VOA慢速英语--冠状病毒破坏了拯救濒危物种的斗争

Coronavirus Disrupts Fight to Save Endangered Species

Scientist Carlos Ruiz has spent 25 years working to save golden lion tamarins. The long-haired monkeys that live in Brazil's Atlantic Forest are endangered.

His project to regrow the wooded area that is home to the monkeys helped the population increase. Success seemed possible.

Then, in 2018, the disease yellow fever spread in Brazil, killing¹ almost 30 percent of the golden lion tamarins. Ruiz and his team decided² there was only one way possible to save the animals: a yellow fever vaccination³ program to start in the spring of 2020.

But, in late December the new coronavirus appeared and quickly spread around the world. The health crisis led to suspensions and shutdowns of much of human industry, including wildlife conservation.

Some members of Ruiz's team were placed in quarantine. Then in April, Brazil's government closed national parks and protected areas, barring even researchers from the area where the monkeys live.

Ruiz is president of the non-profit Golden Lion Tamarin Association.

"We hope that we ... can still do our work before a second wave of yellow fever hits."

Emergency measures to stop COVID-19 closed national parks, leaving the life inside unprotected. Illegal land clearing and hunting has increased. The closures of parks and travel bans also meant a big drop in financial support for all kinds of environmental operations.

Stuart Pimm is the founder⁴ of the organization Saving Nature, and a scientist with Duke University. He says scientists and conservationists have faced difficulties created by natural disasters, political conflicts and other events before.

"But," he said, "I can't think of another time when almost every country on the planet has faced the impacts of the same big disaster at once."

Guatemala is an example. Its native rain forest communities are struggling to contain one of the worst fire seasons in 20 years. The costs of dealing⁵ with the coronavirus crisis has shrunk the budget for firefighting operations, however.

"Ninety-nine percent of these fires are started by people" who want to clear the space to raise cows, said Erick Cuellar. He is the deputy director of the Association of Forest Communities of Petén. Petén is home to the Maya Biosphere⁶ Reserve, a protected area.

Native people are volunteering as firefighters, but many are also struggling because they have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus.

"We're losing rare flora⁷ and fauna⁸," said Jeremy Radachowsky. He is director for Mesoamerica at the organization Wildlife Conservation Society. He added that the problem is caused by "reduced enforcement of environmental laws."

In many African countries, wildlife tourism provides the money to keep up parks where many endangered species live, such as elephants and giraffes.

But after the coronavirus appeared, tourism ended, said Peter Fearnhead. He is the CEO of the group African Parks. It operates 17 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries.

In addition to the money that was lost this year, Fearnhead said next year's tourism may be only at 50 percent the levels seen before COVID-19.

Patricia Wright notes that environmental work needs relationships with communities. Wright is a scientist at Stony⁹ Brook¹⁰ University in New York. She has spent 30 years building a program to study and protect the lemurs of Madagascar.

Now as tourism decreases, she is just aiming to keep her more than 100 workers employed.

The current plan is to produce travel videos about Madagascar to sell to tour operators and schools looking for online science material.

"We have to get through the year," she said.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

quarantine – v. to be put in isolation¹¹ because of an infectious disease

tourism – n. to visit a place for enjoyment¹²

impact – n. the effect or outcome of something

flora – n. the flowers that grow in a certain place

fauna – n. the animals that live in a certain place

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 biosphere   

n.生命层，生物圈

参考例句：

• The entire biosphere was becoming more transparent.整个生物圈越来越透明。
• The impact of modern technology on the biosphere is evident worldwide.现代技术对生物圈的影响在全世界是明显的。

7 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

8 fauna   

n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系

参考例句：

• This National Park is an area with unique fauna and flora.该国家公园区域内具有独特的动物种群和植物种群。
• Fauna is a biological notion means all the animal life in a particular region or period. 动物群是一个生物学的概念，指的是一个特定时期或者地区的所有动物。

9 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

10 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

11 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

12 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。