2006年VOA标准英语-Experts See Hope for Reversing Drylands Degrada

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
16 October 2006

An international campaign to draw attention to the huge agricultural potential of the Sahel drylands of Africa is gaining ground, with a recent workshop in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The campaign seeks to capitalize on unexpected success stories in the water-stressed region to galvanize international support.

 

The more than 65 million people in the countries of the Sahel are among the poorest and least food secure in the world. The region is marked by high rates of deforestation, soil degradation¹, erosion and population growth.

Monsoon2 Multidisciplinary Analysis) work near a dust sensor3, July 9, 2006 near Niamey, Niger" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070504/1115260.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Scientists of the mission AMMA (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis) work near a dust sensor, July 9, 2006 near Niamey, Niger

Niger - like most countries in West Africa's Sahel region - is typically arid⁴, with a very difficult environment for agriculture.

 

In an effort to reverse the damage, international and non governmental groups - such as the United Nations Committee to Combat Desertification and the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research - are leading a campaign to change long-held pessimism⁵ about the continued degradation of arid lands, by reporting unexpected positive successes.

 

In Niger, for example, agriculture researchers found 250,000 hectares of severely⁶ degraded land had been rehabilitated⁷ and agriculture productivity restored, during the past two decades.

 

Lands that have been written off 20 years ago are now productive, despite a strong increase in population.

 

Researchers say such success stories can help cut through several myths and despair and help dryland countries create a much brighter future.

 

Saidou Koala, of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics - one of the research institutions involved in the project - says there is an urgent need to help rural communities farm their way out of poverty.

 

"We did assess some of the land rehabilitation⁸ programs that had taken place in the past 20 years and we came to the conclusion that not everything is gloom and doom⁹, because there were successes on the ground," said Koala. "There was a particular study with satellite field survey that showed that thousands and thousands of hectares have been rehabilitated from past implementation¹⁰ programs. And, we came to the conclusion that there were indeed success stories that need to be multiplied, scaled up and out if we want to have the desired impact."

 

Koala says, despite stereotypes¹¹ on dryland catastrophes¹² such as famine, conflicts and flight of refugees, the Sahel has a huge potential to become a major agricultural region.

 

"One of the outcomes of the workshop was to highlight the comparative advantage of the drylands - ample sunshine, fewer pests and diseases and relatively¹³ low population; the semi-arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa is relatively less populated," said Koala. "And, the grasslands¹⁴ are there for livestock¹⁵ and some of the ground water resources that are available as well as water from the existing rivers, like the Niger River, which is not being used. So, we have considered that these are powerful assets that can be used to overcome poverty and integrate into dryland areas."

 

Experts say new efforts to bring degraded farmlands back to productivity to reverse the current threat to food scarcity¹⁶ in the region would require massive funding by the international community.

 

Koala says a new, more optimistic chapter has opened for drylands in Africa and urged richer countries to join in the campaign.

 

"We are opening a new, optimistic chapter for the drylands and we strongly believe that, by forming a global coalition¹⁷ to support national and international efforts, we will start making a dent¹⁸ in alleviating¹⁹ poverty and food insecurity in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa," said Koala. "We are making a special plea to the government and investment partners to take note of the success stories and increase their support and develop new programs that will upscale the success stories."

 

The Sahel region of Africa is a wide stretch of land stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the West to the Horn of African, in the east.

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 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

3 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

4 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• 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。

5 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

8 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

9 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

16 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。

17 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

18 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

19 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。