美国国家公共电台 NPR--Urgent action is required if losses to nature are to be reversed, WWF report shows

Urgent action is required if losses to nature are to be reversed, WWF report shows

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to Rebecca Shaw, chief scientist at the World Wildlife Fund, about the organization's new Living Planet Report that shows a huge drop in global wildlife population.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

I've got a scary fact for you. The populations of most major animal groups have plummeted². That includes mammals, birds, amphibians³, reptiles⁴, fish. They've dropped by an average of nearly 70% since 1970. That's according to a new report from the conservation group the World Wildlife Fund. The report analyzed⁵ vertebrate animal populations. And here to discuss what the findings mean is Rebecca Shaw. She's the chief scientist for the World Wildlife Fund, and oversaw⁶ production of the report. Good morning, Rebecca.

REBECCA SHAW: Good morning.

FADEL: So if we could just start with that number - I think the exact number is 69% - can you put that in context for me? I mean, it sounds so high. Are the world's animals disappearing?

SHAW: We are seeing very sharp declines in the populations of animals across the globe. And this is across all continents in the globe. So it is a very sharp decline. And it means that for each population of bird or mammals, they've declined by 69%. And the 69% is an average of 32,000 populations measured across the globe since 1970. So it's pretty - it is very much a red flag and a warning signal that our the life support system on Earth is in trouble.

FADEL: What's driving the decline?

SHAW: Largely what is driving the climate decline at this point is the habitat loss, so destruction of habitat to produce more food and create more energy. And those those patterns don't seem to be decreasing, although there is hope on the horizon for sure.

FADEL: What's the hope?

SHAW: Since we can understand the biggest drivers of nature loss and habitat destruction and overharvesting, we can address those threats head-on. We don't have to continue the patterns of development the way we have now. Food production, unsustainable diets and food waste are really driving that habitat destruction. And we have an opportunity to change the way we produce, the - what we eat and how we consume food and what we waste when we consume our food. And so little things that we can do every day can change the direction of these population declines.

FADEL: But what are the biggest challenges to actually making that happen? Because this will have to be a global decision to try to reverse this.

SHAW: Yeah. One of the really important things to know is that there is a once-in-a-decade opportunity coming up in December where the governments of the world come together to make decisions and negotiate about what we're going to do about it.

FADEL: The U.N. Biodiversity Conference.

SHAW: Businesses also attend these meetings to make sure that they're heading in the right direction. And there will be financial commitments, global targets set. And so we do have - we - since so many are coming together to decide what to do about this crisis, there is an opportunity to make sure that we can set things on the right foot and begin to bend the curve on the loss of nature. And this would be important not just for biodiversity, but also for climate, since the loss of biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked.

FADEL: Rebecca Shaw, the chief scientist for the World Wildlife Fund. Thank you so much for your time.

SHAW: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

4 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网