VOA标准英语2012--Indigenous People Vulnerable to Climate Change

Indigenous¹ People Vulnerable to Climate Change

Researchers say indigenous people are among the most vulnerable to climate change. They’re studying how extreme weather events can trigger more disease outbreaks.
Scientists say extreme weather events have accompanied a rise in global temperatures. Droughts, heavy rains and floods have put indigenous people around the world at risk.
“I would say that indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts because of their close relationship with the local environment and ecosystems² and also their dependence³ on those local ecosystems for their livelihood⁴, as well as a lot of complex and interrelated social issues and inequities and inequalities,” said Sherilee Harper, who’s a Ph.D candidate in aboriginal⁵ people’s health at the University of Guelph near Toronto, Canada. She’s been studying the effects of climate change on the Batwa people in southwest Uganda.
“So for instance, after a period of heavy rainfall or flooding there’s often increased in bacteria and pathogens in the water due to runoff and things like that. That can increase a risk of exposure to waterborne disease. Now, climate change scenarios⁶ are predicting we’re going to see more of these periods of heavy rainfall more frequently, longer duration and more intense instances. So we’re expecting that’ll increase the prevalence and risk of exposure to waterborne disease,” she said.
One of those diseases is diarrhea, which health officials estimate kills about one million young children every year.
“The World Health Organization is predicting that most of the climate-related health burden is going to be due to diarrheal disease and malnutrition⁷. And both of those are water issues. So that’s why we started studying the topic,” said Harper.
Need to know more
The Uganda project is part of what’s called the Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Project. It studies the effects of rising temperatures in Uganda, Canada and Peru.
Harper said, “Health of indigenous people is generally an under-researched area. So often times, the quality of health data that we have on indigenous populations is not of as high a quality and it’s not as long-term data sets compared to non-indigenous communities in the same country.”
The Batwa people helped in the preliminary research. They were given digital cameras and taught how to use them. The Batwa then took pictures of how their environment has been affected⁸ by climate change and discussed their findings with researchers. They reported increased periods of heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures throughout the year.
One of the ideas being considered to help the Batwa is to set up a community radio station broadcasting in the local language. Topics would include health, weather conditions, etc. The Batwa have been described as “conservation refugees.” The Ugandan government relocated them from their forest homeland to make a national park to protect silverback gorillas⁹.
The Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Project is in its initial data-gathering stage. That will last several years. Phase two will consist of using that data to form action plans to protect indigenous people and their water supplies.

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

4 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。

5 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

6 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 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》