A Brazilian haven for wildlife, eight times the size of the UK, home to 30% of the country's biodiversity and 5% of the world's species.

这片巴西的野生动物庇护所，面积达英国的八倍之广，囊括了该国30%的生物多样性，孕育着全球5%的物种。



No, not the Amazon Rainforest - but the Cerrado. This tropical savannah, about a third the size of its more famous neighbour, is disappearing far more rapidly.

不过，这里不是亚马孙雨林，而是塞拉多草原。 这片热带稀树草原面积约为其更著名的“邻居”（亚马孙雨林）的三分之一，但消失速度却快得多。

While global attention often centres on deforestation in the Amazon, vast areas of the Cerrado have been cleared for cattle ranching and crop cultivation - especially soybeans. Environmentalists are sounding the alarm.

全球目光往往聚焦于亚马孙雨林的森林砍伐问题， 而塞拉多草原的大片区域却因牧牛和农作物种植（尤其是大豆）被砍伐殆尽。 环保人士已发出警报。

Known as the "water tank of Brazil," the Cerrado feeds eight of the country's twelve largest river basins. But as land use changes, so does the climate. Since the 1980s, rainfall has dropped by a third and temperatures have risen by 1.5°C.

塞拉多草原被称为“巴西的水库”，它滋养着巴西12个最大流域中的8个。 但随着土地用途的改变，气候也随之改变。 自20世纪80年代以来，降雨量减少了三分之一，气温上升了1.5℃。

Fires - once used as a controlled method to clear land - are increasingly spreading uncontrollably. According to Indigenous residents of Bacurizinho, 60% of their territory burned this year, destroying homes and livelihoods.

火灾——过去常被用作控制性的土地清理方式——如今愈发不受控制地蔓延。 据巴库里津霍的土著居民称，今年他们60%的领土被烧毁，家园和生计毁于一旦。

Local teacher Cali blames large soybean producers for the rising heat and worsening drought, which have fuelled more frequent and intense fires.

当地教师卡莉认为，大型大豆生产商是气温上升和干旱加剧的罪魁祸首，这些因素又引发了更为频繁和剧烈的火灾。

"When the water runs out," the villagers say. "Everything is over."

村民们说：“水没了， 一切就都完了。”

It's a vicious cycle: the more land that's cultivated, the more water is extracted for irrigation - and the warmer the climate becomes.

这是一个恶性循环：开垦的土地越多，灌溉用水就越多——而气候也会变得更加炎热。

The Cerrado is often called the "upside-down forest" because its vegetation grows extensive underground root networks that help it withstand droughts and fires.

塞拉多草原常被称为“倒置的森林”， 因为其植被生长着广泛的地下根系网络，有助于其抵御干旱和火灾。

Those roots also store vast amounts of carbon. Satellite data tracking biomass - the total amount of vegetation - reveals that deforestation in the Cerrado has released around 800 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere since 2001. That's equivalent to two years' worth of the UK's total emissions.

这些根系还储存着大量的碳。 追踪生物量（植被总量）的卫星数据显示，自2001年以来，塞拉多草原的森林砍伐已向大气中释放了约8亿吨碳， 这相当于英国两年总排放量的水平。

Roughly a thousand miles upstream from where we filmed on the mighty Tocantins River lies the city of Belém, in the Amazon region.

在我们拍摄的雄伟的托坎廷斯河上游约一千英里处，是亚马孙地区的贝伦市。

On Thursday, world leaders will gather there for the opening of COP30. One of this year's major climate conference goals will be reducing deforestation.

周四，世界各国领导人将齐聚于此，参加第三十届联合国气候变化大会（COP30）的开幕式。 今年气候大会的主要目标之一是减少森林砍伐。

Brazil's President Lula, who achieved success in curbing deforestation during a previous term, is pledging $1 billion to the Tropical Forests Forever Fund. Yet questions remain over whether his rhetoric will match reality.

巴西总统卢拉在上一个任期内成功遏制了森林砍伐， 他承诺向“热带雨林永存基金”捐款10亿美元。 然而，人们仍质疑他的言论能否付诸实践。

Tens of thousands of acres of rainforest have already been cleared to make way for a new four-lane highway - partly to deliver delegates to the conference in Belém.

为了给部分用于接送与会代表前往贝伦市的新建四车道公路让路，已有数万英亩的雨林被砍伐。

The government has also recently approved oil exploration licences near the mouth of the Amazon and is considering lifting a ban on soy grown in deforested areas of the rainforest.

巴西政府最近还批准了在亚马孙河口附近的石油勘探许可证，并正在考虑取消禁止在雨林砍伐区种植大豆的禁令。

素材来源：iYuba

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