本集內容

Africa's Great Green Wall 非洲的“綠色長城”

學習要點

有關“The environment 環境”的詞匯

邊看邊答

Which kind of trees are drought-resistant?

文字稿

Africa is building a giant wall - of trees. It stretches across the entire continent, in a bid to help fight the effects of climate change. It’s called the Great Green Wall - but can it work?

The wall spans 11 countries - measuring 8,000 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide. So far, Senegal has made the best progress by planting 11 million trees.

This village chief says the Green Wall is reversing desertification.

Absaman Moudouba - Village Chief
When there were no trees, the wind used to dig up and erode the soil but it is more protected now. The leaves provide compost and the canopy increases the humidity of the environment and offers some shade so there is less need for a lot of watering.

The project is planting drought-resistant acacia trees. The tree roots hold the water in the soil so formerly dry wells have filled up again.

Absaman Moudouba - Village Chief
Before, there was widespread drought and hunger here. Then the tree planting took place and then a garden for the women to grow crops. Before people used to migrate but nowadays they just follow the line of the Great Green Wall for jobs. They no longer leave.

The project, which began in 2007, is expected to cost a total of eight billion dollars. The Green Wall is still years from completion, but the World Bank, the United Nations, the African Union and the UK Botanical Gardens have all pledged money to continue planting.

非洲正在建造一面巨大的“樹墻”。它將橫跨整個非洲大陸，試圖對抗氣候變化帶來的影響。這面“樹墻”被稱為“非洲的綠色長城”，但是這座“長城”會如人們所預期的，抵御氣候變化嗎？

這座“長城”跨越11個國家，長達8000公里，寬為15公里。到目前為止，塞內加爾已經種植了1100萬棵樹，成果頗豐。

這位村長說，“綠墻”正在扭轉荒漠化。

阿布薩曼 · 穆都巴（ Absaman Moudouba ） – 村長

“以前沒有樹木的時候，風會刮起地表的泥土，并且侵蝕土壤，但現在有了植被，地表就被保護得更好了。落葉可以提供混合肥料，樹冠能增加環境的濕度，并為大地遮蔭，所以比起以往，大量澆水的需求也有所減少。”

這個項目正在種植抗旱植被——金合歡樹。這種植物的根會幫助土壤保持水分，因此那些過去已經干枯的井得以再次填滿。

阿布薩曼 · 穆都巴（ Absaman Moudouba）– 村長

“以前，這里遍布著干旱和饑餓。隨著我們開始植樹，這里漸漸變成了一個婦女們可以種植莊稼的園子。人們過去常常遷移，但現在他們只需要跟著“綠色長城”的路線就能找到工作。他們不再離開故土。”

“綠色長城”項目于2007年啟動，預計共將花費八十億美元。這項工程尚需很長一段時間才能完工，但是世界銀行、聯合國、非洲聯盟以及英國植物園都承諾將繼續為種植這道“綠色的壁壘”注入資金。

詞匯

desertification
沙漠化，荒漠化

erode
侵蝕

humidity
濕度

drought-resistant
抗旱的，耐旱的

planting
種植，栽種

你知道嗎？

Acacias are shrubs and trees found in warm and tropical regions. Belonging to the pea family, acacias have pods, and acacia beans are on the menu in Mexico.

金合歡是生長于溫暖地帶及熱帶地區的一種灌木和樹木。金合歡屬于豆科家族，其莢果有使用價值，它的豆莢也可食用，常見于墨西哥菜單中。

問題答案

Acacia trees are drought-resistant.