Sadiq Khan 去年宣布了該計劃。它包括支持 45 個項目，以改善鍬甲蟲、水田鼠以及雨燕和麻雀等鳥類的環(huán)境。

Nathalie Pettorelli of the Zoological Society of London said, "Climate change is coming, and we are facing an equally important biodiversity crisis...There's no better place to engage people on these matters than in cities."
倫敦動物學會的 Nathalie Pettorelli 說：“氣候變化即將到來，我們面臨著同樣重要的生物多樣性危機……沒有比城市更好的地方讓人們參與這些問題了。”
 
She added, "A lot of city people have lost their tolerance to live with wildlife....There's a lot more reteaching ourselves to be done. To really make a difference in tackling the biodiversity crisis, you're going to have to have people on board."
她補充說，“很多城市人已經(jīng)失去了與野生動物共處的容忍度......我們需要重新學習很多東西。要真正在解決生物多樣性危機方面有所作為，你將不得不擁有船上的人。”