战争、干旱威胁伊拉克沼泽地（在线收听）

War, Drought Threaten Iraq's Marshlands 战争、干旱威胁伊拉克沼泽地

Iraq's southern wetlands are in crisis.  These areas are the spawning ground for Gulf fisheries, a resting place for migrating wildfowl, and the source of livelihood for fishermen and herders who have called the marshes home for generations.

伊拉克南部的湿地处在危机状态。这些地区是海湾渔场的产卵地，还是候鸟的栖息地，更是渔民和牧民的生计来源。

But drought that has stretched for two decades means less fresh water flowing into the marshes. As water levels fall, salinity goes up, leading to fish kills. The lack of fresh water has also pushed Marsh Arabs who own livestock - mainly cows or buffalo - to search for other sources of water.

干旱持续了二十年，流入湿地的淡水减少了。随着水位下降，含盐量上升，造成鱼类死亡。淡水稀缺还迫使养牛的“沼泽阿拉伯人”(Marsh Arabs)寻找其它水源。

Many families are leaving the area for other parts of Iraq. That poses a challenge to a society already wracked by war, says Hashim al Badran, director of the Agricultural Engineers Association of Basra.

 “他们肯定会跟其他部落起冲突，争抢自然资源，这将造成安全问题。” 巴士拉农业工程师协会主任哈希姆·巴德兰说。

"Then, it's sure, there will be conflict between them and other tribes about natural resources and it will cause security problems," he said.

The problem began with the building of dams upstream in the 1970s, and worsened when Saddam Hussein ordered the wetlands drained in the 1990s to punish the Marsh Arabs for the revolt against his rule. That, and the nearly 20 years of drought, are complicated today by the advance of the self-declared Islamic State.

旱情持续近二十年，而自封“伊斯兰国”的激进组织的崛起使局势更加严峻。

"The war that is taking place in the north and west of Iraq against the terrorist groups, is happening in the areas that we call the large dams, like Mosul dam," al Badran observed. "Now it's a military zone and Haditha Dam in Ramadi is a military operation zone, in addition to dams in Ramadi and Falluja."

巴德兰说： “伊拉克北部和西部的反恐战争都发生在我们所说的大坝地区，比如摩苏尔水坝。”

That gives the militants the ability to flood cities or withhold water.

这给了激进分子放水淹城或切断供水的能力。

An effort to restore the wetlands began after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. While herders can still find forage for their buffalo, and water deep enough for the animals to wallow in, and fishermen still cast their nets, vast areas of the marshland remain dried, cracked mud.

恢复湿地的努力开始于美国领导的联军2003年攻入伊拉克之后。虽然牧民仍可以为水牛找到植物和芦苇，水也有足够深度，渔民仍可撒网捕鱼，然而，湿地仍有大片地段是干枯龟裂的泥块。留下来的人谋生艰难。

Fisherman Sayid Safaa says those who have stayed struggle to survive.

"The water is salty, our livestock died. We have to buy the water for our animals, spending 5,000 to 6,000 dinars a day, in addition to drinking water," he said. "All the fish in the marsh died. The water now is bad, all the families now are tired and frustrated about where to go. Some of them left and others stayed and are trying to fix the tragedy."

湿地渔民赛义德·萨法说： “如今水是严重问题，家家户户疲惫不堪，不知到哪里去好。有些人家走了，有些留了下来，想改变悲剧。”

It is an environmental crisis that is evolving into a humanitarian one.

环境危机正在演变为人道危机。