螞蟻森林指路更好更綠的未來

拉奇納·古普塔

Ant Forest， a green initiative by the worlds leading payment and lifestyle platform Alipay， received the “U.N. Champions of the Earth” award in September.

The award is the United Nations highest environmental honor and was given to Ant Forest for galvanizing more than half a billion people to adopt an eco-friendly and greener lifestyle， thus greatly contributing to ecological protection with the help of digital technology.

Alipay achieved this remarkable feat by inspiring its users to choose from various low-carbon options in their daily lives， such as limited usage of paper and plastic， online payment of utility bills， and green travel using public transportation or bicycles instead of driving cars.

“Green energy points” are also allotted to users each time they opt for an eco-friendly option， and once sufficient points are accumulated， users are allowed to grow a virtual tree in their Ant Forest app.

Subsequently， a real tree is planted by Alipay and its philanthropic partners in lieu of the virtual tree in some of the countrys most arid regions. Users can view their trees in real-time via satellite.

The publicity generated is creating a virtuous cycle whereby more and more residents are encouraged to adopt low-carbon and energy-saving lifestyle.

The Ant Forest initiative was launched by the Alipay app in August 2016， and so far， the company has planted almost 122 million trees to revitalize the most arid regions such as Inner Mongolia， Gansu， Qinghai， and Shanxi.

The app has attracted more than 500 million users and has efficiently averted almost 7.9 million tons of carbon emissions by forming a tree coverage area of 112，000 hectares. With these numbers under its belt， the project has become the countrys largest private-sector tree-planting initiative.

According to Inger Andersen， executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme， “Ant Forest demonstrates how technology can reshape our world by harnessing the positive energy and innovation of global users.”

She further highlighted that “although the environmental challenges we face are daunting， we have the technology and the knowledge to conquer them and fundamentally redesign how we interact with the planet. Initiatives like Ant Forest tap into the best of human ingenuity and innovation to create a better world.”

This initiative of Ant Forest is also in line with the Chinese governments strategy of transforming the nation into a “Green Economy”. To accomplish this objective， the country is taking aggressive action in expanding its green coverage.

A research report published by NASA early this year highlighted that China has contributed to the increase in the worlds green leaf area by almost 25% in the last two decades， despite possessing only 6.6% of worlds vegetated area.

Out of this increase， 42% is due to afforestation while another 32% is a result of farming activities. Also， several forestation projects covering 6.6 million hectares， almost the size of Ireland， is underway in the northern parts of Hebei， Inner Mongolia and Qinghai to cover nearly 23% of the mainlands total land area with forests.

Additionally， China has been making persistent efforts since the 1970s to contain advancing desertification. For instance， the “Great Green Wall”， a gigantic anti-desertification program， was initiated in the countrys northern region in 1978 to restrain expansion of the Gobi Desert. Thus far， over 66 billion trees have been planted in the area.

Moreover， several laws related to the transformation of arid lands were put in place by the country in the early 2000s to facilitate revival of degraded farms and grasslands.

The Forestry Administrations monitoring report highlighted that desert lands in the country expanded between 1994 and 1999， but contracted from then until 2014. The study also mentioned that such areas had shrunk by 2，424 square kilometers per year in the past decade.

According to the United Nations， an alarming 1.8 billion people are expected to suffer severe water scarcity by 2025， while almost two-thirds of the worlds population would experience acute “water-stressed” conditions.

Already， a third of the planets fertile land has become extinct due to land degradation in the last 40 years. In addition， a landmass almost half the size of the European Union （4.18 million square kilometers） is converted into a degraded land every year， with Africa and Asia being the most impacted regions as a consequence of their increasing population.

It seems clear that unless governments， businesses， and people all come together to form a focused team， its difficult to contain global warming and its ensuing impact. Going by the warnings of climate scientists， the planet is at a tipping point which could result in unparalleled natural disasters unless urgent actions are taken immediately.

Here， Alipay Ant Forest shows that it is possible to make collective efforts while relying on digital technology for a better and greener future. Several more initiatives， from not just China but all across the globe， are utilizing technology to contribute towards a sustainable and inclusive future of the planet.

螞蟻森林是全球領(lǐng)先的支付生活平臺支付寶發(fā)起的一項綠色倡議活動。2018年9月，它榮獲“聯(lián)合國地球衛(wèi)士獎”。

這個獎項是聯(lián)合國在環(huán)境領(lǐng)域的最高榮譽。螞蟻森林獲此殊榮，是因為它借數(shù)字科技之力，激勵超過五億人采用生態(tài)友好、更環(huán)保的生活方式，對生態(tài)保護貢獻極大。

支付寶取得如此卓越的成績，是通過鼓勵用戶在日常生活中做出各式各樣的低碳選擇，比如限制使用紙張和塑料、在線支付水電費、綠色出行（即放棄開車，轉(zhuǎn)而乘坐公共交通或騎自行車出行）。

用戶每選擇一個生態(tài)友好選項，就會獲得“綠色能量值”，一旦積累了足夠的數(shù)值，就可以在螞蟻森林程序內(nèi)種植一棵虛擬樹。

隨后，支付寶及其慈善合作伙伴會在中國某些最為干旱的地區(qū)種植一棵真樹以代之。用戶可以通過衛(wèi)星實時觀看他們的樹。

這個活動的推廣正在形成一種良性循環(huán)：越來越多的居民受其鼓舞，采取低碳、節(jié)能的生活方式。

支付寶在2016年8月發(fā)起了螞蟻森林倡議，迄今為止，種植了約1.22億棵樹，為內(nèi)蒙古、甘肅、青海和山西等最干旱地區(qū)注入了活力。

支付寶吸引了超過5億用戶，開發(fā)了11.2萬公頃樹木覆蓋區(qū)，有效避免了約790萬噸碳排放。有此驕人成就，螞蟻森林項目已成為中國私營企業(yè)最大的植樹倡議活動。

聯(lián)合國環(huán)境規(guī)劃署執(zhí)行主任英格·安德森說：“螞蟻森林展示了科技如何利用全球用戶的正能量和創(chuàng)新力來重塑我們的世界。”

她進一步強調(diào)說，“雖然我們面臨艱巨的環(huán)境挑戰(zhàn)，但我們擁有技術(shù)和知識，可以征服這些挑戰(zhàn)，并從根本上重構(gòu)我們與地球的互動方式。像螞蟻森林這樣的倡議活動將人類才智和創(chuàng)新挖掘到極致，讓世界變得更美好”。

螞蟻森林倡議也合乎中國政府的戰(zhàn)略——舉國轉(zhuǎn)向“綠色經(jīng)濟”。為了完成這個目標，中國正采取積極措施以擴大綠化覆蓋面積。

2019年年初，美國國家航空航天局發(fā)布了一份研究報告。該報告強調(diào)說，雖然中國的植被面積只占世界的6.6%，但過去20年，中國對世界綠葉面積增量貢獻了近25%。

中國綠葉面積增加，42%是由于植樹造林，另有32%是來自于農(nóng)業(yè)活動。而且，在河北、內(nèi)蒙古和青海三地的北部，有好幾個造林項目已經(jīng)啟動，總體覆蓋660萬公頃土地，相當于愛爾蘭的大小，要讓中國大陸陸地區(qū)域的森林覆蓋率達近23%。

此外，自1970年代以來，中國就一直致力于遏制荒漠化蔓延。比如，1978年在中國北部啟動的“綠色長城”就是一個規(guī)模龐大的防治荒漠化項目，旨在限制戈壁沙漠的擴張。迄今為止，已在中國北方地區(qū)種植了超過660億棵樹。

而且，在2000年代早期，為了幫助復原退化的農(nóng)場和草場，中國制定了好幾項涉及改造干旱區(qū)的法律。

林業(yè)局的監(jiān)測報告顯示，雖然1994年至1999年年間，中國的荒漠地帶向外擴張，但從1999年到2014年，中國的荒漠地帶向內(nèi)收縮。這份研究還提到，過去10年，荒漠地區(qū)每年縮減2424平方公里。

據(jù)聯(lián)合國預測，到2025年，有18億人會遭遇嚴重缺水危機，這一數(shù)字觸目驚心。而與此同時，有近三分之二的全球人口會經(jīng)歷嚴峻的供水緊張狀況。

過去40年，由于土地退化，全球已有三分之一的沃土變得貧瘠。此外，每年有418萬平方公里的地塊退化，大約是半個歐盟的面積，其中非洲、亞洲因人口不斷增長，受害最深。

顯然，除非政府、企業(yè)和人們聯(lián)合起來，集中發(fā)力，否則很難抑制全球氣候變暖及其后續(xù)影響。正如氣候?qū)W家所警告的那樣，地球正處在一個臨界點，如不立刻采取緊急行動，可能會引發(fā)前所未有的自然災難。

現(xiàn)在，支付寶螞蟻森林表明，以數(shù)字科技集眾人之努力，創(chuàng)造更好更綠的未來是可行的。另外幾項來自中國和全球各地的倡議也在利用科技為一個可持續(xù)發(fā)展、包容廣闊的未來作出貢獻。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

重大國家戰(zhàn)略常用關(guān)鍵詞英文譯法（一）

——黃河流域生態(tài)保護和高質(zhì)量發(fā)展

1. 黃河流域生態(tài)保護和高質(zhì)量發(fā)展 ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin （YB Conservation and Development）

2. 保護、傳承、弘揚黃河文化 to preserve， inherit and promote the Yellow River culture

3. 黃河安瀾 When the Yellow River is harnessed， China will enjoy tranquility.

4. 以水而定、量水而行 to use Yellow River water resources as its capacity permits

5. 共同抓好大保護，協(xié)同推進大治理 to work together to protect and harness the Yellow River

6. 黃河長治久安 to keep the Yellow River harnessed

7. 宜水則水、宜山則山，宜糧則糧、宜農(nóng)則農(nóng)，宜工則工、宜商則商 to make use of the water and mountain resources， grow crops， and develop agriculture， industry or business where conditions permit

8. 山水林田湖草綜合治理、系統(tǒng)治理、源頭治理 to protect mountains， rivers， forests， farmlands， lakes and grasslands and address their degradation at the source in a coordinated way