2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英语：什么是野化？

 

Animal and plant species are disappearing at frightening levels. The problem has led to efforts to "rewild" places where such life existed before human development, pollution and climate change forced it out.
动植物物种正以惊人的速度消失。这个问题导致人们努力在人类发展、污染和气候变化迫使其灭绝之前存在此类生命的地方“重新开垦”。
 
The American city of Detroit, Michigan is an example of how human actions can increase rewilding, whether on purpose or not.
美国密歇根州底特律市就是一个例子，说明人类行为如何能够增加野化，无论是有意还是无意。
 
What is rewilding?
什么是野化？
 
Up to 1 million animal species are at risk of dying off, says a 2019 United Nations report.
联合国 2019 年的一份报告称，多达 100 万种动物面临灭绝的风险。
 
The U.S. Forest Service estimates 2,428 hectares of open space are lost daily as cities and suburbs grow. More than two-thirds of the world's people will live in urban areas by 2050, the U.N. says.
美国林业局估计，随着城市和郊区的发展，每天有 2,428 公顷的开放空间消失。联合国表示，到 2050 年，全球超过三分之二的人口将居住在城市地区。
 
This expectation has led some large cities – such as Detroit – to begin rewilding. Rewilding generally means helping natural systems in damaged locations. That might mean removing dams or building tunnels to reconnect animal pathways cut by roads. Workers also sometimes reenter animals to an area. Predators, such as wolves, can help reestablish balance to an environment, for example.
这种预期导致一些大城市（例如底特律）开始重建荒野。重建通常意味着帮助受损地区的自然系统。这可能意味着拆除水坝或建造隧道以重新连接被道路切断的动物通道。工人们有时也会让动物重新进入一个区域。例如，狼等捕食者可以帮助重建环境平衡。
 
Detroit
底特律
 
Detroit's population reached a high of 1.8 million in the 1950s. Then the population began dropping. By 2000, there were fewer than one million people living in the city. Thousands of houses and other buildings were left empty over the years. Some structures were destroyed, leaving empty areas that plants and animals regained as habitats. Nonprofit groups have planted trees, community gardens and pollinator-friendly plants in these areas also.
底特律的人口在1950年代达到了180万的高峰。然后人口开始下降。到 2000 年，居住在这座城市的人口不足 100 万。多年来，数以千计的房屋和其他建筑物被空置。一些建筑物被毁，留下空地，植物和动物重新成为栖息地。非营利组织也在这些地区种植了树木、社区花园和适合传粉者的植物。
 
Special projects brought back birds of prey such as ospreys and peregrine falcons.
特殊项目使猛禽回归，例如鱼鹰和游隼。
 
Bald eagles found their way back as bans on DDT and some other insect poisons were put in place nationwide. Anti-pollution laws and government-supported cleanups made nearby rivers better for fish, beavers and native plants, such as wild celery.
随着滴滴涕和其他一些昆虫毒药在全国范围内的实施禁令，白头海雕又回来了。反污染法和政府支持的清理工作使附近的河流更适合鱼类、海狸和野生芹菜等本土植物。
 
John Hartig of University of Windsor was the former head of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. He described Detroit as a great example of urban rewilding. He says the process has been organic as opposed to planned. "We created the conditions, things got better environmentally, and the native species came back," he said.
温莎大学的约翰·哈蒂格 (John Hartig) 是底特律河国际野生动物组织的前负责人避难所。他将底特律描述为城市重建的一个很好的例子。他说这个过程是有机的，而不是计划的。他说：“我们创造了条件，环境变得更好了，本地物种又回来了。”
 
The refuge, a half-hour's drive from downtown, is made up of 30 areas of land totaling 2,509 hectares. It includes islands, wetlands and former industrial sites. It is home to 300 bird species and is a busy visiting place for ducks, raptors and others during migration, said Manager Dan Kennedy.
避难所距离市中心有半小时车程，由 30 块土地组成，总面积2,509 公顷。它包括岛屿、湿地和前工业用地。它是 300 种鸟类的家园，游客络绎不绝
 
To Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris, Detroit offers a special way to study plants and animals in urban settings.
对于耶鲁大学野生动物生物学家 Nyeema Harris 来说，底特律提供了一种在城市环境中研究植物和动物的特殊方式。
 
Unlike most big cities, its population is decreasing but its streets, buildings and other infrastructure remain in place.
与大多数大城市不同，底特律的人口正在减少，但街道、建筑物和其他基础设施仍在原地.
 
And there are many kinds of habitats, including large lakes, rivers and human neighborhoods - some occupied, others mostly unoccupied. Harris also noted Detroit's parklands, which she described as so quiet "you don't even know you're in the city."
栖息地种类繁多，包括大型湖泊、河流和人类居住区——一些被占用，另一些则大部分无人居住。哈里斯还提到了底特律的公园，她形容那里非常安静，“你甚至不知道自己身处城市。”
 
"It used to be that you had to go to some remote location to get exposure to nature," said Harris. "Now that's not the case. Like it or not, rewilding will occur. The question is, how can we prepare communities and environments and societies to anticipate the presence of more and more wildlife?"
“过去，你必须去一些偏远的地方才能接触到大自然，”哈里斯说。 “现在情况并非如此。不管你喜不喜欢，野化都会发生。问题是，我们如何让社区、环境和社会做好准备，以预测越来越多野生动物的存在？”
 
Around the world
世界
 
Detroit is not the only city involved in rewilding.
底特律并不是唯一参与野化的城市。
 
The German cities of Hannover, Frankfurt and Dessau-Rosslau set aside areas, including parkland and waterways, where nature could take its course. As native wildflowers have appeared, so too have birds, butterflies, bees, and hedgehogs.
德国城市汉诺威、法兰克福和德绍-罗斯劳留出一些区域，包括公园和水道，让大自然顺其自然。随着本土野花的出现，鸟类、蝴蝶、蜜蜂和刺猬也出现了。
 
Britain's capital, London, is carrying out a huge effort to rewild the city. Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the plan last year. It includes support for 45 projects to improve the environment for stag beetles, water voles and birds such as swifts and sparrows.
英国首都伦敦正在大力重建城市。市长 Sadiq Khan 去年宣布了该计划。它包括支持 45 个项目，以改善锹甲虫、水田鼠以及雨燕和麻雀等鸟类的环境。

Nathalie Pettorelli of the Zoological Society of London said, "Climate change is coming, and we are facing an equally important biodiversity crisis...There's no better place to engage people on these matters than in cities."
伦敦动物学会的 Nathalie Pettorelli 说：“气候变化即将到来，我们面临着同样重要的生物多样性危机……没有比城市更好的地方让人们参与这些问题了。”
 
She added, "A lot of city people have lost their tolerance to live with wildlife....There's a lot more reteaching ourselves to be done. To really make a difference in tackling the biodiversity crisis, you're going to have to have people on board."
她补充说，“很多城市人已经失去了与野生动物共处的容忍度......我们需要重新学习很多东西。要真正在解决生物多样性危机方面有所作为，你将不得不拥有船上的人。”