VOA新闻杂志2022--津巴布韦寻求出售缉获的象牙

Zimbabwe Seeks to Sell Supply of Seized Elephant Ivory¹

Zimbabwe is seeking international support to be permitted to sell its supply of seized elephant ivory. Selling the ivory could earn about $600 million. Officials say the money could be used to support efforts to deal with the country's fast-growing elephant population.

Zimbabwean officials have urged the European Union (EU) and other nations to support the sale of ivory, which has been banned since 1989. The ban was enacted² by CITES³, the international body that governs the world's endangered species⁴.

Officials from Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority recently showed ambassadors⁶ from the EU, Canada and the United States its supply of ivory tusks⁷. The tusks are kept in secure containers in the capital, Harare. They were all seized from poachers and collected from elephants that died.

Fulton Mangwanya leads the authority for Zimbabwe. He told The Associated Press the country has about 130 tons of ivory and 6 to 7 tons of rhino⁸ horn.

Swiss ambassador⁵ to Zimbabwe Niculin Jager spoke⁹ for the visiting ambassadors. He said the group believes strongly in the need to fight the poaching of elephants.

"Conservation and prevention of illegal wildlife trade is an international issue because of the involvement of criminal syndicates in illegal wildlife trade," Jager said. He called for stronger international cooperation to fight the problem.

Later this month, Zimbabwe will be holding a gathering¹⁰ called an "elephant summit¹¹." Representatives from 14 African countries, as well as from China and Japan, are expected to attend. The purpose of the meeting is to consider ways to manage populations of the world's largest land animal.

"We need assistance. These elephants are multiplying at a dangerous rate," Mangwanya said.

Officials in Zimbabwe have said the country's elephant population is double the number its national parks can safely control. The country is estimated to have 100,000 elephants. Park officials say the elephants are destroying trees and plant life that are necessary for elephants and other wildlife.

Zimbabwe's elephant population is getting so big that Mangwanya warned "it will be very difficult for us to do anything but culling¹³, which is opposed by everyone."

Neighboring Botswana has the world's largest elephant population, with more than 130,000. Together, Zimbabwe and Botswana have nearly 50 percent of the world's elephants. The two countries say they are struggling to deal with the expanding numbers. That is why they are seeking permission to sell their supplies of seized tusks.

Other African countries, such as Kenya, favor continued bans on all ivory sales in an effort to reduce international trade in ivory.

There is a strong illegal trade in ivory driven by international criminal organizations. The organizations pay poachers to kill elephants and remove their ivory tusks. The ivory is then sent to countries where it is used to make jewelry¹⁴ and other products.

Increased poaching and loss of habitat have made Africa's elephant populations more endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said last year.

Zimbabwe has promised to use all the money from a possible ivory sale to finance¹⁵ conservation efforts in its wildlife parks and to support communities in those areas, Mangwanya said.

Zimbabwe argues that providing money to people who live near the parks can urge them to support the fight against poaching, instead of depending on it for money.

Words in This Story

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

poacher – n. a person who catches and kills animals without permission on someone else's land

conservation – n. the act of keeping something safe from harm or from being damaged or destroyed

syndicate – n. a group of people or companies who join together in order to achieve something

manage – v. to do something or deal with something successfully

cull¹² – v. to kill some of the animals in a group, especially the weakest ones, to limit their numbers

authority – n. the official power to make decisions or to control other people

multiply – v. to increase by a large number

habitat – n. the natural environment of a plant or animal

1 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

2 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 cites   

引用( cite的第三人称单数 )； 传唤； 记起； [军事]传（或通）令嘉奖

参考例句：

• CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. CITES是关于濒危野生动植物种国际贸易的国际公约。
• Great bustard (Otis tarda) is listed as a first-rating protected bird in China and CITES II. 大鸨(Otistarda)是国家级保护动物，CITES附录物种。

4 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

5 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

6 ambassadors   

大使( ambassador的名词复数 )； （派驻联合国等国际组织的）代表； 特使； [比喻]使者

参考例句：

• Kennedy, greatly admiring, rated him very high among his ambassadors. 肯尼迪十分赏识他，在所有大使中对他评价很高。
• Many countries were represented by their ambassadors at the Independence Day celebrations. 庆祝美国独立纪念日时，许多国家都派其大使代表参加。

7 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

8 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

12 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

13 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

14 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

15 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。