牧場大旱，以穢喂牛

今年3月12日，我們迎來了我國第30個植樹節(jié)（透露一下，3月12日是孫中山先生逝世的日子，選此日作為植樹節(jié)也是為了緬懷其對林業(yè)建設所作出的豐功偉績）。眾所周知，植被除了能吸收二氧化碳、產生氧氣之外，還能調節(jié)氣候、防止水土流失、美化環(huán)境……每年3月，CT都會為大家?guī)碛嘘P環(huán)境保護的文章。本期將帶大家去到肯尼亞，看看氣候問題給當地居民帶來的影響——

Famed as 1)nomadic herders and warriors， the Maasai注1 people once 2)dominated the plains of East Africa， 3)migrating from one place to the next， seeking 4)pastures for their cattle. But climate change is causing severe 5)droughts， and traditional sources of water are drying up and disappearing， threatening to wipe out the Maasai way of life.

Herding cattle has been the main source of food and income for these nomads for decades. The droughts are killing off cattle and affecting the environment and 6)livelihoods of the Maasai people. The early hours of the morning are the busiest as people from far and wide arrive for the early morning milk market. For now they survive on their traditional diet of milk and blood， which they mix into a rich protein diet that has kept them going for centuries. But the drought in Magadi is reaching 7)radical levels never witnessed before， leaving little or no vegetation for the cattle to feed on.

Herder A: (interpreted) I remember when the grass was very tall， I could not be seen when taking a nap on the ground， and if a cow gave birth， the calf survived. But now， there is no grass， there is no water， no rain， and the drought is increasing. We are forced to take cows far away for pasture.

Nowadays， the only way for these herders to survive is to travel hundreds of kilometers out of their traditional 8)grazing lands to seek new pastures for their cattle， or risk losing their only means of survival.

Maasai herders try to escape the drought by streaming into the Kenya capital of Nairobi， letting their cattle feed on the city’s garbage 9)disposal sites， and anywhere else they can 10)salvage a meal for their livestock.

Herder B: (interpreted) I came to Nairobi to look for grass for my cattle because there is no grass back home， and even here in the city 11)outskirts， the grass is getting finished and we are now forced to take the cows in the middle of the city.

According to environmental experts， climate change is rapidly changing Sub-Saharan注2 Africa.

Environmental expert: Africa is a continent least responsible for climate change， only 3 or 4% of the global 12)emissions. Yet it is probably the most 13)vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change. There are many reasons for this， one is that your…climate is already extreme. You get extreme droughts， extreme floods， and climate change is like a hammer on top of that， it’s like an engine driving those extreme weather events to become ever more frequent， and ever more extreme.

Years of drought and over-grazing combined with climate change has left a 14)dreadful impact on the Maasai community. The United Nations climate 15)panel states that Africa could be hit hard by climate change in the coming century， with tens of millions facing food and water shortages.

以游牧者和尚武勇士著稱的馬薩伊人曾稱霸東非平原。他們從一個地方遷徙到另一個地方，為其牛群尋找牧場。不過，氣候變化引發(fā)了嚴重的干旱，其一貫水源逐漸干涸、消失，馬薩伊民族的生活方式有行將消亡的危險。

幾十年來，放牧牛群一直是這些游牧民族獲取食物和收入的主要來源。而今干旱吞噬著牲畜的生命，逐漸影響環(huán)境和馬薩伊人的生計。凌晨的幾個小時是他們最忙碌的時候，因為天南地北的人們會來到凌晨的牛奶集市?，F在，他們以傳統(tǒng)的牛奶和血的飲食為生——他們將其混合成一種高蛋白的膳食，這種飲食方式已經讓這個民族延續(xù)了幾個世紀。不過，馬格迪遭遇了百年不遇的旱情，幾乎沒有植被可供牲畜食用。

牧民甲：(傳譯)我記得草長得老高的時候，我在草地上打盹，別人根本看不到我。如果奶牛產崽，小牛都能存活下來。然而現在，這里沒有草，沒有水，也不下雨，旱情正在加劇。我們不得不趕著牛群去老遠的地方

放牧。

現在，對于這些牧民來說，唯一的生存之計就是跋涉幾百公里，到遠離傳統(tǒng)牧區(qū)的地方尋找新牧區(qū)，不然就有可能失去其唯一的生存之道。

馬薩伊牧民試著流徙到肯尼亞首都內羅畢以逃離干旱的影響。他們喂牲畜吃城里垃圾處理站的垃圾，去任何能讓其從牲畜上獲取糊口糧食的地方放牧。

牧民乙：(傳譯)我來到內羅畢是為了給我的牛群找草料，因為家鄉(xiāng)那邊已經沒有草場了；但現在即使是城郊這兒，草都被吃光了，現在我們不得不趕著牛群到城市里面去。

環(huán)境專家說，氣候變化正在劇烈改變非洲亞撒哈拉地區(qū)的面貌。

環(huán)境專家：非洲是最不需要為氣候變化負責的一塊大陸，其溫室氣體排放量僅占全球的3％到4％。然而，它可能是最容易受氣候變化影響的大陸。造成這種現象的原因有很多，其中之一是我們的……氣候已經極端惡劣。我們遇到極端的旱澇災害，而氣候變化就像一把錘子，一直敲打著天災，它就像一個引擎，驅動著這些極端惡劣的天氣事件變得更為多發(fā)、更為極端。

年復一年的干旱和過度放牧，加上氣候變遷，馬薩伊人的居住區(qū)受到可怕的影響。聯(lián)合國氣候變化問題小組稱，在下一個世紀，非洲將遭受氣候變化帶來的劇烈沖擊，將有數千萬人面臨食物和飲用水短缺。