第1444期:Loss of biodiversity affects human society

If a species of bee disappears forever or a particular plant is extinct, what does it have to do with us humans?如果一种蜜蜂永远消失了，或者某种植物灭绝了，它与我们人类有什么关系？ Well, according to a team of international scientists, biodiversity is dropping below levels considered safe for the wellbeing of human societies.好吧，根据一个国际科学家团队的说法，生物多样性正在下降到对人类社会福祉安全的水平以下。The issue is that everything is interconnected and ecosystems support our societies because they provide us with, for example,  food, fibres and fuels.问题是一切都是相互关联的，生态系统支持我们的社会，因为它们为我们提供了食物、纤维和燃料等。If species go on disappearing, this can interfere with vital processes such as crop pollination and the decomposition of waste.如果物种继续消失，这可能会干扰作物授粉和废物分解等重要过程。A framework which defines the environmental limits within which humans can operate – called planetary boundaries - says that losing more than 10% of the biodiversity in an area places the local ecosystem at risk. 一个定义人类可以在其中活动的环境限制的框架——称为行星边界——表示，一个地区失去超过 10% 的生物多样性会使当地的生态系统处于危险之中。Ecosystems are all different but this percentage is considered a good measure of safety.生态系统各不相同，但这个百分比被认为是一个很好的安全衡量标准。A study published in the magazine Science suggests that 58% of the world's land surface already falls below this level.发表在《科学》杂志上的一项研究表明，世界上 58% 的陆地表面已经低于这个水平。 These areas house 71% of the global population.这些地区居住着全球 71% 的人口。Professor Andy Purvis, from Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum, is one of the authors of the study.来自伦敦帝国理工学院和自然历史博物馆的安迪·珀维斯教授是该研究的作者之一。 He says: "Once we're the wrong side of the boundary it doesn't mean everything goes wrong immediately, but there is a markedly higher risk that things will go badly wrong."他说：“一旦我们在边界的错误一侧，并不意味着一切都会立即出错，但事情会出现严重错误的风险明显更高。”The researchers found that grasslands, savannas and shrub lands were most affected by biodiversity loss on average.研究人员发现，平均而言，草原、稀树草原和灌木地受生物多样性丧失的影响最大。Purvis hopes this report can be a wake-up call to those who design policies.Purvis 希望这份报告能够为那些制定政策的人敲响警钟。 Here's his warning: "Decision-makers worry a lot about economic recessions, but an ecological recession could have even worse consequences – and the biodiversity damage we've had means we're at risk of that happening. 这是他的警告：“决策者非常担心经济衰退，但生态衰退可能会产生更严重的后果——我们所遭受的生物多样性破坏意味着我们面临着发生这种情况的风险。Until and unless we can bring biodiversity back up, we're playing ecological roulette."除非我们能够恢复生物多样性，否则我们正在玩生态轮盘赌。”词汇表species  （动植物的）种，物种extinct  消失的，灭绝的biodiversity  生物多样性interconnected  （两个或多个事物）互相联系的ecosystem  生态系统interfere  影响pollination  植物授粉decomposition  分解framework  框架，体系planetary boundaries  地球界限（概念）land surface  大地表面Natural History Museum  自然历史博物馆grassland  草原，草场savanna  稀树草原shrub land  灌木丛林decision-maker  决策者ecological recession  生物衰退ecological roulette  生态轮盘赌

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