文章来源：英文杂志双语精读

推荐人：杨子雷

编辑人：张栏木

经济学人原文

biodiversity

conservation conversation

China is trying to become a championof biodiversity. It has a lot of work to do

【1】China’s imprimaturon the “Kunming declaration” goes beyondits name. Signed by over 100 countries in October, the pledge set the tone forCOP15, the largest UN biodiversity gathering in a decade. (First scheduled for2020, it was delayed several times because of covid-19.) The conference, takingplace in two parts, is being hosted by China for the first time. Its secondmeeting was scheduled for April but also looks likely to be postponed. The hostcity is the capital of Yunnan, a south-western province that is a showcase ofthe biodiversity that China needs to preserve, from steamy jungle to mountainglaciers.

【2】As a forum in which China candemonstrate its green leadership credentials, COP15 has a special appeal. Thecountry is alert to the importance of global norms on mitigating climate change.Even when in dispute on other matters, America and China have shownco-operation on limiting emissions. But, with a Senate that has a poor recordfor ratifying environmental treaties, America is not a party to the UN’sconvention on biodiversity, which was signed into force by over 190 memberstates in 1993. That lets China run this show. The theme for Kunming is itshomegrown idea of sustainable growth: “ecological civilisation”.

【3】The term was written into China’s constitution in 2018, suggesting how central it now isin guiding development. The Kunming declaration is filled with other favouritegreening concepts of Beijing, including the “two-mountainstheory”. This states that “greenmountains are gold mountains”: that is, the environment can no longer besacrificed for development.

【4】For decades, China pursuedsingle-minded economic growth, which allowed millions to lift themselves out ofpoverty. But pollution and over-exploitation damaged wildlife and habitats. Thenumber of China’s terrestrial vertebrate species—a good indicator of biodiversity—has halved since 1970.More than one in five surviving species faces extinction. In the five decadesto 2000 over half of the country’s mangroves—essential breeding grounds foraquatic life—disappeared. Some 90% of grasslands are at varying stages ofdegradation or desertification, and almost half of wild-animal populations arein decline, decimated by the illegal trade in wildlife.

【5】Yet, despite the ravages ofurbanisation, China has much left to protect. It is home to 10% of the world’s plant species, 14% of animal ones and 20% of fish. Atthe second meeting, delegates will set goals for 2030 to preserve global plantand animal life. The stakes are high. Signatories failed to meet any of thetargets they set for themselves in 2010, when they last met, in Japan. InOctober China\'s President launched the Kunming biodiversity Fund, to whichChina has contributed 1.5bn yuan ($230m). Li Shuo of Greenpeace, an NGO, saysthis larger commitment “could be the impetus others need” to spend more.China\'s President also announced the formal opening of five national parks,spanning 230,000 sq km, home to over a quarter of China’s terrestrial wildlifespecies. (America’s 63 national parks cover 340,000 sq km.)

【6】Still, China’s broader commitment is far from clear. In 2020, in aspeech to the UN General Assembly, China\'s President unexpectedly committed thecountry to carbon neutrality by 2060. Then in September he announced that thecountry would not finance new coal projects abroad. But for now, China remainsthe largest consumer of coal and emitter of carbon dioxide. Success in stemmingdeforestation is mitigated by its parallel rise as the world’s largest importerof wood. Greenpeace called the Kunming declaration “a toothless tiger”.

【7】Keeping citizens happy is becoming apowerful incentive for China. They are vocal about more than polluted water andtoxic air. The global debate about the origins of covid-19 has put a focus onthe costs of destroying habitats and trading wildlife. In February 2020 China’slegislature expanded the scope of its wildlife protection law to ban theconsumption of almost all wild animals. In a report published in January, theWorld Economic forum estimated that 65% of China’s GDP, or $9trn, is “at riskof disruption from nature loss”.

No mangrove is an island

【8】Perhaps no province so clearlyillustrates that trade-off than the island of Hainan, a lush tourist hotspotoff the southern coast. Last year its white sandy beaches and monstrous resortsdrew 80m (almost entirely domestic) tourists. Some came for the newly openedHainan Tropical rainforest National Park, one of the five scenic areasannounced by China\'s President. Though covering just 4,400 sq km, therainforest is home to nearly 20% of China’s amphibian species and almost 40% ofits bird species.

【9】Hainan is China’s smallest province, so it is hardly representative. Butit is a useful case study, because it is straining under the excesses oftourism and development while trying to protect its environment. Those goalsare usually in conflict. But local NGOs are hoping that, if managed well,tourism can be part of the solution. They have little choice: such pressureswill only grow as Hainan transforms into a vast free-trade port, as called forin plans unveiled in 2020. The island wants its duty-free market to growtenfold by 2025, to $50bn.

【10】In the 1950s, jungle was cleared forstate farms producing rubber. At that time, there were about 2,000 Hainangibbons in the area. By 1970 only around ten were left, and it is still theworld’s rarest primate (pictured). But now, Hainan is beingpraised for its rescue efforts, which include replanting the ape’s favouritelychee and fig trees. In September the park announced that two babies hadbrought the population to 35.

【11】Preservation extends beyond thepark. At COP15, China aimed to become the first country to put 30% of its landand sea under protection by 2030. Hainan has already drawn a “red line” around 27% of its land and 35% of itscoastal waters: any construction in these zones that harms the environment isbanned. Land reclamation, shrimp ponds and sewage discharge have longcontributed to mangroves’ disappearance. Now Hainan is halting suchencroachment and replanting trees. National mangrove coverage increased byalmost half between 2000 and 2019, to 30,000 hectares.

【12】Local initiatives help. Blue RibbonOcean conservation Association, a local NGO, patrols mangroves, clearing awayinvading species. Its data-collection methods on coastal walks have beenadopted elsewhere. In Meilian, a pilot village, it has got fishermen to usenets with larger mesh.

【13】Young visitors are starting to pay apremium for sustainable produce. They want to enjoy a nice environment, says PuBingmei of Blue Ribbon. More are joining in ocean-conservation activities onholiday, such as the beach clean-ups that her NGO organises. In late 2020Hainan became the first province to ban single-use plastic.

【14】The youngest mangrove forest is inTongqi Bay. A wiry fisherman says he has been banned from farming whelks inshallow coastal pools. “mangroves mean more fish, moreshrimp, more whelks,” he says, as if reciting. Ms Puhopes that shoppers’ cash will boost local-governmentfunding for eco-projects. But, she says, “As tourism grows year by year, Hainanwill forever need to find a new balance.”

长难句

1.原文：But now,Hainan is being praised for its rescue efforts, which include replanting theape’s favourite lychee and fig trees.

2.分析：本句较长，包含非限定性定语从句。“Hainan”是主语，“is being praised for”是谓语，谓语结构略微复杂，包含“be+doing”现在进行时，以及“be+done”被动语态；后面紧跟宾语“its rescue efforts”；再往后是“which”引导的非限定性定语从句，“which”是从句中的主语，“its rescueefforts”是其先行词；which引导的从句对先行词进行解释说明。

3.译文：但现在，海南因其拯救长臂猿的努力受到赞扬，其中包括重新种植猿猴最喜欢的荔枝和无花果树。

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