美国国家公共电台 NPR Could This Tree Be An Eco-Friendly Way To Wean Indonesian Farmers Off Palm Oil?

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In recent weeks, smoke drifting from Indonesia has been so heavy across Southeast Asia it's forced residents of Singapore inside and closed schools. The smoke comes as Indonesian farmers burn forests, clearing land for palm oil plantations¹. But now some Indonesian farmers are turning to a different crop, a kind of anti-palm oil. From Sumatra, Julia Simon has this report.

JULIA SIMON, BYLINE²: A few times a month, Marhana leaves her tiny village of Krui and heads deep into the woods.

So we're leaving the village. We have about 12 children following us. I feel like the Pied Piper.

We climb up a hill, and then Marhana shows me a tree.

MARHANA: (Foreign language spoken).

SIMON: This is the damar.

It kind of looks like a glue gun. There's a triangle in the middle of a tree, and there's all these glue gun drippings dropping from the tree. Damar's the sap, extracted like a crystallized maple³ syrup⁴. Marhana takes a woven rope, wraps it around her back.

MARHANA: (Foreign language spoken).

SIMON: Which she says she uses to lasso up the tree.

Wow, you're climbing up.

So she has a tiny pick axe⁵. And she's taking that glue gun stuff and putting it in her bucket, chipping away.

Now 48, Marhana has been climbing since she was a kid.

MARHANA: (Foreign language spoken).

SIMON: Lima belas tahun - so you were 15 years old.

Today, she works in damar to support her kids, like her mother and grandmother before her. Sumatra's damar goes way back. Dutch colonists⁶ used it to bind⁷ their boats for sea journeys. Today, you find it new varnishes⁸, paints, even makeup⁹. According to the U.N., Indonesia exports tens of thousands of tons of damar and other resins¹⁰ a year. But that's small compared to the 2 to three 3 tons of palm oil that the country exports each month. That palm oil industry is a big cause of deforestation, which in turn is a big cause of climate change. That's why last year the Indonesian government stopped issuing licenses¹¹ for new palm oil plantations. And the EU is now considering an import ban. But there is an issue.

THOMAS HERTEL: Even if they import ban bites, it may not do the job.

SIMON: Thomas Hertel is a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. Last month, he co-authored a paper arguing that even if government bans and sustainable certification schemes reduce the palm oil trade, local farmers aren't just going to keep the forests in place.

HERTEL: If you focus on certifying¹² one crop, they switch to another crop. I mean, the incentive¹³ for deforestation will still be there.

SIMON: So they might just start cutting down the trees and planting soy and rice instead of palm oil?

HERTEL: That's right.

SIMON: That's where damar can help. Here's how.

KAMAS USMAN: (Foreign language spoken).

SIMON: In the forests of Krui, farmer Kamas Usman says he grows damar in something called an agroforest. That means he has damar in the canopy¹⁴, with avocados, lichis and jackfruit pillow. David Gilbert, a researcher at UC Berkeley, says all these crops growing together means people like Usman and Marhana have lots of economic incentives¹⁵ not to cut down the trees.

DAVID GILBERT: All these different crops, they actually present some really important livelihood¹⁶ advantages to the forest farmers that are creating them. So if the damar price is too low, for example, they can concentrate on selling their coffee or their avocados.

SIMON: Agroforestry spreading - the Indonesian government now has plans for new damar trees across the archipelago. For NPR News, I'm Julia Simon in Sumatra.

1 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

4 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

5 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

6 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

8 varnishes   

清漆的面（尤指木器或金属制品上的）( varnish的名词复数 )； 光泽面； 罩光漆

参考例句：

• Current uses by subbase layer and color pigments, varnishes tier. 漆布一般由底基层，色料层和光漆层组成。
• UV varnish: Varnishes which dried immediately by exposure ultra-violet light. 紫外线光油：在紫外光照射下，即时乾燥的光油。

9 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

10 resins   

n.树脂，松香( resin的名词复数 )；合成树脂v.树脂，松香( resin的第三人称单数 )；合成树脂

参考例句：

• The resins were used to turn out millions of helmet liners. 用这类树脂生产了成百万只钢盔内衬。 来自辞典例句
• Cheapness is one of the main attractions of polyester resins. 廉价是聚酯树脂受到欢迎的主要原因之一。 来自辞典例句

11 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

12 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

13 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

14 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

15 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

16 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。