VOA标准英语2010年-Saving the Seas to Ensure Food Securit

Since the food crisis of a few years ago, much attention has been paid to improving agriculture and conserving¹ the land. But land is not the only source of food. The oceans provide food and jobs for millions of people, yet very little is being done to protect them.

Marine² conservationists say less than one percent of the world's oceans are protected. They say the seas need protection from people, who take from their bounty³, often without regard to the consequences – or even awareness⁴ of the results of their actions.

Playing catch-up

Steve Watkins, senior vice⁵ president of RARE, a conservation group in the Washington, D.C., area, says, "It's been much easier to initially⁶ focus on the terrestrial world, the landscapes we see, because we all live and walk around on the land. And it's just the first thing that comes to mind. So, in a sense there's a bit of catch-up in terms of paying attention to the oceans that needs to happen."

 

RARE
Some Malagasy learn about RARE efforts to preserve the oceans
RARE, a nonprofit group, is working in 50 countries to get local communities to treat the seas with more respect and with an eye toward the future.

"We firmly believe in helping⁷ local communities to address their own environmental issues, which is why we seek out community leaders, that we can kind of train and mentor⁸ and help them to succeed. So it's about sort of their growth and them address their problems rather than us running our own projects," says Watkins.

Oceans at risk

He describes oceans as being "dramatically threatened."

"Many governments, less developed around the world, have really for the last 50 years or more viewed the expansion of their fishing fleets and their fish catches as one of their economic development objectives. And that's just become so efficient in the last decade that it's just got so far ahead of the oceans' ability to reproduce and stay healthy," he says.

That's why Marine Protected Areas are being set up around the world and monitored by local communities.

"(It's) an area of the ocean," he says, " that people that people agree to set aside to either fish less or not fish at all. So that the fish and other creatures that live in that area of the ocean can live out their life cycle. Grow big, have more children. In a sense become kind of a bank account, which accumulates interest in the sense of productivity of the environment. And it can really help to repopulate the more productive fishing grounds."

Good intentions, bad results

For example, Watkins says a Maritime⁹ Protected Area is being set up in southwestern Madagascar.

"It's really a microcosm of what's happening perhaps the world over, where, for many centuries, the ethnic¹⁰ group that lives there – they're called the Vezo people – have really lived in harmony with the ocean. They're a semi-nomadic seafaring people," he says.

Then, despite the best intentions, things began to go wrong. Both fish and their habitat suffered.

"They've begun to have access to things like poison. Even things just like household bleach¹¹ can be used as poison in the oceans to kill all the fish so they float to the surface for harvesting," he says.

RARE
Malagasy fisherman
He adds, "They've started to receive things like mosquito nets to obviously address very important health issues for the community. But those mosquito nets, if they're used as fishing nets, are so, so fine that they lift all of the fish larvae¹² and juvenile¹³ fish, as well as the larger fish people are trying to catch. So (they) stop those larvae from growing into future fish for people to catch."

Reefs were also destroyed when the Vezo people used mining picks to break the coral apart looking for octopus¹⁴. Previously¹⁵, they might have used sticks to probe holes in the reef. In the short term, the mining pick method appears more productive, but it has long-term consequences as the home of marine life is shattered.

The senior vice president of RARE says if the local populations are empowered to care for the oceans and their food supply, they will see the benefits of using sustainable fishing methods
 

1 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

9 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

12 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

13 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

14 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

15 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。