The largest river on Earth is actually in the sky - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Jing Quan 校对人员: Tianyun Liu

The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon,

世界上最大的热带雨林，亚马逊，

exists between two rivers— but not in the way you might think.

介于两条河流之间， 但并非你想的那种方式。

At ground level, the Amazon River and its tributaries weave their path.

在地面上，亚马逊河与其支流弯绕前行。

But above the canopy, bigger waterways are on the move.

但是在树冠上方，更大的水道在流淌。

These flying rivers are almost invisible, but are essential to life on Earth.

这些“飞河”近乎无形， 但对地球上的生命至关重要。

As rain seeps into the soil,

当雨水渗入土壤时，

trees draw water back up through their roots

树木会从根部吸收水分，

and pump it through their trunks for nourishment.

然后通过树干作为补给。

The leaves and stems transpire, or release,

叶子和茎以蒸气的方式排出，或释放，

excess water in the form of vapor.

多余的水分。

In the Amazon,

在亚马逊，

a fully grown tree transpires between 200 and 1,000 liters of water a day.

一棵完全成型的树每天会蒸发 200 到 1,000 升的水。

This collective release creates a startling phenomenon:

这种集体释放导致一种奇妙的现象：

huge jets of rapid, humid air that constantly flow above the canopy.

潮湿的气流不断经过树冠上方。

Dubbed “flying rivers” by a Brazilian climatologist,

被巴西气候学家称之为“飞河”。

these aerial waterways carry about 20 billion tons of water

这些空中水道每日输送 大约 200 亿吨水分。

through the air per day.

This is more than the Amazon River’s daily output into the ocean.

这比亚马逊河每天流入海洋的水量还多。

Along the equator, the trade winds blow from east to west.

在赤道沿线，信风从东向西吹来。

Caught in these winds, flying rivers flow in the same direction

被信风裹挟，“飞河”朝同样的方向流去，

before encountering the Andes.

最终遇到安第斯山脉。

The mountains act like a giant barrier,

它像一道巨大的屏障，

causing the winds and rivers to redirect southwards.

导致风与河流向南移动。

When flying rivers meet the masses of cold air,

当“飞河”遇上大量的冷空气时，

they grow heavier and release torrents of water.

它们的重量会增加并变为滂沱大雨。

In this way, they bring rain, cooler temperatures,

这样一来，它们给南美大部分地区带来了

and humidity to much of South America.

雨水，较低的温度，和湿度。

But these waterways are under threat.

但是这些水道正受到威胁。

Clearing the Amazon for agriculture and industry

为农业和生产开发的亚马逊雨林

is already causing flying rivers to dry up,

已经导致“飞河”干涸，

leading to drought and hotter temperatures across South America.

引发南美洲的干旱和气温上升。

If this pattern continues,

如果这种趋势持续下去，

swaths of the continent may be reduced to desert in a matter of decades.

南美的大部分地域也许会在 几十年内变成沙漠。

In response, a radical movement is working intensely to keep the rainforest—

作为回应， 一个激进的运动正紧密行动，

全力以赴地维护雨林和“飞河”地生存。

and the flying rivers— alive.

The northwest of the Peruvian Amazon is the territory of the Wampís Nation,

秘鲁亚马逊河的西北边 是瓦皮斯民族的领土，

a community of over 15,000 people

超过 15,000 人的当地居民

who manage over 130,000 square kilometers of land.

管理超过 13 万平方公里的土地。

These Indigenous people have lived in the rainforest for thousands of years,

这些原住民在热带雨林中生活了数千年，

practicing sustainable hunting, fishing, and agriculture.

从事可持续的狩猎、捕鱼和农业。

For the Wampís,

对瓦皮斯人来说，

protecting the rainforest has long meant fighting invaders.

保护雨林长期以来 就意味着与入侵者作战。

Between the 15th and 17th centuries,

在 15 至 17 世纪之间，

Wampís people resisted and expelled the Incas

瓦皮斯人抵抗并驱逐了印加人，

and later the Spanish colonists who exploited the rainforest.

后来又驱逐了开采雨林的西班牙殖民者。

Today, the Wampís Nation are still battling extractive industries—

如今，瓦皮斯民族仍在与采掘业

and the policies that sanction them.

以及制裁采掘业的政策作斗争。

For instance, since the 1960s,

例如，自 1960 年代以来，

the Peruvian government has been licensing the Wampís’ territory

秘鲁政府一直在向公司许可瓦皮斯的领土

to corporations for gold mining and oil extraction.

进行金矿挖掘和石油开采。

These activities poison the rivers, clear thousands of trees,

这些活动污染了水资源， 杀死了大量树木，

and threaten the Wampís way of life.

并威胁着瓦皮斯人的生活方式。

In 2015, after years of protests and negotiations,

2015 年，经过多年的抗议和谈判，

the community formed the Autonomous Territorial Government

该社区成立了瓦皮斯民族自治区政府。

of the Wampís Nation.

While the Wampís people remain Peruvian citizens,

尽管瓦皮斯人仍然是秘鲁公民

they seek recognition as a government

但他们致力于被认可是

responsible for their own lands, forests, and internal affairs.

负责自己的土地、森林和内政的政府。

In its policies, the Wampís Nation prioritizes collective land ownership,

在政策中，瓦皮斯将集体土地所有权、

cultural preservation, and conservation of animals, plants,

文化保护以及保护雨林的动植物

and natural cycles that protect the rainforest.

和自然循环的保护列为优先事项。

This is the foundation of their philosophy of Tarimat Pujut,

这是他们 Tarimat Pujut（瓦皮斯语“美好生活”） 哲学的基础，

or living in harmony with nature

即与自然和谐相处

to ensure food, friendships, and quality of life.

以确保食物、友谊和生活质量。

The high, humid forest of the Wampís Nation

瓦皮斯民族高而潮湿的森林

is crucial to the flying river cycle,

对“飞河”循环至关重要。

transpiring over 34 million liters of water a day

每天蒸腾超过 3,400 万升的水，

that flow to Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.

流向秘鲁、厄瓜多尔和哥伦比亚。

To track this output, Wampís scientists measure rainfall, monitor the wind,

为了追踪这一输出，

瓦皮斯科学家测量降雨量、监测风

and weigh water levels in leaves and soil.

并称量树叶和土壤中的水含量。

One of their climate goals is to defend this and other natural systems,

他们的气候目标之一是保护 这个系统和其他自然系统，

including native soil that acts as a carbon sink

包括充当碳汇的原生土壤

and the forest itself as a fire barrier.

和充当防火屏障的森林本身。

The Wampís Nation constantly battles corporations that threaten these systems.

瓦皮斯民族不断与 威胁这些系统的公司作战。

Between 2016 and 2018,

2016 年至 2018 年间，

the community fought illegal gold mining along the Santiago River.

该社区打击了圣地亚哥河沿岸的非法金矿开采。

They organized protests, uncovered mercury pollution,

他们组织了抗议活动，发现了汞污染，

guarded the area, and attacked illegal machinery for months,

守卫了该地区，

并袭击了数月的非法机器，

eventually expelling the miners.

最终驱逐了矿工。

And in 2017, the Wampís Nation successfully petitioned a court

和 2017 年， 瓦皮斯民族成功向法院请愿，

to bar a private oil company from their land.

要求禁止一家私营石油公司进入其土地。

While these are significant victories,

尽管这些都是重大胜利，

the Wampís Nation and other Indigenous groups need more recognition and support.

但瓦皮斯民族和其他土著 群体需要更多的认可和支持。

Indigenous people and local communities live in and manage

土著人民和当地社区生活和管理着

more than a quarter of the world’s land,

世界四分之一以上的土地，

but only have legal ownership to a small percentage of it.

但对其中一小部分拥有合法所有权。

And less than 1% of international climate and forest funds

而且只有不到 1％ 的国际气候和森林基金

go to their crucial conservation efforts.

用于其关键的保护工作，

This is despite the fact that forests managed by Indigenous people

尽管原住民管理的森林存活率更高。

have better survival rates.

The Amazon is often described with language evocative of a giant organism—

亚马逊雨林常被形容为一个巨大的有机体——

one that grows, dies, breathes in carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen.

一个生长、死亡、 吸入二氧化碳、呼出氧气的生命体。

The processes that sustain it weave together in a complex

维持其存在的各种过程交织在一起，

and often invisible web of water, air, soil, and human activity—

形成了一个复杂而往往难以察觉的 水、空气、土壤和人类活动的网络——

both destructive and protective.

既有破坏性又有保护作用。

We are far from understanding it in its entirety,

我们还远未完全理解它的全貌，

but some are closer than others.

但有些人比其他人更接近了解。