VOA标准英语2011--UN Warns Against Land Degradation

UN Warns Against Land Degradation¹

 

A top U.N. advisor² said on Friday that every minute, 23 hectares of land are degraded by drought and desertification. He said it’s damaging the economic, social and environmental pillars needed for sustainable development.

Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, the UNCCD, was among those attending a meeting in the southwestern Algerian town of Tinerkouk. The meeting marked the Decade for Deserts and the fight against desertification.

Speaking from Tinerkouk – a desert area – Gnacadja said natural desert ecosystems³ are valuable and must be conserved⁴ – but man-made deserts must be avoided. He warned that land degradation – also known a desertification – is a global problem.

“It is undermining our capacity to address the issue of poverty, our capacity to mitigate⁵ climatic drought,’ he said.

A blind spot

Land degradation,’ he said, threatens aquifers⁶ that are needed for biomass – a mass of biological organisms living in a particular area. It also increases environmentally induced migration⁷ and puts food security at risk. He called the protection of arable⁸ land a “blind spot” in the climate change debate.

Water scarcity9 can lead to both drought and desertification as well as instigate10 conflict in communities and between countries.

“The peel of that land that we call soil is the most nonrenewable resource that we have to generate food, to generate the forest that we depend on to regulate the atmosphere. And we depend on it to reduce the runoff and increase what they call green water for biomass production,” he said.

And a lot of soil is lost every year.

“Now, globally speaking, we’re losing 12 million hectares of productive land. We’re losing them every single year due to drought and desertification. 12 million hectares. It is even more than the size of my country, Benin,” he said.

Hard hit continent

Gnacadja said managing every inch of the fertile soil available matters “much more than ever before.” The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warns that Africa could be particularly hard hit.

“If the trend of degradation in Africa continues,” he said, “Africa may lose two-thirds of its arable land by 2025. This will make it impossible for the continent to reach food security when you know that the continent is the fastest growing region population-wise in the world.”

He said progress against land degradation is being made on the grassroots level through better farming techniques. But those achievements need to be enhanced and scaled up in all parts of the world. The head of the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification said climate change negotiations¹¹ must include land protection. He added when land is protected everyone wins.

1 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

4 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

5 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

6 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

9 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

10 instigate   

v.教唆，怂恿，煽动

参考例句：

• His object was to instigate a little rebellion on the part of the bishop.他的目的是，在主教方面煽起一场小小的造反。
• It would not prove worthwhile to instigate a nuclear attack.挑起核攻击最终是不值得的。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。