阿富汗一個(gè)新的國家公園為野生動(dòng)物和人類帶來了希望

阿富汗一個(gè)新的國家公園為野生動(dòng)物和人類帶來了希望

Decades of war have overshadowed many important issues in Afghanistan, including the protection of its unique wildlife and wilderness. Afghanistan has a lower percentage of protected land than nearly every other country on Earth, according to World Bank data, with less than 0.1% of its land area set aside for nature.

幾十年的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)掩蓋了阿富汗的許多重要問題，包括保護(hù)其獨(dú)特的野生動(dòng)物和荒野。根據(jù)世界銀行(World Bank)的數(shù)據(jù)，阿富汗的受保護(hù)土地比例幾乎低于世界上所有其他國家，只有不到0.1%的土地用于自然保護(hù)。

Bamyan Plateau Protected Area spans 4,200 square kilometers (1,630 square miles), an area larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island. (Photo: N. Jahed/Wildlife Conservation Society)

Bamyan Plateau Protected Area, which opened in late 2019, is reportedly only the fifth protected area in Afghanistan, but it's the second-largest. At 4,200 square kilometers (1,630 square miles), it's larger than iconic U.S. wilderness areas like Yosemite, Olympic and Big Bend national parks, as well as the entire state of Rhode Island.

在2019年底開放的巴米揚(yáng)高原保護(hù)區(qū)，據(jù)報(bào)道是阿富汗第五大保護(hù)區(qū)，但它是第二大保護(hù)區(qū)。它占地4200平方公里(1630平方英里)，比約塞米蒂國家公園、奧林匹克國家公園和大本德國家公園等美國標(biāo)志性的荒野地區(qū)，以及整個(gè)羅德島州都要大。

Amid years of conflict, people from outside the area have come to Bamyan Plateau to hunt wildlife, reportedly leading to declines in several species. (Photo: N. Jahed/WCS Afghanistan)

"By talking with the local people one can feel how [important] natural resources and plant diversity are for [them]," Abrar tells Orion. Conserving more places like this Afghanistan, he adds, might provide more economic opportunities for local people but also even broader benefits for the country as a whole.

“通過與當(dāng)?shù)厝私徽?，人們可以感受到自然資源和植物多樣性對(duì)他們來說是多么重要，”阿布拉爾告訴Orion。保護(hù)更多像阿富汗這樣的地方，他補(bǔ)充說，可能為當(dāng)?shù)厝嗣裉峁└嗟慕?jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會(huì)，但也為整個(gè)國家?guī)砀鼜V泛的利益。

Thanks to environmental law in Afghanistan, local people were required to be involved with — and benefit from — the creation of Bamyan Plateau Protected Area. (Photo: N. Jahed/Wildlife Conservation Society)

Bamyan Plateau is a starkly beautiful landscape of high-altitude grasslands, deep gorges and jagged rock formations scattered with rare wildlife, according to Mohammad Ibrahim Abrar, a project manager with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Afghanistan. Abrar first encountered this landscape more than a decade ago, and he has worked to preserve it for posterity ever since.

據(jù)阿富汗野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)(WCS)的項(xiàng)目經(jīng)理穆罕默德·易卜拉欣·阿布拉爾說，巴米揚(yáng)高原是一片極其美麗的景觀，這里有高海拔草原、深深的峽谷和參差不齊的巖層，散落著珍稀野生動(dòng)物。十多年前，阿布拉爾第一次看到這片土地，從那時(shí)起，他就一直致力于為子孫后代保護(hù)它。

Hazarchishma Natural Bridge is a natural stone arch spanning nearly 61 meters (200 feet) across its base, making it the 12th largest natural bridge in the world. (Photo: N. Jahed/Wildlife Conservation Society)

In 2011, WCS researchers stumbled across a "geological colossus" in Bamyan: a natural stone arch spanning more than 200 feet across its base. Now known as the Hazarchishma Natural Bridge, the structure is more than 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level, making it one of the highest large natural bridges in the world. It's also the 12th-largest natural stone bridge known to science.

2011年，WCS的研究人員在巴米揚(yáng)偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)“地質(zhì)巨像”:一個(gè)天然的石拱，其底部跨度超過200英尺。現(xiàn)在被稱為Hazarchishma自然橋，其結(jié)構(gòu)高于海平面3000米(近10000英尺)，使其成為世界上最高的大型自然橋之一。它也是科學(xué)界所知的第12大天然石橋。

The rare Persian leopard, pictured here in an image caught by a camera trap, is among the wildlife that inhabits Bamyan Plateau Protected Area. (Photo: WCS Afghanistan)

The effort to protect Bamyan Plateau dates back to 2006, when camera-trap surveys began to reveal a wealth of wildlife. The new park is home to Persian leopards, Himalayan ibex, urials, wolves, lynxes, foxes, martens, marmots and pikas, as well as the only known Asian badgers and boreal owls in Afghanistan, plus the country's lone endemic bird species, the Afghan snowfinch.

保護(hù)巴米揚(yáng)高原的努力可以追溯到2006年，當(dāng)時(shí)通過相機(jī)陷阱的調(diào)查開始發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量的野生動(dòng)物。新公園里生活著波斯豹、喜馬拉雅野山羊、烏里鳥、狼、猞猁、狐貍、馬貂、土拔鼠和鼠兔，還有阿富汗唯一已知的亞洲獾和北方貓頭鷹，還有阿富汗唯一的特有鳥類，阿富汗雪雀。

The boreal owl is known to live nowhere else in Afghanistan but Bamyan Plateau. (Photo: N. Mostafawi/WCS Afghanistan)

Creation of the national park is an important step, both practically and symbolically, but it's hardly the final chapter in the story of this ancient landscape. In recent decades, the fog of war has allowed poaching and overgrazing by outsiders to threaten rare wildlife in Bamyan Plateau, according to Abrar, a problem that could continue without adequate enforcement.

國家公園的建立在實(shí)踐上和象征意義上都是重要的一步，但它絕不是這個(gè)古老景觀故事的最后一章。據(jù)阿布拉爾說，近幾十年來，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的迷霧使得外來物種的偷獵和過度放牧威脅到了巴米揚(yáng)高原的珍稀野生動(dòng)物，如果執(zhí)法不力，這個(gè)問題可能會(huì)繼續(xù)下去。

A golden finch at Bamyan Plateau Protected Area in Afghanistan. (Photo: N. Mostafawi/WCS Afghanistan)

Establishment of the park had reportedly led to a surge of local support for conservation, though, and WCS has provided funding for rangers to help control poaching and grazing in the protected area. After these efforts began, Abrar says, local residents have reported an increase in wildlife sightings.

據(jù)報(bào)道，該公園的建立引發(fā)了當(dāng)?shù)貙?duì)保護(hù)的強(qiáng)烈支持，而WCS已經(jīng)為護(hù)林員提供了資金，幫助控制保護(hù)區(qū)內(nèi)的偷獵和放牧行為。在這些努力開始后，阿布拉爾說，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駡?bào)告了野生動(dòng)物目擊的增加。

The Bamyan Plateau Protected Area opened in late 2019. (Photo: Wildlife Conservation Society)

WCS "has initiated preliminary efforts to conserve key wildlife species with local people," Abrar writes. "That work has resulted in a growing awareness by local communities of the importance of wildlife, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources.

世界野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)“已經(jīng)開始與當(dāng)?shù)厝艘黄鸨Ｗo(hù)重要野生動(dòng)物物種的初步努力，”阿布拉爾寫道。這項(xiàng)工作使得當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)越來越意識(shí)到野生動(dòng)物、保護(hù)和自然資源可持續(xù)利用的重要性。

"It is our hope that this new conservation focus will help to conserve the Bamyan Plateau and its remarkable natural features for future generations of Afghans."

“我們希望，這個(gè)新的保護(hù)重點(diǎn)將有助于為阿富汗子孫保護(hù)巴米揚(yáng)高原及其顯著的自然特征。”