VOA慢速英语2020 印尼因疫情削减森林消防成本（打印版）

Budget cuts caused by the coronavirus crisis have forced Indonesia

冠状病毒危机导致的预算削减已迫使印尼

to reduce fire patrols and protection for some of the worlds most important forests, the environment ministry said recently.

减少对世界上一些最重要森林的消防巡逻和保护，印尼环境部最近表示。

Indonesias forests are some of the biggest in the world.

印度尼西亚的森林是世界上最大的森林之一。

They are home to more than a tenth of the worlds mammal species and nearly a fifth of its birds.

这里有超过世界上1/10的哺乳动物和近1/5的鸟类。

And the cuts come ahead of the worst season for fires.

而且削减是在最严重的火灾季节之前进行的。

Indonesia is also the worlds top producer of palm oil.

印度尼西亚还是世界上最大的棕榈油生产国。

Fires, often set to clear land for palm oil plantations, were very damaging in 2019.

在2019年，经常被用来为棕榈油种植园清理土地的大火造成了极大的破坏。

It is still too early in the dry season, when most land is cleared, to get a clear picture of what will happen this year.

现在是旱季，大部分土地都被清理干净了，要想清楚了解今年会发生什么还为时过早。

But a careful study of satellite information shows about 400,000 hectares were cleared in the first 24 weeks of 2020.

但是对卫星信息的仔细研究显示，在2020年的前24周，大约40万公顷土地被清理。

In the same time period last year, 300,000 hectares were cleared.

去年同期，清理了30万公顷。

Environmental officials said that the coronavirus outbreak is affecting the countrys economy.

环保官员说，冠状病毒的爆发正在影响该国的经济。

Nearly $50 billion is being sent to health emergency programs.

将近500亿美元被用于卫生紧急项目。

This led to a 50 percent budget cut for the team that finds and puts out fires.

这导致发现和扑灭火灾的团队削减了50%的预算。

At the same time, people who lost their jobs during the health crisis are clearing land for crops using fires.

与此同时，在这场健康危机中失去工作的人们正在用大火清理土地以便种植作物。

And in some areas, social distancing rules are making it harder to fight fires.

在一些地区，社交距离规则使得扑灭火灾变得更加困难。

President Joko Widodo called for the tough enforcement of laws in order to stop illegal fires.

印尼总统佐科·维多多呼吁严格执法，以制止非法火灾。

And the environment and forest minister told parliament recently that an extra $35 million was needed to fight forest fires this year.

环境和森林部长最近告诉议会，今年需要额外的3500万美元来处理森林火灾。

Environmentalists agreed the budget cuts could have bad results.

环保主义者一致认为，削减预算可能会产生不好的结果。

"There is a real risk of another ecological and health disaster in 2020," said Kiki Taufik, head of Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest campaign.

绿色和平组织东南亚森林运动负责人基基·陶菲克表示：“2020年将面临另一场生态和健康灾难的真实风险。”

Im John Russell.

约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。