VOA标准英语2009年-Illegal Mining Threatens Liberian Rainforest

West Africa's second-largest rainforest is under threat from illicit¹ mining and hunting according to one of Liberia's top environmental officials. More than 20,000 people are thought to be living illegally in Liberia's Sapo National Park.

As part of the Upper Guinean rainforest ecosystem², Sapo is home to more than 700 kinds of animals including threatened species such as the African Golden Cat, the Liberian Mongoose, and the White-necked Rockfowl. The 1,800-square-kilometer preserve stretches from marshland near the coast of southeast Sinoe County to the steep ridges³ of the Putu Mountains in the north.

Years of civil war in Liberia drove many of the park's rangers⁴ across the border into Ivory Coast as rebels looted their buildings and poached forest elephant and pygmy hippopotamus⁵. But even with peace restored, Liberia's only national park is still being plundered⁶ by illegal mining and hunting.

"Sapo National Park is seriously threatened," said Jerome Nyenkan, deputy executive director of Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency. "A whole group of West African nationals - Malians, Guineans, Nigerians, Sierra Leoneans, Ghanians are all in the park."

Nyenkan says park rangers lack the training or equipment to properly shield the park from outside encroachment⁷. He estimates there are as many as 20,000 people living inside the protected area cutting timber, fishing, grazing cattle, and clearing ground for planting. Many search for diamonds and pan for gold in the Sinoe River.

"We've been in the park for a number of years now. We mine gold and diamonds. And some other minerals," said Liberian Garpu Pajebo, who lives in the national park with his family.

"We don't have nowhere to go. And the government says they want to come and take us from the park. We are doing this business to bring up our future. And we need to live, so that is why we are doing this business."

The former rebel fighter says he moved to the park because he could not find a job elsewhere.

In a country were the United Nations estimates some 85 percent of people are unemployed⁸, Liberian officials are working with donors⁹ to provide alternative sources of income for people living in the park, including fish farming and ecotourism.

"So it's not a matter of moving security men to run after people in the park. It's about addressing some of the major concerns for which people are now into the park," Jerome Nyenkan said.

While Nyenkan says the government understands its responsibility to create jobs, he says it also has the duty to prevent people from spoiling this unique ecosystem to preserve it for future generations.

"When this desecration¹⁰ of the park continues unchecked, the Sapo National Park is going to be gradually losing its international significance," he said. "And so we don't want this natural heritage to be destroyed, and the government of Liberia is doing her best to rescue the park."

Conservationists say Sapo is part of a biodiverse corridor that is home to the highest number of mammal species in the world including the Diana monkey, black-and-white Colobus, and the western chimpanzee.

1 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

2 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

3 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

4 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

5 hippopotamus   

n.河马

参考例句：

• The children enjoyed watching the hippopotamus wallowing in the mud.孩子们真喜观看河马在泥中打滚。
• A hippopotamus surfs the waves off the coast of Gabon.一头河马在加蓬的海岸附近冲浪。

6 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

7 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 desecration   

n. 亵渎神圣, 污辱

参考例句：

• Desecration, and so forth, and lectured you on dignity and sanctity. 比如亵渎神圣等。想用尊严和神圣不可侵犯之类的话来打动你们。
• Desecration: will no longer break stealth. 亵渎：不再消除潜行。