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VOA慢速英语2019--加纳努力结束非法金矿

时间:2019-06-07 23:55来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Ghana Struggles to End Illegal Gold Mines

At a gold mining site in eastern Ghana, only the sounds of birds and insects break the lasting1 silence.

Mining equipment stands still, as two Ghanaian companies wait for a new permit – a process that has taken months.

The site sits near the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, an area protected by the government.

Recently, a large amount of dirty waste water spilled over some of the forest’s vegetation2. It came from a small gold mine that was operating without a government permit. Miners have a term for the waste water: slime.

Felix Addo-Okyreh works for Ghana's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He says the slime is created when gold is separated from soil. Sometimes, the chemical mercury3 is used to aid the separation process. The resulting waste is then stored locally in dams. Addo-Okyreh says too much rain was to blame for the recent spillage.

"It rained heavily last week. So, the embankment of the dam was weak. and then it got broken, and this is the result.”

The slime is toxic4, meaning it can harm animals as well as plant life. It landed a few meters away from the Birim, a river supplying water to millions of people in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

The government has worked to prevent illegal mining at small gold mines since 2017. The national water company had warned that chemicals released by galamsey could force Ghana to import all its drinking water in the near future.

“Galamsey” is a term used for the country’s small, illegal gold mines. It comes from the expression “gather them and sell.”

In 2017, the government set up a military task force to stop illegal mining sites and ordered a 20-month ban on all small mining. Satellite technology and digital imaging are being used to more closely watch mining activity.

Yet information released last month shows the rate of deforestation in Ghana increased by 60 percent in 2018. That is faster than any other part of the world. The country lost 1.13 percent of its primary forest last year. That information comes from Global Forest Watch, a program of the World Resources Institute.

Illegal gold mining was partly to blame for the deforestation. Many buyers of Ghana’s gold are from China.

Daniel Kwamena Ewur is an officer for the environmental group A Rocha. He said the ban pushed more illegal small miners to operate in the Atewa forest at night when security officials are not working.

"So a lot of youth...went into the forest itself to mine."

Local officials and non-governmental organizations have started training illegal miners to do other kinds of work. They are learning, for example, bee farming and some kinds of cooking. But critics believe individuals performing these activities cannot realistically earn living wages.

One non-believer is Nafi Chinery. She is Ghana country manager for the New York-based Natural Resource Governance Institute.

Chinery thinks the campaign against galamsey has been more about politics than having a real effect on mining. "We don't have enough data about who is actually involved in galamsey," she added.

About 1.1 million Ghanaians were estimated to work in small mines before the ban, which was lifted in December. Such mines are responsible for about 30 percent of the country's yearly mineral production.

Michael Ali is head of mining for Ghana’s EPA. He says the government is now taking steps to "sanitize" the gold industry. Its efforts include being more careful with paperwork and restricting the use of mercury.

Ali says the government hopes to reduce illegal mining as much as possible. But ending it completely will require policing by citizens.

The EPA has reclaimed5 four hectares of illegally mined land around the Atewa forest, near the town of Kyebi. Trees were planted to get community members involved and help meet the target of reclaiming6 more than 7,000 square kilometers of land by 2022.

The government has said it does not have the money needed to solve the problem. So it is seeking financial support from the international community. In Sagymase, Norwegian donors7 are financing8 the reclamation9 of 2.5 hectares of galamsey land over the next four years.

Daniel Kwamena Ewur is supervising10 the project, but is careful about planting trees and food crops in soil that has been mixed with chemicals.

There is some amount of mercury in the land, he says. "I would not eat the mangoes that grow here.”

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

site – n. the place where something is, was, or will be located

embankment – n. a raised bank or wall that is built to carry a roadway or hold back water

digital – adj. using or characterized11 by computer technology

primary forest – n. a forest that has reached great age without major disturbance12 and thus has distinct13 ecological14 features (also called “old-growth forest”)

bee – n. a black and yellow flying insect that is often kept in hives for the honey it produces

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze15, or plan something

sanitize – v. to make something free from dirt, infection, disease or something else by cleaning it


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
2 vegetation cLxzz     
n.植物,草木,(植物)生长
参考例句:
  • As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠,沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
  • The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。
3 mercury NouzIB     
n.汞,水银,水银柱
参考例句:
  • The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
  • Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。
4 toxic inSwc     
adj.有毒的,因中毒引起的
参考例句:
  • The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
  • There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
5 reclaimed d131e8b354aef51857c9c380c825a4c9     
adj.再生的;翻造的;收复的;回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
6 reclaiming 4b89b3418ec2ab3c547e204ac2c4a68e     
v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢? 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
7 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 financing ctqzVB     
n.筹措资金
参考例句:
  • The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
  • They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。
9 reclamation MkNzIa     
n.开垦;改造;(废料等的)回收
参考例句:
  • We should encourage reclamation and recycling.我们应当鼓励废物的回收和利用。
  • The area is needed for a land reclamation project.一个土地开垦项目要在这一地区进行。
10 supervising d5279d2ad6a17d3600fa632b054358e0     
v.监督,管理( supervise的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She had something to do in the house, supervising that native. 她待在家里,究竟还有点儿事情可以做做,可以监视那个土人。 来自辞典例句
  • In addition, nuisance law fails to provide a systematic mechanism for supervising emissions. 另外,妨害法不能提供一个监督排放的系统性机制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
11 characterized b5a3a6f8ba328c165c65eecbe476fb72     
adj.[医]具有特征的v.是…的特征( characterize的过去式和过去分词 );以…为特征;描述(人或物)的特性;使…具有特点(或最引人注目的特征)
参考例句:
  • Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity. 莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The world situation is characterized by turbulence and intranquility. 世界局势动荡不安。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 disturbance BsNxk     
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调
参考例句:
  • He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
  • You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。
13 distinct Csoxs     
adj.种类不同的,有区别的,清楚的,明显的
参考例句:
  • I had the distinct impression that I was being followed.我清楚地感觉到有人跟踪我。
  • The party split into two distinct groups.该党分裂成两个截然不同的团体。
14 ecological IrRxX     
adj.生态的,生态学的
参考例句:
  • The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
  • Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.
15 analyze RwUzm     
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse)
参考例句:
  • We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
  • The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。
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