VOA标准英语2015--Conservation Groups Unveil Regional Action Plan to Save Great Apes

Conservation Groups Unveil Regional Action Plan to Save Great Apes

A new action plan has been unveiled to protect Central Africa’s gorillas¹ and chimpanzees. It outlines threats to the great apes across six countries.

The regional action plan is a joint² effort by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wildlife Fund among others.

Dr. Fiona Maisels, a conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the plan aims to protect the large number of great apes not in protected areas.

“The take home message is that most of the apes are not in the national parks. They are spread out throughout the whole of this region," she said. "We really need to concentrate on protecting them, not only in the parks, but in the areas where they’re much more vulnerable to hunting.”

Maisels said the chimpanzees are faring better than the gorillas in Central Africa. But both are threatened by hunting, habitat loss and disease.

The nearly 80 percent of great apes outside protected zones, are in areas where private extractive industries operate.

“Most of the rest of the forest domain³ of Central Africa is under selective logging, which means that the forestry⁴ companies are not clear cutting. They don’t do what they do in Malaysia or Brazil, for example," she said. "They just take out a few trees per acre, which means that the forest afterwards is fine for great apes, and indeed, elephants to live in. The problem is the hunting.”

Maisels said African nations need private industry’s help in saving the great apes.

“So, logging companies need to put in place anti-poaching measures to make sure that important endangered wildlife species are not hunted,” she said.

Maisels said, however, that hunting is important for many local inhabitants.

“People will hunt around villages in Africa to eat. That doesn’t pose a problem to the species that they normally eat, which [are] small antelopes⁵ that live in the forest and large rodents⁶, you know, rather like large rates and things like that," she said. "But when commercial hunting takes hold much larger animals get caught, whether deliberately⁷ or by accident, and then those animals are sent to large urban markets.”

The Wildlife Conservation Society scientist said the long-term survival of chimps⁸ and gorillas is put at risk by commercial hunting.

“It’s not a food security issue. It’s basically a conservation issue if a great ape gets caught in a snare⁹ or if a great ape gets shot," Maisels said. "Great apes, like elephants, are much less able to reproduce rapidly to reproduce the numbers that have been killed. And that’s why they’re both on endangered species lists. That’s why they’re both on nationally protected species lists,” she said.

The Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Lowland Gorillas and Central Chimpanzees also highlights another big threat – Ebola.

“We lost thousands and thousands of great apes along the Gabon-Congo border about 10 years ago with a massive Ebola epidemic," Maisels said. "Nothing like as big as the one we’ve seen in West Africa. And it wiped out huge areas of gorillas and chimps in the forest before it got into the villages. The only reason we knew about it was because people started getting sick. And that’s because they were finding dead animals in the forest – picking them up – taking them home and eating them. And then of course it went through villages just it’s done in West Africa.”

Maisels added that current Ebola vaccine¹⁰ research could lead to protection for humans and apes alike.

“If a vaccine can be developed that can be transmitted from ape to ape, once a few apes in the forest have been vaccinated¹², that would effectively vaccinate¹¹ the whole population." she said. "We’re a long way from that at the moment, but there are people who are trying to do that, which would, of course, not only protect great ape populations, but would eventually protect all the human populations who are working within their forests.”

The action plan also calls for “improved legal frameworks and stiffer sanctions for poachers; coordinated¹³ use and protection of natural resources with a priority on conserving¹⁴ great ape populations; and conservation advocacy to bring about behavior change toward great apes.”

The previous action plan was released in 2005 and is credited with slowing the decline in ape populations.

1 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

4 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

5 antelopes   

羚羊( antelope的名词复数 )； 羚羊皮革

参考例句：

• One jump, and you're out, and we'll run for it like antelopes.' 你只要一跳就出来了，我们可以像羚羊那样飞快地逃掉。”
• Most antelopes can withhold their young for weeks, even months. 绝大部分羚羊能把分娩期推迟几个星期，甚至几个月。

6 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

8 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

9 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

10 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

11 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

12 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

13 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网