5月22日是聯合國確定的“國際生物多樣性日”， 以增加對生物多樣性的理解和認識。
Today marks the 25th International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) – a day created to promote understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
這個聽上去有點專業的節日，讓很多人覺得和自己並無多大關聯。
但看過這些扎心的瞬間，你還會堅持自己的想法嗎……
在垃圾堆上築巢產卵的天鵝
A swan's nest in a lake near Queen Louise's Bridge in central Copenhagen, Denmark contains several eggs and is partly made out of trash.
掙脫不出塑料袋包裹的白鶴
A white stork trapped in a plastic bag at a landfill in Spain.
躲在塑料瓶蓋中寄居蟹
A hermit crab resorts to using a plastic bottle cap to protect its soft abdomen in Okinawa, Japan. Beachgoers collect the shells the crabs normally use, and leave trash behind.
用尾巴勾住一根廢棄棉籤的海馬
To ride currents, seahorses clutch drifting seagrass or other natural debris. In the polluted waters off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, a seahorse latched onto a plastic cotton swab.
被偷獵者砍下的熊掌
In 2013, 213 smuggled bear paws were seized during a customs inspection in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
被割去角的黑犀牛
A dead Black Rhino Bull less than eight hours after getting poached for its horns at the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa.
在心痛的照片背後，還有更多觸目驚心的數字——
自1970年至2012年，短短42年間，包括哺乳動物、海洋生物、兩棲動物及爬行動物在內的全球生物總數銳減58%。
It is a well known fact that global biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, putting the survival of other species and our own future at risk. Global wildlife populations, a useful indicator of biodiversity, declined by 58 percent between 1970 and 2012.
倘若不採取措施，到2020年，生物數量將進一步減少67%。
The decline may reach two-thirds by 2020 – unless relevant agencies act now to reform food and energy systems and meet global commitments to address climate change, protect biodiversity and support sustainable development.
As the Earth's biodiversity faces new challenges and threats, various parties are doing their part to enhance biodiversity conservation, including the United Nations (UN), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us? 生物多樣性是什麼？為何至關重要？
For many people living in towns and cities, wildlife is often something you watch on television. But the reality is that the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat all ultimately rely on biodiversity.
在國際生物多樣性日來臨之際，聯合國教科文組織總幹事奧德蕾·阿祖萊發佈致辭，講述了生物多樣性的概念以及意義。
Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, gave a message on the Occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity.
Biodiversity includes the exceptional variety of the forms of life on Earth, as well as the natural environments where these forms developed – the ecosystems.
生物多樣性的定義包括地球上種類極為繁多的生命形式及其生存繁衍的自然環境——生態系統。
Biodiversity is central to our own existence, offering all nature's resources to our development.
生物多樣性對於我們的生存至關重要，為人類發展提供各種自然資源。
Biodiversity, however, is not inexhaustible. Human interventions – extensive exploitation of resources, unsustainable patterns of consumption, industrial pollution causing climate change – are resulting in irreparable damage to biodiversity.
然而，生物多樣性並非用之不竭。人類干預——資源大量開發、不可持續的消費方式、造成氣候變化的工業汙染——正在對生物多樣性造成不可彌補的損害。
A report produced by international experts last March in Medellin, Colombia, confirmed the rapid deterioration in the state of biodiversity and underlined that the direct effects of this are already visible, such as the spread of certain diseases to humans.
今年三月，環保專家們在哥倫比亞發佈的報告顯示，生物多樣性狀況正迅速惡化，惡化的直接影響已經顯現，某些疾病傳播到人類即為一例。
Quiz: How much do you know about biodiversity?
小測試時間：關於生物多樣性，你瞭解多少？
01
Which habitat has the greatest diversity of life?
A. Forest
B. Grasslands
C. Ocean
D. Wetlands
02
What function does biodiversity perform?
A. It helps maintain the productivity of the ecosystem
B. It supports food security, and provides important resources for medicine
C. It helps humans adapt to climate change
D. All the above
03
According to the WWF, what’s the lead cause of the world’s deforestation?
A. Expanding agriculture
B. Illegal and unsustainable logging
C. Climate change
D. Natural disasters
04
The panda enjoys an exalted status all over the world. Which of the following is true about giant panda?
A. The species has been upgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the global list of species at risk of extinction by IUCN
B. It has been WWF's logo since its founding in 1961
C. They live mainly in bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China
D. All the above
05
As one of 17 mega-biodiversity countries in the world, China is host to nearly 10 percent of all plant species and 14 percent of animals on earth. Which animal is no longer endangered in China?
A. South China tiger
B. Crested ibis
C. White flag dolphin
D. Tibetan antelope
As Ms. Audrey Azoulay said in her message, “Biodiversity is a common good, an invaluable legacy formed over the course of millions of years, and capital to transmit to future generations.”
She concluded with a beautiful American Indian proverb:
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
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