VOA标准英语2009年-Zimbabwe Trying to Stop Rhino Poaching

Zimbabwe's wildlife conservation reputation has taken a knock in the past few years and there are fears the recent surge in the poaching of the black rhino¹ will lead to the animal's extinction² in the country.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species [CITES] says there has been an increase in the poaching of the rhino for its horn wherever the animal is found, but the situation is particularly bad in Zimbabwe. VOA asked Raoul du Toit of the Lowveld Rhino Trust, a rhino conservation organization what is driving the poachers.

Du Toit says, "Part of it is obviously the national situation in Zimbabwe where there is reduced law enforcement and part of it is the growing demand for rhino horn, the growing Chinese foot print in Africa, Vietnamese footprint in Africa and the fact that the markets are now really fueling poaching in a very aggressive way."

The rhino horn is believed to have medicinal properties in some Asian countries where it is used as an aphrodisiac and in the Middle East as handles for ceremonial daggers³.

Du Toit added that Zimbabwe had seemingly got on top of the situation when a similar surge in poaching happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He said the rhino population had actually increased, but all the good work is being undone⁴ and the falling rhino numbers are once again a cause for great concern. He put the number of rhino poached in Zimbabwe since 2006 at as high as 250.

National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Director General Morris Mtsambiwa agreed the situation is a cause for concern, but said an Emergency Rhino Protection Plan has been put into place to counter the poachers. He says his department; the police, the army and rangers⁵ from wildlife conservancies are involved in the program, which he says has been successful.

He pointed⁶ to the killing⁷ of six poachers since the beginning of the year as proof of action being taken, but he said the country's economic problems are hindering a more effective response to the poaching.

Mtsambiwa says, "You can hear that poachers have come into an area and you want to deploy⁸ whether by aircraft or by road but if fuel is not available you have difficulties."

Organizations such as du Toit's Lowveld Rhino Trust are also involved in the relocation of rhinos⁹ to areas where it is easier to protect them.

Mtsambiwa said despite all these efforts some Zimbabweans, including those in position of authority, are involved in the poaching. He admitted some rangers from his own department were arrested for their involvement.

A recent article in The Standard, a local weekly newspaper said two Cabinet ministers from President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF Party are being investigated for poaching. The reports said Environmental and Natural Resources Management Minister Francis Nhema admitted senior ZANU-PF officials were implicated¹⁰ in the rhino poaching.

Lowveld Rhino Trust's du Toit also blamed the courts for not being harsh enough on those poachers captured alive for sentences to act as a deterrent¹¹, but Mtsambiwa says his department is continually engaging judicial¹² officials and the situation is changing.

Mtsambiwa explains, "We have just had fines for poaching rhinos increased to $120,000 from a mere¹³ $1,500. You know when someone does not understand something, they even put more weight than the endangered rhino so these are things that we are explaining to them."

Du Toit and Mtsambiwa agree that while the rhino gets most of the attention because it is endangered, wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe in general is facing many challenges. Du Toit said Zimbabwe once had what he described as a proud record in conservation, but the country is compromising some of its own principles.

He said wild dogs, which are also endangered, are also under threat as they get caught in snares¹⁴ set up by people hunting for meat. Of the animals that do not seem to be attracting that much attention he singled out the zebra.

He explains, "What we have seen particularly in southern Zimbabwe is growing commercial poaching of zebra for their hide. Those hides are smuggled¹⁵ across the Limpopo river to South Africa and marketed in South Africa and exported from South Africa to European markets at pretty high values."

Conservation groups also blame the settlement of landless Zimbabweans in wildlife conservancies under the country's land-reform program for the decline in wildlife conservation. Mtsambiwa admitted this had caused problems, but it is now being remedied.

Mtsambiwa says, "At the beginning of the land reform, huge populations of wildlife were decimated as people moved in and they were just killing wildlife wantonly. But now they are beginning to understand the value and they are assisting in its protection."

But Mtsambiwa cautioned Zimbabwe cannot deal with the poaching problem on its own. To this end, he said, Zimbabwe is collaborating¹⁶ with other countries in the region and beyond to ensure poaching is checked.

1 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 daggers   

匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I will speak daggers to her, but use none. 我要用利剑一样的话刺痛她的心，但绝不是真用利剑。
• The world lives at daggers drawn in a cold war. 世界在冷战中剑拨弩张。

4 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

5 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

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

10 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

15 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

16 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。