英国是最自然的国家之一有1/7物种濒临灭绝 [英国媒体]

UK one of 'least natural countries in the world' with one in seven species facing extinction

英国“世界上最自然的国家”之一有1/7的物种濒临灭绝



The UK is now one of the “most nature-depleted countries in the world” with more than one in seven species facing extinction and more than half in decline, according to the State of Nature 2016 report.

根据2016年自然状态报告显示，英国是“世界自然资源枯竭最严重的”国家之一，有超过七分之一的物种面临灭绝，超过一半的物种数量下降。

Britain’s farmers are given most of the blame by the report, which was produced by more than 50 different organisations including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the National Trust, the Marine Conservation Society and the Natural History Museum.

英国皇家鸟类保护协会下属不同种类的50多个机构，以及国民托管组织，海洋保护协会和自然历史博物馆均在报告中表示，主要责任归咎于农民。

It found modern agricultural techniques had had a major impact on wildlife over the last four decades – and it had been “overwhelmingly negative”.

报告显示，在过去的四年里，现代农业技术对野生动物产生了极大的影响——而且是压倒性的负面影响。

While climate change has had some negative consequences, the loss of species in the north was off-set in a sense by the arrival of species expanding their range into the UK from the south, the report said.

报告说，虽然气候变化也带来了一些负面影响，但是在某种程度上说英国北部物种的损失被南部物种扩大活动范围所抵消了。

But it warned as the temperature continues to rise, the effects “may not continue to be positive”.

但需要警醒的是，随着温度的继续上升，影响“可能不会继续是积极的”。

The National Farmers Union (NFU) dismissed the report’s suggestion that the “intensification of agriculture” was killing off Britain’s wildlife, saying this had not been a factor for 25 years.

全国农民联盟反驳了报告内容，说“农业发展”扼杀了英国的野生生物，就过去的25年来看这根本不是原因。

The union insisted farmers had “embraced the conservation agenda”, replanting hedgerows, sowing wildflowers on the borders of their fields and “using less fertiliser and pesticides than ever”.

工会坚持农民们“有执行保护议程”，种植灌木篱笆，在各家边界种野花并“减少化肥和农药使用”。

However, broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who wrote the foreword to the report, said there was a pressing need to take action to help Britain’s wildlife.

然而，广播公司和撰写报告前言的自然学家David Attenborough爵士表示，我们迫切的需要采取行动来帮助因果的野生生物。

“The natural world is in serious trouble and it needs our help as never before,” he said.

“自然界现在问题严峻，他需要我们采取行动去帮助。”他说。

“The future of nature is under threat and we must work together; Governments, conservationists, businesses and individuals, to help it. 

“自然界的未来堪忧，我们必须共同努力，政府，环保人士，企业和个人，我们得帮助她。”

“Millions of people in the UK care very passionately about nature and the environment and I believe that we can work together to turn around the fortunes of wildlife.”

“数百万的英国民众非常热切的关注着自然和环境，我相信我们可以一起努力扭转野生生物的命运。”

Species at risk of extinction include one of the icons of the British countryside: the kingfisher. Other animals in decline include the water vole, curlew, hedgehog, turtle dove and willow tit. 

濒危的物种包括英国乡村的符号，翠鸟。数量在下降的动物包括，河鼠，杓鹬，刺猬，斑鸠和山雀。

The State of Nature report painted a bleak picture.

自然报告描绘了一幅凄凉的画面。

“Between 1970 and 2013, 56 per cent of species declined, with 40 per cent showing strong or moderate declines,” it said.

报告显示，“1970到2013年间，有56%的物种数量下降，其中40%严重或是适度下降。”

“Of the nearly 8,000 species assessed using modern Red List criteria, 15 per cent are threatened with extinction from Great Britain.

“现代红色名录标准评估的近8000的物种中，英国百分之15的物种濒危。”

“A new measure that assesses how intact a country’s biodiversity is, suggests that the UK has lost significantly more nature over the long-term than the global average. The index suggests that we are among the most nature-depleted countries in the world.”

“国家生物多样性的一个衡量新尺度表明，英国在于全球平均水平对比中失去了更多的自然性。”该数据表明，英国是“世界自然资源枯竭最严重的”国家之一。

The report listed 10 different ways the natural world had been affected from 1970 to 2012, such as climate change, urbanisation, habitat creation, changes to forest cover and management, and the drainage of wetland areas.

报告罗列了从1972到2012年间自然界受到影响的10个方面，包括气候变化，城市化，建立栖息地，森林覆盖率和管理方式的变化，以及湿地排水。

Intensive agriculture had by far the largest negative effect on wildlife, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of the total.

集约型农业对野生生物的负面影响最大，占了近四分之一。

“The intensification of agriculture has had the biggest impact on wildlife, and this has been overwhelmingly negative,” the report said.

报告显示，精耕细作对野生动物产生了巨大影响，并且这些影响都是负面的。

“Over the period of our study, farming has changed dramatically, with new technologies boosting yields, often at the expense of nature.”

“伴随着研究，农业发生了巨大的变化，新技术提升了产量却牺牲了自然。”

The report said 52 per cent of farmland species had declined and 48 per cent had increased. But a measure of how abundant farmland species were showed there had been a 20 per cent decline.

报告显示有52%的农田物种下降而48%的农田物种上升。但农业物种晴雨表的数据显示百分之20是下降的。

In particular, farmland birds have reduced by 54 per cent since 1970 and butterflies have declined by 41 per cent since 1976. 
自1970年起特别是农田鸟类减少了54%，而蝴蝶自1976年起下降了41%。

But there was some good news – bats living in farmland areas have increased by 23 per cent since 1999.

但是也有些好消息自1999年起农田区的蝙蝠增加了23%。

About 75 per cent of the UK’s land is used for agriculture, although the report concentrated on enclosed farmland, which makes up about 40 per cent.

英国有百分之75的土地用于农业，虽然报告数据集中在百分之40的封闭性农田。

“Our review of the factors driving changes to the UK’s wildlife found that the intensive management of agricultural land had by far the largest negative impact on nature, across all habitats and species,” the report said.

报告说“我们得出的观点，对英国野生生物产生最大不良影响的是农田集约式经营，数据涵盖了所有的栖息地和物种。”

“In one sense, it is no surprise that changes to our farmed environment have had more impact than any other, simply because the habitat covers so much of the UK. 

从某种意义上讲，我们的农业环境对其影响远胜于其他因素，因为，英国有堕入多的栖息地。

“However, we know that government farming policies led to dramatic changes in farming practices, almost doubling wheat and milk yields since the 1970s, whilst simultaneously having wide-reaching consequences for wildlife.

“然而，我们都知道政府的农业政策导致了农业环境的巨大变化，从20世界70年代到现在小麦及牛奶产量几乎翻了一倍，但这也对野生生物产生了广泛的影响。”

“This increase in agricultural productivity has been achieved through changes such as a switch from spring to autumn sowing of crops; the production of silage, rather than hay, in our pastoral farmland; and the increased use of chemicals over the long term.”

“农业生产力已经从头到尾发生了改变，从春天到秋天都可以种植庄稼，储存的饲料已经变成了青草而不再是干草，在我们的农田里，化肥和农药长期大量的被使用。”

While the use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides had increased, according to the report, “many marginal habitats, such as hedgerows and farm ponds, have been lost”.

报告说，由于化肥的使用，农药和除草剂剂量的增加，导致动物栖息地的边缘化，像是灌木丛和池塘已经消失了。

However Guy Smith, the NFU’s vice-president, said the days of simply trying to maximise food produce – an official policy after World War II – were gone.

然而，Guy Smith农场联合会副主席说，这些只是为了最大限度的提高粮食生产——这项官方政策在二战后就消失了。

“Since the early 1990s, in terms of inputs and in terms of numbers of livestock and area of crops grown, British agriculture has not intensified – in fact it's the reverse,” he said.

他说“从20世纪90年代初以来，在畜牧业和农业种植面积上，英国农业并没有增加——事实上，正好相反。”

“Therefore it makes little sense to attribute cause and effect to 'the intensification of agriculture' in the UK in the last quarter of a century when there hasn't been any. 

“所以，在过去的25年里把这个影响归咎于农业生产的强化是没有任何意义的。”

“Other causes acknowledged in the report, such as urbanisation, climate change or increasing predator pressure need greater attention. 

“报告里其他诸如城市化，气候原因或者是捕食压力的增大才应该列为主要因素。”

“Farming in the present day is a living, breathing and dynamic industry; it produces food, delivers for the economy and takes responsibility for the iconic British countryside. British farmers have embraced the conservation agenda.”

“现代农业是一个动态行业，它生产粮食，提供经济动力，并为英国标志性的田园乡村负责。农民们已经接受保护议程。”

He pointed to the rise in some farmland bird populations, but admitted some were “struggling”, saying “farmers are keen to work to reverse these trends”.

他指出一些鸟类数量有所上升，也承认一些处于挣扎边缘，并表示“农民们已经在努力扭转这些局面。”

Mr Smith said there was general agreement that the world needed to produce more food as the population grows.

史密斯先生说，人们普遍认为要多生产一些粮食，因为世界人口在增长。

“This increased demand for food will have to be met using finite agricultural land, while our climate continues to change, which will inevitably place further constraints on production in many parts of the world,” he said.

“这使得有限的农业用地必须提高产量来满足需求，而气候的继续变化，将不可避免的对世界上很多地方的生产产生进一步的限制。”他说。

He said the NFU believed there needed to be what he called a “sustainable intensification of agriculture” to ensure “domestic and global food security”.

他说他称之为“可持续农业集约化”的方式，NFU认为这对保证“国内和全球食品安全”很有必要。

The CLA, which represents country landowners and businesses in England and Wales, called for farmers and conservationists to work together.

CLA，代表英国和威尔士国家土地所有者和企业，号召农民和环保人士一起工作。

Its deputy president, Tim Breitmeyer, said: “The report makes sobering reading and paints a clear picture of significant decline over 40 years. 

他的副总裁Tim Breitmeyer说，“报告发人省醒，描绘了一个清晰画面，过去40年的显着下降。”

“It reminds us how much there is to do to reintroduce habitats and species into our natural environment and protect them.”
“这提醒我们必须为这些物种重新设立栖息地并保护好他们和自然环境。”

Glyn Davis, director of global programmes at conservation group WWF-UK, said Britain’s wildlife were “under unprecedented pressure from human activity”.

Glyn Davis，世界自然基金会全球项目总监说，英国的野生动植物“从人类的活动中感受到了前所未有的压力”

“Nature can recover with the right incentives to help restore species, reduce habitat loss, prevent pollution and develop green energy and infrastructure,” he said. 

他说“人们帮助恢复物种，减少栖息地的萎缩，防止污染，发展绿色能源和基础设施，这些可以让自然重新恢复到原有的状态。”

“These can be incorporated into the Government’s promised 25-year plan for nature, which should be strong enough to put the health of our rivers, seas, forests and farmland at the heart of policymaking across Whitehall.”

“这些都该纳入政府承诺的25年计划中去，确保这些政策的核心通过白厅，我们的河流，海洋，森林以及农田就会足够健康强壮。”