已在長江中生活了2，500萬年的白鰭豚如今再也難覓蹤影，這種被稱為“長江女神”，大腦表面積比海豚大，比長臂猿和黑猩猩更聰明的珍稀淡水生哺乳豚就這樣在我們這一代的手中永久地消失了。然而，它們的滅絕并非出于“物競天擇”;將它們趕盡殺絕的，正是人類。如今，新一波物種大滅絕即將到來，而作為萬物之靈的我們，是繼續(xù)充當(dāng)毀滅物種的劊子手，還是行動(dòng)起來創(chuàng)造一個(gè)萬物共生的星球?

Madagascar1)—which separated from India 80 million to 100 million years ago before eventually settling off the southeastern coast of Africa—is in many ways an Earth apart. All that time in geographic isolation made Madagascar a Darwinian playground， its animals and plants evolving into forms utterly original.

Once lushly forested， Madagascar has seen more than 80% of its original vegetation cut down or burned since humans arrived at least 1，500 years ago， fragmenting habitats and leaving animals effectively homeless. Unchecked hunting wiped out a number of large species， and today mining， logging and energy exploration threaten those that remain.

Madagascar is a conservation hot spot—a term for a region that is very biodiverse and particularly threatened. Conservationists estimate that extinctions worldwide are occurring at a pace that is up to 1，000 times as great as history’s background rate before human beings began proliferating2). Worse， that die-off could be accelerating.

Price of Extinction

There have been five extinction waves in the planet’s history—including the Cretaceous3) event 65 million years ago， which ended the reign of the dinosaurs. The sample polling of animal populations so far suggests that we may have entered what will be the planet’s sixth great extinction wave. And this time the cause isn’t an errant4) asteroid5) or megavolcanoes. It’s us.

Through our growing numbers， our thirst for natural resources and， most of all， climate change—which， by one reckoning， could help carry off6) 20% to 30% of all species before the end of the century—we’re shaping an Earth that will be biologically impoverished. A 2008 assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found that nearly 1 in 4 mammals worldwide was at risk for extinction.

Scary for conservationists， yes， but the question arises: Why should it matter to the rest of us? After all， nearly all the species that were ever alive in the past are gone today. Evolution demands extinction. When we’re using the term extinction to talk about the fate of the U.S. auto industry， does it really matter if we lose species like the Yangtze River dolphin and the golden toad7)， which have effectively disappeared in recent years? What does the loss of a few species among millions matter?

For one thing， we’re animals too， dependent on this planet like every other form of life. The more species living in an ecosystem， the healthier and more productive it is， which matters for us. When we pollute and deforest and make a mess of the ecological web， we’re taking out mortgages on the Earth that we can’t pay back—and those loans will come due. Then there are the undiscovered organisms and animals that could serve as the basis of needed medicines—as the original ingredients of aspirin were derived from the herb meadowsweet8)—unless we unwittingly destroy them first.

Forests razed9) can grow back， polluted air and water can be cleaned—but extinction is forever. And we’re not talking about losing just a few species. In fact， conservationists quietly acknowledge that we’ve entered an age of triage10)， when we might have to decide which species can truly be saved. The worst-case scenarios of habitat loss and climate change show the planet losing hundreds of thousands to millions of species， many of which we haven’t even discovered yet.

To Save the Species， Save the People

So if you believe Earth is more than just a home for 6.7 billion human beings and counting， then you should be scared. But fear shouldn’t leave us paralyzed11). Environmental groups worldwide are responding with new methods to new threats to wildlife. In hot spots like Madagascar and Brazil， conservationists are working with locals on the ground12)， ensuring that the protection of endangered species is tied to the welfare of the people who live closest to them. And as global warming forces animals to migrate in order to escape changing climates， conservationists are looking to create protected corridors that would give the species room to roam. It’s uncertain that any of this will stop the sixth extinction wave， let alone preserve the biodiversity we still enjoy， but we have no choice but to try.

Madagascar is where all the new strategies can be road-tested. Do that right， and you can even turn a profit in the process. In Madagascar， half the revenues from national parks are meant to go to the surrounding communities. In a country as poor as Madagascar—where 61% of the people live on less than $1 a day—it makes sense to give locals an economic stake in preserving wildlife rather than destroying it.

Well-run ecotourism13) can provide support for conservation， but even the best parks might be hard pressed to compete with the potential revenues from logging， poaching14) or mining. Rain forests like those in Madagascar contain billions and billions of tons of carbon; destroying the trees and releasing the carbon not only kills local species but also speeds global warming. Proposals in the global climate negotiations would allow countries to offset some of their greenhouse-gas emissions by paying rain-forest nations to preserve their trees. It’s win-win， with both the climate and the critters15) getting a boost. CI16) and its partners are hiring villagers to plant trees on eroded land， which creates corridors to connect fragmented habitats， may earn carbon revenues and provides needed employment.

Why We Can’t Wait

In a world where hundreds of millions of human beings still go hungry and the global recession has left all but the wealthiest fearing for their future， it’s easy to wonder why we should be concerned about the dwindling of the planet’s biodiversity.

The answer is that we can’t afford not to. The same natural qualities that sustain wildlife—clean water， untainted land， unbroken forests—ultimately sustain us as well， whether we live in a green jungle or a concrete one. But there is an innate value to untrammeled17) biodiversity too—one that goes beyond our own survival. When that is lost， we are irretrievably diminished. “We live on a very special planet—the only planet that we know has life，” says Russell Mittermeier， president of CI. “For me， conservation is ultimately a moral obligation and simply the right thing to do.” That leaves us a choice. We can save life on this special planet， or be its unwitting18) executioner.

大約八千萬到一億年前，馬達(dá)加斯加島與印度大陸分離，最終停留在非洲東南海岸。從很多方面來看，馬達(dá)加斯加島都像是一個(gè)與世隔絕的地球。長期的地理隔離使馬達(dá)加斯加成為生物進(jìn)化論者的樂園，島上各種動(dòng)物和植物的進(jìn)化形態(tài)都非常獨(dú)特。

馬達(dá)加斯加島曾經(jīng)林木繁茂，但自從一千五百多年前人類踏足島上以來，已經(jīng)有80%以上的原始植被遭到砍伐或焚毀，棲息地變得支離破碎，動(dòng)物們實(shí)際已無家可歸。曾經(jīng)毫無節(jié)制的捕獵已使許多大型物種絕跡，而今天的采礦、伐木和能源開發(fā)又對目前尚存的物種構(gòu)成了新的威脅。

馬達(dá)加斯加是生態(tài)保護(hù)的熱點(diǎn)地區(qū)——這種說法表示該地區(qū)物種極為豐富，但生態(tài)環(huán)境岌岌可危。自然資源保護(hù)論者估計(jì)，目前世界范圍物種滅絕的速度高達(dá)歷史上人類迅速繁衍前正常滅絕速度的一千倍。更糟糕的是，這樣的物種消亡還可能會不斷加快。

物種滅絕的代價(jià)

在地球歷史上，曾經(jīng)發(fā)生過五波物種大滅絕——包括發(fā)生在6，500萬年前的白堊紀(jì)滅絕，正是這次滅絕終結(jié)了恐龍稱霸的時(shí)代。迄今為止對動(dòng)物種群所做的抽樣調(diào)查表明，我們可能已進(jìn)入地球上第六波物種大滅絕的時(shí)期。而此次大滅絕的罪魁禍?zhǔn)准炔皇敲撾x軌道的小行星，也不是大型火山噴發(fā)。造成這次滅絕的，正是我們?nèi)祟愖约骸?/p>

人口數(shù)量不斷增長，我們對自然資源貪婪索取，再加上最重要的一點(diǎn)，氣候變化——據(jù)估計(jì)，到本世紀(jì)末，氣候變化可能會導(dǎo)致20%到30%的物種滅絕——我們正在使地球變成一個(gè)物種枯竭的星球?！皣H自然保護(hù)聯(lián)盟”2008年所作的一份評估報(bào)告顯示，全世界約四分之一的哺乳動(dòng)物都面臨著滅頂之災(zāi)。

誠然，自然資源保護(hù)主義者對此憂心忡忡，但也有人不禁會問:這與我們其他人又有何干呢?畢竟，過去曾出現(xiàn)過的幾乎所有物種如今都已經(jīng)消失了。有進(jìn)化就有滅絕。今天我們會用“滅絕”這個(gè)詞來形容美國汽車工業(yè)的命運(yùn)，但這和失去白鰭豚和金蟾蜍這些物種(它們最近幾年已銷聲匿跡)又有什么重要關(guān)系呢?地球上的物種數(shù)以百萬計(jì)，損失其中少數(shù)一些有什么要緊呢?

首先，我們?nèi)祟愐彩莿?dòng)物，與所有其他生命形式一樣，依靠地球而生存。生活在這個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)內(nèi)的物種越多，這個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)就會越健康、越繁榮，這對我們?nèi)祟惙浅Ｖ匾?。?dāng)我們污染環(huán)境、砍伐森林、破壞生態(tài)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的時(shí)候，其實(shí)就是在向地球借一筆無法償還的債務(wù)——而這筆貸款終有一天會到期。其次，還有一些未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的生物體與動(dòng)物，它們可作為某些必需藥物的基本成分——比如阿司匹林的原始成分就來自于繡線菊屬的草藥——但前提是我們沒有在無意識的情況下將它們毀滅殆盡。

森林被毀了還可以重新生長恢復(fù)原貌，空氣和水被污染了還可以對其進(jìn)行凈化處理——可是物種一旦滅絕，就無法挽回。而且我們所說的不是僅僅幾個(gè)物種的滅絕。事實(shí)上，自然資源保護(hù)主義者們默認(rèn)，我們已經(jīng)進(jìn)入了一個(gè)必須進(jìn)行殘酷抉擇的時(shí)代，我們可能不得不做出決斷:究竟哪些物種是真的可以被拯救的。面對棲息地的消失和氣候的變化，人們可以預(yù)見到最為悲慘的一幕:我們的地球?qū)⑹资f甚至幾百萬個(gè)物種，而其中許多甚至還不為我們所知。

拯救物種，從“救”人開始

所以如果你認(rèn)定地球不僅僅只是67億(還在不斷增加)人的家園，那么你就應(yīng)該感到恐慌。但我們不應(yīng)因?yàn)榭只哦源龜?。全球的各個(gè)環(huán)保組織針對野生動(dòng)物所面臨的新威脅采取了一些新的應(yīng)對舉措。在類似馬達(dá)加斯加和巴西這樣的熱點(diǎn)地區(qū)，自然資源保護(hù)主義者與當(dāng)?shù)鼐用耖_展合作，確保瀕危物種的保護(hù)與距保護(hù)區(qū)最近的居民的福祉掛鉤。另外，由于全球變暖，動(dòng)物們?yōu)槎惚茏兓臍夂蚨黄冗w徙，自然資源保護(hù)主義者正在想辦法建立一些生態(tài)保護(hù)通道，給這些動(dòng)物提供遷徙空間。然而，誰也不能保證所有這些舉措一定能夠阻止第六波物種大滅絕的到來，更別提保護(hù)我們現(xiàn)在尚能樂居其中的含豐富物種的生態(tài)環(huán)境了，但是我們別無選擇，唯有一試。

所有新的環(huán)保戰(zhàn)略都可以在馬達(dá)加斯加進(jìn)行試點(diǎn)。只要方法得當(dāng)，你甚至可以在此過程中獲得一定的經(jīng)濟(jì)收益。在馬達(dá)加斯加，國家公園的一半收入被用于周邊社區(qū)建設(shè)。馬達(dá)加斯加是一個(gè)貧困國家——有61%的人每天的生活費(fèi)不到一美元——在這樣一個(gè)國家，給予當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褚还P經(jīng)濟(jì)獎(jiǎng)賞鼓勵(lì)他們保護(hù)而不是破壞野生動(dòng)植物，就非常有意義了。

經(jīng)營有方的生態(tài)旅游也可以為環(huán)境保護(hù)提供支持，但即便是最好的公園，其收益也很難與伐木、偷獵或采礦可能帶來的收入相比。熱帶雨林(如馬達(dá)加斯加的熱帶雨林)的碳容量可達(dá)數(shù)十億噸;摧毀樹林會導(dǎo)致碳的排出，這不僅會滅絕當(dāng)?shù)匚锓N，而且會加快全球變暖。根據(jù)全球氣候談判中提出的一些方案，排放溫室氣體的國家可以付給雨林國家一定的費(fèi)用，幫助他們保護(hù)雨林，以此來抵消自身排放溫室氣體造成的一些不良后果。這是一項(xiàng)雙贏舉措，氣候和生物都可以從中受益。目前，“保護(hù)國際”組織及其合作者正在雇用村民在遭到侵蝕的土地上種樹，這樣不僅在支離破碎的棲息地之間建立起一個(gè)個(gè)生態(tài)通道，還有可能產(chǎn)生碳收益，同時(shí)又可以為當(dāng)?shù)厝颂峁┧麄冃枰木蜆I(yè)機(jī)會。

拯救物種，刻不容緩

在這個(gè)世界上仍有數(shù)億人食不果腹，眼下的全球經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退令所有人(除了那些超級富翁們)對未來憂心忡忡，在這樣的時(shí)候，人們很容易產(chǎn)生疑惑:我們?yōu)槭裁催€要去關(guān)心地球不斷減少的物種資源呢?

答案是，如果再不關(guān)心這個(gè)問題，將造成我們無法承擔(dān)的后果。野生動(dòng)植物賴以生存的這些自然條件——干凈的水源、無污染的土地、未被破壞的森林——最終也維持著我們?nèi)祟惖纳?，無論我們是生活在綠色叢林還是現(xiàn)代都市。但是，自在的多樣化物種環(huán)境還有其自身的價(jià)值——不僅僅是為了人類的生存。如果這個(gè)價(jià)值不復(fù)存在，那么人類就會墮入萬劫不復(fù)的深淵?！拔覀兩钤谝粋€(gè)非常特殊的星球上——我們所知道的唯一一個(gè)有生命的星球，”“保護(hù)國際”組織的會長拉塞爾·米特邁爾如是說。“對我而言，生態(tài)保護(hù)說到底是一種道義責(zé)任，也是正確的做法?！边@就讓我們面臨一個(gè)選擇:我們要么選擇拯救這顆特殊星球上的生命，要么選擇成為地球上無知的劊子手。

1. Madagascar [7mAdE5^AskE] n. 馬達(dá)加斯加島(非洲島國)

2. proliferate [prEu5lIfEreIt] vi. 增生，擴(kuò)散

3. cretaceous [krI5teIFEs] adj. 白堊的，白堊紀(jì)的

4. errant [5erEnt] adj. 偏離軌道的

5. asteroid [5AstErCId] n. 小游星，小行星

6.carry off:奪去……的生命

7.toad [tEud] n. 蟾蜍，癩蛤蟆

8.meadowsweet [5medEuswi:t] n. 繡線菊屬植物

9.raze [reIz] vt. 夷為平地

10.triage [tri:5B:V] n. [醫(yī)]治療類選法(根據(jù)緊迫性和救

活的可能性等決定優(yōu)先治療順序的方法);優(yōu)先分配

11.paralyze [5pArElaIz] vt. 使癱瘓，使麻痹

12.on the ground:處在基層，置身現(xiàn)場

13.ecotourism [7i:kEu5tuErIzEm] n. 生態(tài)旅游(前往生態(tài)資源未被破壞的地方進(jìn)行的旅行)

14.poach [pEutF] vi. 偷獵

15.critter [5krItE(r)] n.〈方〉〈謔〉生物，家畜

16.CI:保護(hù)國際(Conservation International)，成立于1987年，是一個(gè)國際性非贏利環(huán)保組織，總部設(shè)在美國弗吉尼亞州，宗旨是保護(hù)地球上尚存的自然遺產(chǎn)和生物多樣性。

17.untrammeled [7Qn5trAmEld] adj. 自由自在的，無阻礙的

18.unwitting [7Qn5wItIN] adj. 不知情的