经济学人28:森林禁令

 　　Banyan¹

　　菩提

　　The finitude of forests

　　森林禁令

　　A scheme to save the world’s rainforests still seems too good to be true

　　拯救全球热带雨林的计划仍然很难落实

　　AS THE heavens open, the canopy² offers scant³ protection from the downpour, so the orang-utans tear leaves off the trees to make pathetic little umbrellas to hold over their heads. It is an endearingly human gesture but, as a means of keeping dry, almost entirely⁴ futile⁵. And it is not just the rain that makes these creatures seem so helpless. The relentless⁶ destruction of their tropical-forest habitat has endangered their entire species.

　　因头顶没有东西遮挡,每当下大雨的时候,猩猩们都缺乏足够的保护,所以这些猩猩们只能从树上扯下树叶来做成小小的保护伞用来遮挡他们的头.这是一个很可爱的类似人类的姿势,但是作为一种避雨的方式,它根本起不到什么作用.与此同时,并不只是下雨才会让这些生物像这样无助.人类对热带雨林猩猩栖息地无情的破坏已经使这些生物处于危险的境地.

　　In Borneo, in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan, they can relax in a camp devoted⁷ to their welfare on the edge of the Tanjung Puting national park. But the park—415,000 hectares of protected tropical heath forest and peat forest—is surrounded by oil-palm plantations⁸. These orang-utans are refugees from forests cleared to make way for the plantations. Much as people like the creatures, and devotedly⁹ as conservationists work, the park is not enough to stem their remorseless decline. There is too much money in palm oil, as well as timber, coal, gold, zircon and the forest’s other vegetable and mineral riches.

　　在印度尼西亚婆罗洲岛的中加里曼丹省，这些猩猩得以在丹戎普丁国家公园边缘的营地里放松。但是该公园415,000公顷受保护的热带森林和泥炭森林都是被棕榈种植园包围的.为了给棕榈种植园腾出地方,在这森林中避难的猩猩都被赶走了.尽管人们喜欢这些生物,并致力于保护它们的工作,但是这个公园并不能阻止猩猩的不断减少.棕榈油有很大的价值,这森林中的木材、煤炭、黄金、锆石、其他蔬菜和丰富的矿产也是如此。

　　Yet prospects¹⁰ for the orang-utans have recently looked up. Climate-change fears have drawn¹¹ attention to the work forests do to sustain not just wildlife but the planet itself. The outlines of a scheme under which developing countries would be paid not to cut down trees has been agreed. Indonesia, for example, chafes¹² at its reputation as the world’s third-biggest emitter of carbon (a ranking it disputes). It has promised to cut its emissions¹³ by 26% by 2020 or, if promised foreign cash actually materialises, by 41%. It will achieve this in large measure by reducing deforestation.

　　这些猩猩的前景已经可以预料。这些野生动物对气候变化的恐惧已经引起了人们对它们所栖息森林的注意，使人们不但保护野生动物本身，而且也保护它们所栖息的环境。所以人们提出了发展中国家必须为禁止砍伐树木而得到补偿的计划，该计划的大纲已经得到批准。以印度尼西亚为例，因对世界第三大的碳排放国家（该排名有争议）这个排名感到气恼，它已经承诺在2020年之前把它的碳排放降低到26%。它将会为实现这个目标在很大程度上减少森林砍伐。

　　However, turning the scheme—known as “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation”, or REDD—into actual conservation is not proving easy, either in Indonesia as a whole or in Tanjung Puting in particular. Next to the park is a stretch of peat-swamp forest, mostly degraded but rich in carbon. A Hong Kong firm called infinite EARTH has earmarked this for a REDD project called Rimba Raya (“infinite forest”). Biruté Galdikas, a renowned¹⁴ primatologist who has been studying orang-utans in Tanjung Puting since 1971, is “thrilled” by the idea. Rescued orang-utans, of whom more than 300 are in her care centre in the park, could be freed without danger to the wild population.

　　但是把这个被称为“减少森林砍伐与森林退化的排放计划”或“REDD”的计划变成实际的保护并不是一件简单的事，无论是在印度尼西亚整个国家或是丹戎普丁国家公园都是如此。与丹戎普丁国家公园相邻的事一大片的泥炭沼泽森林，几乎已经退化但含有丰富的碳。一个称为infinite EARTH 的香港公司把这个REDD项目称为“Rimba Raya”（无限的森林）。Biruté Galdikas对该项目很赞赏，她是一位著名的灵长目动物学家，她从1971年以来就开始研究丹戎普丁国家公园的猩猩，在公园的中心由300多只猩猩在她的照料下可以安全地放回野生群体中。

　　Rimba Raya seems to offer many other benefits. Trees would be replanted or conserved¹⁵ (Borneo’s forest has more tree species per hectare than anywhere else); the forest would regenerate¹⁶; some 10,000 people would benefit from “community development” projects such as one to increase fishing yields. And the earth would be spared a huge amount of emitted carbon: by one calculation, as much as 75m tonnes over the next 30 years. The project’s investors¹⁷, including Gazprom, a Russian energy giant that has paid in advance for some carbon credits, think it will be lucrative¹⁸. And it has passed most of a tough certification process.

　　Rimba Raya 似乎也带来了许多别的利润。该森林中的树木可以重新种植或被保护（婆罗洲森林每公顷的树木种类比其他任何地方都多）；森林可以再生，10,000的人将会从“地区开发”项目中受益，诸如增加渔业收益就是其中一个例子。并且地球将会减少很多的碳排放：经人估计，在今后的30年里将会减少75百万吨这么多。该项目的投资者也包括俄罗斯能源巨头——俄罗斯天然气股份工业有限公司，该公司认为该项目有利可图，已经提前支付了一些碳信用额，并且它已经通过了艰难认证程序中的大部分。

　　Yet Ms Galdikas is worried that the project may never happen. Three years on, the final land-use decree has yet to appear. The problem is one that will dog REDD. To win certification, Rimba Raya has to show that the forest is under genuine threat: no point in giving carbon credits for conserving¹⁹ trees and peatland that were not in danger anyway. In Rimba Raya’s case, the threat is real enough. The area is subject to various overlapping²⁰ concessions²¹, including preliminary licences for conversion²² to palm-oil plantations. The holders²³ of those licences, who have already invested in the concessions, are naturally reluctant to give them up.

　　但是Galdikas女士担心该项目可能很难实现。三年已经过去了，最终土地使用法令还是没有颁发。这是一个会影响REDD项目的问题，为了赢得认证，Rimba Raya需要证明该森林是处于真正的危险之中：没有必要为保护树和没有任何危险的泥炭地颁发碳信用. Rimba Raya项目并未给该地区构成真正的威胁.该地区存在许多错综复杂的优惠,包括为棕榈种植园开发颁发初步的许可证，这些许可证的持有者已经投资到这些优惠当中,所以他们实际上并不愿意放弃.

　　According to those following the project, this is a political battle in which the forces on the other side have considerable muscle. It also reflects a broader struggle over REDD in Indonesia being fought at the national level. Last May Indonesia’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, announced a two-year moratorium²⁴ on commercial deforestation starting on January 1st this year. In return, Norway committed $1 billion for REDD payments.

　　根据跟进这些项目的人说,这是一个政治斗争,并且另一方有相当大的权利，它也反映出在印度尼西亚关于REDD方面的斗争是全国范围的。在去年5月份印度尼西亚的总统Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono宣布从今年1月份开始进行为期2年的禁止商业森林砍伐。挪威承诺为REDD支付1亿美元作为补偿。

　　By coincidence, Central Kalimantan has been picked as the pilot province for the national REDD scheme—against fierce competition from other places scenting²⁵ the cash on offer. Norway has already disbursed²⁶ $30m. It has helped to produce a suitcase-sized book of 280 maps that is buckling²⁷ the desk in the Jakarta office of Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, head of Mr Yudhoyono’s “delivery unit”, who is entrusted²⁸ with implementing²⁹ REDD. The maps are to be attached to a long-overdue presidential decree meant to formalise the moratorium. But both maps and decree are controversial. The maps show, in dark green, Indonesia’s virgin³⁰ jungle and, in a lighter³¹ shade, the secondary forest which, in many places, surrounds it. In Mr Kuntoro’s favoured draft of the decree, the moratorium would cover all the green splodges. A rival draft, by the forestry³² ministry³³, would cover just virgin forest—much of which, activists³⁴ say, is in theory protected anyway.

　　与此同时,中加里曼丹为了赢得金钱在与其他地方激烈的竞争中取胜被选为全国REDD计划的试点省.挪威已经支付了30百万美元给中加里曼丹.这些钱帮助中加里曼丹制造了一本含有280页地图的盒装书，这书被放到Kuntoro Mangkusubroto所在的雅加达办公室，在Yudhoyono先生之前，他被委托实施REDD计划。该地图附带了一份被推迟了很久的总统法令，意思是想使禁令正式化。但是不管是地图还是禁令都备受争议。地图上显示，在印度尼西亚深绿色的原始森林周围有一个比较浅的阴影，在那里有许多地方被再生林包围。受Kuntoro先生欢迎的禁令草案是暂停砍伐的范围包括所有绿色部分，而另外一份林业部的与之相对的草案，却只包括原始森林。但是据活动家所说，不管是原始森林还是再生林，在理论上都应该受到保护。

　　Money still grows on trees

　　钱仍然长在树上

　　Both the Norwegians and Mr Kuntoro play down the importance of the delay in issuing the decree, and indeed of the moratorium itself. They argue that it matters most as a means to an end: a radical³⁵ overhaul³⁶ of Indonesia’s land-use and forest-management systems. These have long been riddled³⁷ with corruption³⁸. Under the 32-year dictatorship of Suharto, which ended in 1998, forest concessions became weapons in the armoury of crony capitalism³⁹. Such traditions are hard to break.

　　挪威人和Kuntoro先生都对推迟发行法令的重要性不太重视,实际上禁令本身也是如此.他们认为这最重要的是作为一种达到目的的手段:是对印度尼西亚土地使用和森林管理系统的一次彻底的审查.它们长期以来充斥着贪污腐败.在长达32年并于1998年结束的的苏哈托独裁政权的统治下,森林优惠变成了发展裙带资本主义的有利武器,这种传统很难被打破.

　　Much hope is invested in Mr Kuntoro himself, perhaps Indonesia’s most respected civil servant. But success will depend on the political will of the president. Erik Solheim, Norway’s minister in charge of the environment and development, points to the encouraging example of Brazil, which has cut deforestation rates by 70% in five years. Indonesia, he concedes, “is harder”. Ms Galdikas knows what he means. “They all talk a wonderful talk,” she says, “but the forest keeps getting destroyed.”

　　大部分希望还是要寄予Kuntoro先生自己，他或许是印度尼西亚最受尊敬的公民，但是要想成功的话还是要看该总统的政治意愿。Erik Solheim是挪威负责环境与发展的部长，他提到了巴西这个鼓舞人心的榜样，该国家在5年之内把森林砍伐率降低了70%。印度尼西亚与之相比，他承认：“可能会困难点”。Galdikas女士明白她的意思. “他们只会说漂亮话，”她说，“但是森林还是不断受到破坏”。

1 banyan   

n.菩提树，榕树

参考例句：

• This huge banyan tree has a history of more than 400 years.这棵大榕树已经有四百多年的历史了。
• A large banyan tree may look like a forest.大型的榕树看起来象一片树林。

2 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。

3 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

6 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

7 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

8 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

9 devotedly   

专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地

参考例句：

• He loved his wife devotedly. 他真诚地爱他的妻子。
• Millions of fans follow the TV soap operas devotedly. 千百万观众非常着迷地收看这部电视连续剧。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 chafes   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的第三人称单数 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her skin chafes easily. 她的皮肤很容易擦破。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The daughter under such restrictions chafes at them circumscribe her whole world. 他们的女儿是在如此严厉的约束下，她的整个世界都是受的限制的。 来自互联网

13 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

14 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

15 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

16 regenerate   

vt.使恢复，使新生；vi.恢复，再生；adj.恢复的

参考例句：

• Their aim is to regenerate British industry.他们的目的是复兴英国的工业。
• Although it is not easy,you have the power to regenerate your life.尽管这不容易，但你有使生活重获新生的能力。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

18 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

19 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

20 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

21 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

22 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

23 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

24 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

25 scenting   

vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soames, scenting the approach of a jest, closed up. 索来斯觉察出有点调侃的味儿来了，赶快把话打断。 来自辞典例句
• The pale woodbines and the dog-roses were scenting the hedgerows. 金银花和野蔷薇把道旁的树也薰香了。 来自辞典例句

26 disbursed   

v.支出，付出( disburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the 2000—2008 school year, $426.5 million was disbursed to 349085 students. 2000至2008学年，共有349085名学生获发津贴，总额达4.265亿元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bank has disbursed over $350m for the project. 银行已经为这个项目支付了超过3.5亿美元。 来自辞典例句

27 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

28 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

30 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

31 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

32 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。

33 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

34 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

36 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

37 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

39 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。