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| 教 育 專 題 深 入 報 導《2007-06-29》 |
| 本期內容 | |
| ◎國際專題：Sudan's breathtaking migration蘇丹的驚奇大遷徙 | |
| ◎Steps中心朝改良發展計畫努力 | |
| ◎聯合國建議蘇丹為了和平應注重環保 | |
| 國際專題：Sudan's breathtaking migration蘇丹的驚奇大遷徙 | |
| 策劃、編譯■唐澄暐、陳玫伶 | |
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Scientists believe they have discovered the biggest migration of wild animals on Earth, with an aerial survey revealing vast herds of gazelle and antelope on the move in southern Sudan in a region which had been assumed to have been denuded of its wildlife by years of civil war. The Wildlife Conservation Society, together with the autonomous government of South Sudan, announced at a press conference in New York yesterday that a study of the area's fauna had revealed an abundance of antelope, particularly of white-eared kob, in breathtaking numbers. Flying over an area of about 590,000 sq kilometres, scientists witnessed a column of animals in their seasonal migration through grasslands and swamps that was 50 miles (80 km) long and 30 miles across. They estimated the population of the white-eared kob - a chestnut coloured and medium-sized antelope - at about 800,000. Add to that other species including the topi and the Mongalla gazelle, and the total number of migratory animals is put at 1.3 million, approaching the scale of one of the world's greatest natural events, the Serengeti migration of wildebeest and zebra across east Africa. "This could represent the biggest migration of large mammals on Earth," said Michael Fay, a field scientist with the WCS, who conducted the survey. "I have never seen wildlife in such numbers, not even when flying over the mass migrations of the Serengeti." The discovery of wildlife in such gigantic numbers astonished Dr Fay and his fellow conservationists, because the Serengeti migration, which occurs between July and October each year as a way of avoiding the impact of the dry season, was considered to be unrivalled. The findings also came as a happy surprise as the region's long-running civil war had been assumed to have led to environmental devastation. An aerial survey was last carried out in 1982, a year before fighting erupted between the Sudan People's Liberation Army and government forces backed by Arab militias from the north. The fighting lasted for more than two decades and claimed 2 million lives. In 2005 a tentative settlement was reached between the warring parties which has led to autonomous status for the government of South Sudan, and calm has returned to the area with its population of about 11 million. A referendum is to be held on independence in four years' time. In January, a team led by Dr Kay set out to find out what had happened to the wildlife they had not been able to study for 25 years. Despite the natural richness of the territory, sandwiched between the Sahara and a belt of tropical forests, they expected the worse: there is a long and sorry history of the devastation wrought by poachers and armies during Africa's many wars. But as soon as the plane was up over the grasslands, at the start of 150 hours of flying, their hearts lifted. Dr Fay said: "If you were a gold miner and hit a vein of gold, like we found in kob, you would have found El Dorado." In addition to the gigantic herds of kob, they produced estimates of 250,000 Mongalla gazelles, a small tan and hite antelope with a black stripe on its flank; 160,000 topi, or tiang, a horned antelope; as well as reedbuck and ostriches. The review of the wilderness's state of health was not universally positive. In the south-west of the region up to 90% of species had been lost. "We saw no buffalo where in 1981 there were estimated to have been 60,000 and only one group of elephants was sighted, where some 10,000 had been estimated to roam in the past," said Paul Elkan, head of the WCS's programme in southern Sudan. The south-western zone is particularly prone to poaching, whereas the eastern area is protected to some degree by the natural barrier of the Nile and by its swampy terrain. In other parts, zebra populations also appear to have been wiped out. The animal used to number up to 20,000 in the Boma National Park, in the south-east corner of the autonomous region, but were not visible to the survey planes. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which has numerous global outreach projects but also runs the zoo in Manhattan's Central Park, now wants to build on the survey findings to preserve the extraordinary wildlife that they found. It is calling for the creation of an international conservation mission to protect it. Under the scheme, former fighters with the Sudan People's Liberation Army would be retrained into wildlife activists, managing a network of parks and encouraging environmentally-friendly practices among local villagers. The project would be called the Sudano-Sahel Initiative, and it has been modelled on work done in the Congo basin, another abundant ecosystem under enormous pressure from civil war and conflict over natural resources. In the case of southern Sudan, the natural resource that most poses a threat to the wildlife is oil. Since the end of hostilities, oil companies have begun to show increasing interest, and several permits have been handed out for exploration - right in the middle of the migratory path of the antelope. The Serengeti journey The discovery of the gigantic migration in southern Sudan pits it against one of the wonders of the natural world, the twice-yearly Serengeti migration: Every June, nearly 2 million herbivores begin marching northwards from the Tanzanian part of the Serengeti plain towards the northern hills in Kenya, following the rains to avoid the dry season. Every October, once the higher pastures have been fully grazed, they make the reverse journey back to the now green pastures of the southern Serengeti. The journey is about 700 miles in each direction and the enormous herds include 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle. The experience of migration begins when wildebeest are just a few months old. Many animals fall from exhaustion or are picked off by predators during the journey. The most perilous part is the crossing of the Mara river where many are taken by crocodiles, or lions waiting for them on the other side. It had been assumed that the Serengeti migration was unparalleled. But the revelation that there are herds of white-eared kob in southern Sudan in numbers that scientists believe may even exceed the wildebeest herds has challenged that. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,2101666,00.html 科學家利用空照法發現非洲蘇丹南部的羚羊和瞪羚有大批遷徙的行為，他們認為這是地球上一次最大規模的動物遷徙活動，而動物遷徙的原因猜測是蘇丹長期內戰，連動物們都想要搬家。 野生動物保育協會和蘇丹南部的自治政府在紐約的研討會，向媒體發布這項消息。科學家從蘇丹從空中觀察，飛行區域59萬平方公里，看到數量驚人的白耳非洲水羚正季節性地移居，橫越的草原長80公里，寬50公里。 他們估計毛色栗色、白色耳朵、體積中等的水羚約有80萬隻，加上其他種類的瞪羚，總數量達130萬，和東非坦尚尼亞塞倫蓋提（Serengeti）大遷徙相當，堪稱自然界最大規模的遷徙活動之一。 野生動物保育協會的主導這次觀察研究的研究員麥克菲說：「這可能是地球上最大規模的哺乳動物遷徙活動，我從來沒有看過數量這麼龐大的野生動物，更別提從牠們上空飛過，這簡直比塞倫蓋提大遷徙還要壯觀。」 一年兩次的塞倫蓋提大遷徙之規模和這項新發現並駕齊驅。每年6月，乾季即將來臨前，將近2百萬頭草食性動物會從坦尚尼亞的塞倫蓋提大平原北移到肯亞的山陵，那兒有比較多的水源。 10月時候，草原差不多要吃光了，動物們再回到原來的地方覓食，整趟旅程約一千多公里，其中最多的是140萬的牛羚和約20萬的斑馬。才剛出生幾個月的牛羚就會隨著族群遷移，途中體力不支者就會被肉食性動物掠食，其實恐怖的不是天敵，而是要橫越很多鱷魚的馬拉河，河邊還有虎視眈眈的獅子，極其危險。 科學家們的上一次空照研究在1982年，過沒多久，蘇丹人民自由黨軍和阿拉伯軍隊支持的蘇丹政府發生武裝衝突，戰爭持續了20個年頭，至少有2百萬人死於戰亂烽火下。2005年蘇南簽立和平協議，自治政府在停火區臨時成立，漸漸帶領該地區1億1千萬人回到平靜的生活，那裡每4年舉行一次公投。 今年1月時候，麥克菲率領的研究團隊，再度回到睽違25年的蘇丹，處於沙哈拉沙漠和熱帶森林的中間地段，因為戰爭頻繁，環境受到武器和入侵者的摧殘，研究員推測豐富的自然資源已遭嚴重破壞。但是當他們飛行了150小時之後，團隊士氣大振，「如果你是採礦工人，你撬到黃金的喜悅，就像我們發現水羚一樣，說不定你挖到的是一座黃金寶山。」麥克菲道。 除了一大群的水羚，研究團隊還觀察到約25萬頭的蒙哥拉瞪羚（Mongalla gazelles）和16萬隻的角羚，為數不少的駝鳥和葦羚。 野生動物們的命運並不是這麼樂觀的，光是蘇丹西南部的動物就有90％瀕臨絕種。協會駐蘇丹計劃團長保羅耶克說：「我們在1981年看到的水牛大約有6萬隻吧，當年有一萬隻光景的大象現在只剩下一小群。」 比起東非有尼羅河沼澤地的自然屏障，西南區塊特別容易被入侵。其他地區的斑馬快要被趕盡殺絕，寶馬國家公園約有2萬頭，但這次研究中並沒有發現。 野生動物保育協會執行許多全球的動物保育行動，也經營曼哈頓中央公園的動物園，目前協會進一步規劃特殊野生動物的保育計畫，並試圖將版圖拓張到世界各地。因此，蘇丹人民自由軍的前戰將們將參與該項名為「蘇丹－薩赫爾計劃」（Sudano-Sahel Initiative），以「剛果盆地森林夥伴關係計畫」模式為基礎，訓練參與者學習天然資源管理，並示範予地方民眾。但另一個阻礙計畫執行的因素是，期望以「剛果盆地森林夥伴關係」模式為基礎，加強對當地的天然資源管理。 蘇丹除了長時間的內戰，人類折損太多珍貴資源。還有一個保育大敵人是能源開採，幾間石油公司已經蠢蠢欲動，準備在該處進行探勘動作，而他們的生財之路剛好擋住了水羚的遷徙路線。 |
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| （回目錄） | |
| Steps中心朝改良發展計畫努力 | |
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聯合國在奈及利亞的小兒麻痺根除計畫，因為穆斯林間一直謠傳注射是弱化人體的陰謀，而宣告失敗。如今，這種疾病有捲土重來的趨勢。而在甘比亞，總統宣稱可以用草藥治療愛滋病，造成了抗反轉錄治療的困難。 根據倫敦新成立的研究中心Steps（社會、科技與環境達成永續之徑，Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability）的主任梅麗莎‧利屈表示，這樣的案例暴露了一般「以一概全」式發展政策的短處。 「在奈及利亞，謠言之所以會蔓延，是因為注射並沒有符合當地人口的優先需要，如兒童疾病。」她表示，「由於缺乏告知與討論，當地人士普遍感到疑慮。」這些案例，顯示了世界衛生組織與國際社群並沒有去省思，他們的善行如何被當地人詮釋。 利屈目前正在率領英國蘇塞克斯大學的社會與自然科學家共同進行計畫，希望能推廣一項注重當地政治與習俗的發展議程。「如果你認為『只要教導人們說，科學就是至上的，人的恐懼就是非理性的』，這樣不會有成果。」 由蘇塞克斯大學發展研究學院和科技政策研究學院共同合作的Steps，已獲得英國經濟與社會研究會議贊助的5年4百萬英鎊。中心將結合新的理論與實際的解決方式，讓科技能夠協助窮人和環境永續發展，並打造屬於當地的智慧經驗。 第一期計畫，將觀察肯亞的玉米栽培技術如何受到因氣候變化而越來越不穩定的降雨所影響。另一個計畫將關注印度城市逐漸擴張的邊緣地帶，以觀察未來全球多數貧困者未來幾十年將在何種條件下生活。第三個計畫將觀察土地使用的分配變化，以及人類、牲口和野生動物的互動，這與新型的傳染病如禽流感、SARS都有密切關係。 環保團體綠色和平組織對於新研究中心的創意感到歡迎。「這樣的研究挑戰了以往失敗、過時且無法永續經營的發展模式，對於未來的成效有決定性功用。」組織首席科學家道格‧帕爾表示。主辦計畫的英國工黨議員伊安‧吉布森表示，這樣的計畫不可或缺。「經濟發展、健康疾病問題、氣候變遷；從這些因素可看出，科學必定是減少貧窮計畫的主要架構。」 上周聯合國報告就指出，達佛受氣候變遷和環境惡化所操控，若不設法控制損害，更可能牽連非洲各國。「達佛……對於其他面臨危機的國家來說是沉重的教訓。」聯合國環境計畫的研究報告就如此指出。由於40年來降雨減少了30％，撒哈拉沙漠每年前進1.5公里以上，農民和牧民之間為了消失的牧地和乾涸的水源而日趨緊張，2005年和平協議勉強遏止的南北蘇丹半世紀戰火，又將一觸即發。 例如，南部的努巴族就警告說，他們可能因為阿拉伯牧民入侵而重燃戰火，然而牧民卻是因為乾旱而被迫南遷，不得不砍樹來餵食駱駝。聯合國環境計畫預測，氣候變遷對蘇丹國內局勢的衝擊，很有可能會蔓延到境外。 http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2111237,00.html |
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| （回目錄） | |
| 聯合國建議蘇丹為了和平應注重環保 | |
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聯合國報告顯示，蘇丹如果不去處理廣泛而嚴重的環境損害，恐怕難以達成長遠的和平。根據這份聯合國環境計畫的報告指出，蘇丹動亂的一大因素就是資源匱乏，而從長遠來看，沙漠化與森林砍伐更使情形惡化。「當環境惡化而人口增加時，忽略環境議題，將使某些政治社會議題永遠無法解決，甚至可能惡化。」 2005年的和平決議前，數十年的南北蘇丹戰爭讓2百萬人喪命。如今西部的達佛暴力未歇，國際專家估計2003年以來已有20萬人死亡。蘇丹的大小衝突以迫使近7百萬人流亡，而美國的外國政策雜誌名鑑也將蘇丹列為世界上最失敗的國家之冠。 但證據也顯示，蘇丹國內有數個地方顯現氣候變化，降雨異常且明顯減少，尤其是在達佛與柯多方省。燃燒石化油類產生的溫室氣體，是造成全球暖化的因素，科學家表示這樣將引發更多的洪水、乾旱和熱浪。森林砍伐是蘇丹最嚴重的環境問題。1930年代以來，森林消失造成沙漠向南拓展了50至2百公里，進入半沙漠地帶。 報告的建議包括降低蘇丹中部石油工業的環境衝擊，並發展更多可以長久支持的農業。現在的農業生產方式僅靠雨水且缺乏經營，導致大片森林遭清除，同時造成土壤侵蝕和野生動物絕種。報告指出，過去15年蘇丹已損失了12％的森林。 報告建議計畫的總花費是3到5年內花費1億2千萬美金。聯合國環境計畫表示，只要蘇丹政府不要將花費全部用在一年5百萬的石油出口，那或許還可以承擔一些。 而森林砍伐、過度放牧和侵蝕之後的綠洲沙漠化也讓危機更為嚴重。但儘管處處缺水，洪水和其他相關的自然災害也同樣導因於此。其中藍尼羅河最嚴重的洪水，就是上游排水區的森林砍伐和過度放牧所導致。而達佛更是一個因為人口增加、過度開發資源加上長期雨量減少所共同形成的困境，也因此讓更多人在越來越貧瘠的地方受苦。 （路透社） |
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