2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Ask 'What Now?' for Desertification

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
27 December 2006

Only days away from the end of the United Nations' Year of Deserts and Desertification, four experts discuss the challenges of translating a decade's worth of research about the degradation¹ of land in arid² areas of the world. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's Dakar bureau, located in the arid Saharan region of West Africa.

A man walks by a jeep covered by sand in the village of Boumdeid, near Kiffa in Mauritania (2002 file photo)

In the decade since the United Nations adopted the convention against desertification, people understand more about the scope of the problem and what needs to be done. What is unclear is how this will all be put into action in the future.

David Mouat, the chair of a U.N. group of 25 experts who came together in 2002 to study desertification, said, "The danger of this is that it raises attention, but then we might feel that we have had all these meetings, that we have addressed this issue and can move on to something else and the problem will go away."

Most recently, Mouat and his colleagues met in Algeria last week to review the challenges ahead. One of the main challenges is coordinating³ the different organizations involved in the issue.

Pam Chasek, an editor for the Canadian non-profit International Institute for Sustainable Development, said, "The desertification convention has been hampered⁴ by the fact that you have got various different ministries⁵ responsible for different issues that all affect desertification."

"It is hard to break down those barriers between them, to realize that gosh, if you address some of these environmental issues, it will have an impact on development and vice⁶ versa," she added.

Desertification affects almost half of the earth's surface, home to more than a billion people, says Rattan⁷ Lal, a professor of soil science at Ohio State University in the United States.

He estimates that about six million hectares of land each year is lost to desertification. He points out that the problem is not only environmental.

"The desert-land degradation issue is a human issue. It is poverty driven. My general feeling is that when pepole are poor, hungry and miserable⁸, they pass their suffering on to the land," he said. "It is the desperate people who drive the process of land degradation and desertification."

There are several factors that contribute to desertification: Harsh dry climates, for example, can ruin soil. Harmful farming and grazing practices can also deplete⁹ the soil's nutrients¹⁰. Inappropriate irrigation and overgrazing of animals also contribute by decreasing food production.

He says that this problem is most serious in arid regions that also have a level of political and economic instability.

"West Africa is really a tragedy. It is a tragedy of poverty. It is a tragedy of harsh climate, of poor soil," he said. "And above all, resource poor farmers who cannot invest and then the political instability component¹¹. When there is political instability, then the support that farmers need does not exist."

The U.N.'s Mouat says fast action is needed.

"The race to affect the future is the race to make decisions when there is still an opportunity," he said. "We can project changes in landscape and develop very clear, relatively¹² simple models that show that the trajectory¹³ of degradation will have such and such consequences."

"As we wait to make decisions along this trajectory, our opportunities to make a positive impact will become less and less," he continued.

Wafa Essahili is a director of rural development at the Libyan-based non-profit Community of Saharan and Sahelian Countries, which represents 21 African countries. She says the link between desertification and poverty cannot be ignored.

"The convention's recommendations need to be placed at the heart of countries' development plans and poverty reduction strategies," she said. "The fight against desertification cannot take place apart from economic development."

She says farmers can play a key role, if they are provided the tools.

"If we want this evidently poor population to decrease their pressure on the natural resources, we have to create alternative revenue generating activities. It is certain that they are not destroying the land because they want to, but rather because they have no other means," she said.

One idea circulating in the anti-desertification community is carbon credits. Ohio University's Rattan Lal believes that everyone will benefit from this plan.

"To break this vicious cycle, we have to replace the destroyed soil and ecosystem¹⁴ by encouraging farmers to adopt recommended agricultural policies," he said.  

"If the farmers can restore the carbon soil, the world community pays these farmers for carbon credits, which will offset¹⁵ fossil fuel emission¹⁶, which mitigates¹⁷ climate change. It is a win-win-win situation," he added.

Experts estimate that more than 100 million people are at risk of becoming what they call environmental refugees, or people who are forced to move in search of land that can sustain and feed them.

1 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

2 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

3 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

4 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

5 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 rattan   

n.藤条，藤杖

参考例句：

• When they reached a long bridge fastened with rattan strips,everyone got out and walked.走到那顶藤条扎的长桥，大家都下车步行。
• Rattan furniture,include rattan chair,rattan table,and so on.藤器家具包括藤椅藤桌等等。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 deplete   

v.弄空，排除，减轻，减少...体液，放去...的血

参考例句：

• Most native mammal species have been severely depleted.大多数本地哺乳动物的数量都已经大大减少了。
• Elastic collisions deplete very little of the electron's energy.弹性碰撞中电子减少的能量非常少。

10 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

14 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

15 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

16 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

17 mitigates   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Data Control is the containment of activity. It is what mitigates risk. 数据控制就是限制攻击者活动的机制，它可以降低安全风险。 来自互联网
• Laziness also mitigates the threat from piracy. 懒散也减轻了来自盗版的威胁。 来自互联网