How a handful of fishing villages sparked a marine conservation revolution | Alasdair Harris

翻译人员: Nan Yang 校对人员: Jiasi Hao

I'm a marine biologist

我是一个海洋生物学家，

here to talk to you about the crisis in our oceans,

在这里想与你们谈谈 我们的海洋危机，

but this time perhaps not with a message you've heard before,

我这次带来的大概不是 你们以前听到过的东西，

because I want to tell you that if the survival of the oceans

因为我想告诉你们， 如果海洋的幸存

depended only on people like me,

仅仅依靠像我这样

scientists trading in publications,

与论文打交道的科学家们，

we'd be in even worse trouble than we are.

我们将比现在面临更大的麻烦。

Because, as a scientist,

因为，作为一个科学家，

the most important things that I've learned

我学到的有关保持 我们海洋健康和富饶的

about keeping our oceans healthy and productive

最重要的事情，

have come not from academia, but from fishermen and women

并不是来自于学术界， 而是来自于那些

living in some of the poorest countries on earth.

生活在地球上一些 最贫穷国家的渔民。

I've learned that as a conservationist,

作为环保主义者，我了解到

the most important question is not, "How do we keep people out?"

最重要的问题不是 “我们如何让人远离海洋？”

but rather, "How do we make sure that coastal people throughout the world

而是，“我们如何确保 世界各地的沿海居民

have enough to eat?"

有足够的食物？”

Our oceans are every bit as critical to our own survival

我们的海洋 对我们的生存至关重要，

as our atmosphere, our forests or our soils.

就像大气层、森林和土壤一样。

Their staggering productivity ranks fisheries with farming

海洋惊人的生产力使渔业 与农业一起

as a mainstay of food production

成为人类粮食生产的

for humanity.

支柱。

Yet something's gone badly wrong.

然而一些事情出了大问题。

We're accelerating into an extinction emergency,

我们正在加速进入 生物灭绝的紧急状态，

one that my field has so far failed abysmally to tackle.

那是目前为止我的研究领域 丝毫没能解决的问题。

At its core is a very human and humanitarian crisis.

其核心是非常人类 以及人道主义的危机。

The most devastating blow we've so far dealt our oceans

迄今为止， 我们对海洋最破坏性的打击是

is through overfishing.

过度捕捞。

Every year, we fish harder, deeper, further afield.

每年，我们都驶向更深更远 的地方，花更多精力捕捞。

Every year, we chase ever fewer fish.

但是每年， 我们追捕的鱼都在减少。

Yet the crisis of overfishing is a great paradox:

然而过度捕捞的危机是 一个巨大的悖论：

unnecessary, avoidable and entirely reversible,

它是不必要，可避免， 完全可逆的，

because fisheries are one of the most productive resources on the planet.

因为渔业是地球上 生产力最高的资源之一。

With the right strategies, we can reverse overfishing.

有了正确的策略， 我们可以扭转过度捕捞的状况。

That we've not yet done so is, to my mind,

但在我看来，我们尚未完成目标，

one of humanity's greatest failures.

这是人类最大的失败之一。

Nowhere is this failure more apparent

这种失败没有任何地方比

than in the warm waters on either side of our equator.

在赤道两侧的温暖水域更明显。

Our tropics are home to most of the species in our ocean,

我们的热带地区是 海洋中大多数物种的栖息地，

most of the people whose existence depends on our seas.

大多数人的生存依赖于 我们的海洋。

We call these coastal fishermen and women "small-scale fishers,"

我们把这些沿海居住 的渔民称作“小型渔民”，

but "small-scale" is a misnomer

但是对于囊括地球上

for a fleet comprising over 90 percent of the world's fishermen and women.

90% 渔民的“小型渔民”队伍来说， “小型”是一个误称。

Their fishing is generally more selective and sustainable

他们的打捞一般比那些经常进行

肆意捕捞的、更大型的工业大船

than the indiscriminate destruction

too often wrought by bigger industrial boats.

更具选择性和可持续性。

These coastal people have the most to gain from conservation

这些沿海居民从海洋保护中 获取的利益最多，

because, for many of them,

因为对于他们中的很多人，

fishing is all that keeps them from poverty, hunger or forced migration,

他们所在的国家无力帮助他们， 而捕鱼是使他们摆脱贫困，

in countries where the state is often unable to help.

饥饿或被迫迁徙的唯一方式。

We know that the outlook is grim:

我们知道前景是严峻的：

stocks collapsing on the front lines of climate change,

由于气候变化，出现了 海洋变暖、垂死的珊瑚礁，

warming seas, dying reefs, catastrophic storms,

灾难性风暴， 海洋种群储备濒临崩溃；

trawlers, factory fleets,

拖网渔船，工厂船队，

rapacious ships from richer countries taking more than their share.

和富裕国家的贪婪船只 拿走了更多的份额。

Extreme vulnerability is the new normal.

海洋的极度脆弱成为了新的常态。

I first landed on the island of Madagascar two decades ago,

我在二十年前肩负着 记录海洋自然历史的任务，

on a mission to document its marine natural history.

第一次登上了马达加斯加岛。

I was mesmerized by the coral reefs I explored,

我被探索到的珊瑚礁迷住了，

and certain I knew how to protect them,

而且我当然知道如何保护它们，

because science provided all the answers:

因为科学为我们提供了所有答案：

close areas of the reef permanently.

就是永久关闭珊瑚礁周围的区域。

Coastal fishers simply needed to fish less.

沿海渔民只需要减少捕鱼。

I approached elders here in the village of Andavadoaka

我找到在安达瓦多卡村的长者，

and recommended that they close off

并建议他们在所有形式的捕鱼中

the healthiest and most diverse coral reefs to all forms of fishing

都将最健康、最多样化珊瑚礁 生存的区域封闭，

to form a refuge to help stocks recover

以形成一种庇护所， 帮助种群进行恢复，

because, as the science tells us, after five or so years,

因为，正如科学家告诉我们的， 在大约五年后，

fish populations inside those refuges would be much bigger,

在这些避难所的鱼类数量 会变得更多，

replenishing the fished areas outside,

来补充避难所外的捕渔区，

making everybody better off.

能使大家都从中获益。

That conversation didn't go so well.

但是与村民的谈话进行得并不好。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Three-quarters of Madagascar's 27 million people

在马达加斯加 2700 万人口中， 有四分之三的人

live on less than two dollars a day.

每天的生活费不到 2 美元。

My earnest appeal to fish less took no account

我对减少捕鱼的诚恳呼吁 没有考虑到

of what that might actually mean

这对于那些依靠捕鱼为生的人们

for people who depend on fishing for survival.

实际上可能意味着什么。

It was just another squeeze from outside,

这只是来自外界的另一种压榨，

a restriction rather than a solution.

一种限制，而不是解决方案。

What does protecting a long list of Latin species names mean to Resaxx,

保护那一长串列表的 拉丁名物种

对于一位每天靠捕鱼提供三餐， 供她孙子上学的

a woman from Andavadoaka who fishes every day

to put food on the table

安达瓦多卡妇女，拉萨西

and send her grandchildren to school?

意味着什么？

That initial rejection taught me that conservation is, at its core,

最初的拒绝教会了我， 海洋保护的核心是

a journey in listening deeply,

深入倾听的旅程，

to understand the pressures and realities that communities face

来了解社区因对自然的依赖

through their dependence on nature.

而面临的压力和现实。

This idea became the founding principle for my work

这个想法成为了 我项目的创立原则，

and grew into an organization that brought a new approach

然后它成长为了一个组织，

带来了海洋保护新方法：

to ocean conservation

by working to rebuild fisheries with coastal communities.

努力重建渔业与沿海社区。

Then, as now, the work started by listening,

然后，像现在这样， 我们的工作开始于倾听，

and what we learned astonished us.

而我们学习到的东西令我们惊讶。

Back in the dry south of Madagascar,

回到马达加斯加干旱的南部，

we learned that one species was immensely important for villagers:

我们了解到了一个物种 对于村民极为重要：

this remarkable octopus.

这种非凡的章鱼。

We learned that soaring demand was depleting an economic lifeline.

我们意识到，不断增长的需求 正在耗尽经济命脉。

But we also learned that this animal grows astonishingly fast,

但是我们也知道 这种生物生长得特别快，

doubling in weight every one or two months.

每一或两个月体重就能倍增。

We reasoned that protecting just a small area of fishing ground

我们有理由认为， 利用仅仅几个月时间

for just a few months

保护一小块渔场

might lead to dramatic increases in catches,

就可能导致捕获量急剧增加，

enough to make a difference to this community's bottom line

足以在可接受的时间范围内

in a time frame that might just be acceptable.

改变该社区的关键问题。

The community thought so too,

社区也是这样认为，

opting to close a small area of reef to octopus fishing temporarily,

选择暂时关闭针对章鱼捕捞的 小范围珊瑚礁，

using a customary social code,

使用合乎习俗的的社会法规，

invoking blessings from the ancestors to prevent poaching.

祈求祖先的祝福以防止偷捕。

When that reef reopened to fishing six months later,

当珊瑚礁区域在六个月后 重新开放捕鱼时，

none of us were prepared for what happened next.

我们中没有人对接下来 发生的事情做好了心理准备。

Catches soared,

捕获量猛增，

with men and women landing more and bigger octopus

大家捕获的章鱼数量和个头

than anyone had seen for years.

比多年来任何人看见的都多，都大。

Neighboring villages saw the fishing boom

附近的村庄看见了这里的渔业繁荣，

and drew up their own closures,

也自行进行了关闭，

spreading the model virally along hundreds of miles of coastline.

在数百英里的海岸线上 这种模式病毒似地传播开了。

When we ran the numbers,

当我们计算了数字后，

we saw that these communities, among the poorest on earth,

我们看到这些 地球上最贫穷的社区，

had found a way to double their money in a matter of months, by fishing less.

已经找到了一种方法，在短短几个月内， 通过减少捕鱼使收入翻了一番。

Imagine a savings account

想象一个储蓄账户，

from which you withdraw half your balance every year

你每年从里面取出一半的余额，

而你的储蓄还在继续增长。

and your savings keep growing.

There is no investment opportunity on earth

地球上没有其它投资机会

that can reliably deliver what fisheries can.

可以像渔业一样带来这样的回报。

But the real magic went beyond profit,

但是真正的魔法超越了这种利益，

because a far deeper transformation was happening in these communities.

因为一种更深远的转变 正发生在这些社区里。

Spurred on by rising catches,

在捕获量上升的刺激下，

leaders from Andavadoaka joined force with two dozen neighboring communities

来自安达瓦多卡的领导人 与二十几个毗邻社区联合，

to establish a vast conservation area along dozens of miles of coastline.

在数十英里的海岸线上 建立了广阔的保护区。

They outlawed fishing with poison and mosquito nets

他们禁止毒药和蚊帐捕鱼的使用，

and set aside permanent refuges

在受威胁的珊瑚礁和红树林周围

around threatened coral reefs and mangroves,

设立永久的庇护所，

including, to my astonishment,

另我惊讶的是，也包括了

those same sights that I'd flagged just two years earlier

两年前在我的海洋保护宣传 被彻底拒绝时

when my evangelism for marine protection was so roundly rejected.

曾标记过的那些地点。

They created a community-led protected area,

他们创建了一个 社区主导的保护区，

a democratic system for local marine governance

一套在几年前完全无法想象的，

that was totally unimaginable just a few years earlier.

地方海洋治理的民主制度。

And they didn't stop there:

而且他们并没有就此止步：

within five years, they'd secured legal rights from the state

在五年时间内，他们已经获得了 州政府的合法权利，

to manage over 200 square miles of ocean,

来管理面积超过 200 平方英里的海洋，

eliminating destructive industrial trawlers from the waters.

从水中除掉了具有破坏性的 工业拖网渔船。

Ten years on, we're seeing recovery of those critical reefs

十年过去了，我们看见了 那些庇护区域内

within those refuges.

重要珊瑚礁的恢复。

Communities are petitioning for greater recognition

社区正在为 捕鱼权力的认可

of the right to fish

和能够激励可持续性的

and fairer prices that reward sustainability.

更公平的价格请愿。

But all that is just the beginning of the story,

但是这些都这是故事的开始，

because this handful of fishing villages taking action

因为这少数几个采取行动的渔村

has sparked a marine conservation revolution

已经引发了跨越数千英里海岸的

that has spread over thousands of miles,

海洋保护革命，

impacting hundreds of thousands of people.

影响了数十万人。

Today in Madagascar, hundreds of sites are managed by communities

如今在马达加斯加， 有数百个地点

由社区采用这种 基于人权的方法来保护

applying this human rights-based approach to conservation

to all kinds of fisheries, from mud crabs to mackerel.

各种渔业，从泥蟹到鲭鱼。

The model has crossed borders through East Africa and the Indian Ocean

该模型已穿越东非和印度洋，

and is now island-hopping into Southeast Asia.

现在正在进入东南亚。

From Tanzania to Timor-Leste, from India to Indonesia,

从坦桑尼亚到东帝汶， 从印度到印尼，

we're seeing the same story unfold:

我们看到了同样的故事在展开：

that when we design it right,

当我们设计得当，

marine conservation reaps dividends that go far beyond protecting nature,

海洋保护所取得的丰硕成果， 远远超出了保护自然，

improving catches

改善了捕获量，

and driving waves of social change along entire coastlines,

沿着整个海岸线， 推动社会变革的浪潮，

strengthening confidence, cooperation

增强了面对贫穷的不公

and the resilience of communities to face the injustice of poverty

和气候变化的信心、合作

and climate change.

与社区弹性。

I've been privileged to spend my career

我很荣幸能用自己的职业生涯

catalyzing and connecting these movements throughout the tropics,

促进和联系 这些热带地区的保护运动，

and I've learned that as conservationists,

而且我学习到，作为保护主义者，

our goal must be to win at scale,

我们的目标必须是大规模获胜，

not just to lose more slowly.

而不仅是输得更慢。

We need to step up to this global opportunity

我们需要把握这个全球机遇

to rebuild fisheries:

来重建渔业：

with field workers to stand with communities

团结实地工作人员与社区一起，

and connect them, to support them to act and learn from one another;

支持他们行动起来，并互相学习；

with governments and lawyers standing with communities

同时团结政府和律师与社区；

to secure their rights to manage their fisheries;

保障他们管理渔业的权利，

prioritizing local food and job security

优先考虑当地粮食和工作安全，

above all competing interests in the ocean economy;

高于在海洋经济中的 所有竞争利益；

ending subsidies for grotesquely overcapitalized industrial fleets

终止资本过多的工业船队的补贴，

and keeping those industrial and foreign vessels

让工业和外国船只

out of coastal waters.

离开沿海水域。

We need agile data systems

我们需要快捷的数据系统，

that put science in the hands of communities

将科学放入社区手中

to optimize conservation to the target species or habitat.

来优化保护目标物种或栖息地。

We need development agencies, donors and the conservation establishment

我们需要发展机构、 捐助者和保护机构，

to raise their ambition to the scale of investment

提高他们投资的野心

urgently required to deliver this vision.

来满足实现这一愿景的迫切需要。

And to get there,

为了达到那个目标，

we all need to reimagine marine conservation

我们大家需要将海洋保护

as a narrative of abundance and empowerment,

重新想象为丰富和鼓舞，

not of austerity and alienation;

而不是节制和疏远的的叙事；

a movement guided by the people who depend on healthy seas for their survival,

一个依靠健康海洋生存的人民， 而不是抽象的科学价值

not by abstract scientific values.

来主导的运动。

Of course, fixing overfishing is just one step to fixing our oceans.

当然，解决过度捕捞只是 修复海洋的第一步。

The horrors of warming, acidification and pollution grow each day.

变暖，酸化和污染的恐惧 每天都在增长。

But it's a big step.

但这是一大步。

It's one we can take today,

这是我们今天就可以进行的，

and it's one that will give a much-needed boost

对于那些正在 探索可扩展的解决方案

to those exploring scalable solutions

以应对我们海洋其它方面

to other dimensions of our ocean emergency.

紧急情况的人们来说， 这是一个急需的动力。

Our success propels theirs.

我们的成功推动了他们的成功。

If we throw up our hands in despair,

如果我们绝望地举起双手，

it's game over.

那就完蛋了。

We solve these challenges by taking them on one by one.

我们要一个接一个地解决这些挑战。

Our overwhelming dependence on our ocean is the solution

我们对海洋压倒性的依赖是

that has been hiding in plain sight,

原本就显而易见的解决方案，

because there's nothing small about small-scale fishers.

因为对于“小型渔民”来说， 没有什么是小事。

They're a hundred million strong and provide nutrition to billions.

他们是一亿的强者， 可为数十亿人提供营养。

It's this army of everyday conservationists

这是一群环境保护主义者

who have the most at stake.

每天最重要的一环。

Only they have the knowledge and global reach needed

只有他们拥有重塑 我们与海洋关系所需的

to reshape our relationship with our oceans.

知识和全球影响力。

Helping them achieve this is the most powerful thing we can do

帮助他们实现目标是 为我们保护海洋生命

to keep our oceans alive.

可以做的最有力的事情。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）