The city planting a million trees in two years | Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs

翻译人员: TED Translators Admin 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

It was December 2015,

那是 2015 年 12 月，

a month since the end of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone,

也就是塞拉利昂 埃博拉疫情结束的一个月后，

and I was driving along the Grafton Road

我正沿着首都弗里敦郊外的

on the outskirts of our capital city, Freetown.

格拉夫顿路行驶。

I'd driven along that road so many times over the past 18 months,

在过去的 18 个月里， 我沿着这条路行驶了很多次，

但老实说，我从没有 注意过周围的情况。

but honestly, I'd been so preoccupied, I didn't notice my surroundings.

But that afternoon,

但是那天下午，

I wasn't distracted, and I took it all in.

我没有分心，而是看到了一切。

I was shocked.

眼前的一幕让我十分震惊：

So much of the once-lush green forest cover

曾经郁郁葱葱的绿色森林

had simply disappeared.

已经消失了。

I felt physically sick as I parked my car and looked at the barren hills around me.

我停好车，看着周围的荒山， 心中五味杂陈。

I wasn't just witnessing and mourning the loss of beauty,

我不仅目睹和痛惜着失去的美景——

crushing though that was.

尽管那令我心痛不已——

I was witnessing and mourning the very real impact of climate change,

我也目睹和痛惜着 气候变化的真实影响，

which is felt in ways both large and small in my city,

它在以不同的程度影响着

my country

我的城市、我的国家 和我的大陆。

and on my continent.

Sierra Leone now regularly experiences extreme weather patterns,

现在的塞拉利昂 经常经历极端天气模式，

particularly abnormally heavy rainfall or delayed rains,

特别是反常的暴雨或延迟降雨，

both of which can lead to crop failures

这两种情况都可能导致作物歉收，

and in turn fuel the migration of people from rural areas to cities.

并反过来促使人们 从农村地区向城市迁移。

In Freetown, a city of 1.2 million people,

在弗里敦这个有着 120 万人口的城市，

the pressure for housing and the absence of development control

住房压力和发展调控的缺失

has led to the establishment of over 70 informal settlements

导致在过去的 20 年里

出现了 70 多个非正规居住区；

in the past 20 years.

This, combined with the sale of forested land to house builders,

再加上因森林和土地 被不断出售给房屋建筑商

而导致的严重乱砍滥伐，

has resulted in the deforestation

which came into such sharp focus for me that afternoon.

都在那天下午引起了我的注意。

Less than two years later, in August 2017,

不到两年后，在 2017 年 8月，

a massive landslide near that area led to the loss of about 1,000 lives

该地区附近发生了 大规模的山体滑坡，

在不到五分钟的时间内 导致了约 1000 人丧生。

in less than five minutes.

This is not an abstract crisis.

这不是一次抽象的危机。

The loss of our forests is not just about the loss of some shade.

森林的消失，

不仅仅意味着失去了一些树荫，

It's about the loss of our ability to live.

更意味着人类生存能力的丧失。

Wanting to do something about this was one of the factors

不愿坐以待毙，是我最终决定

that led to my decision to run for mayor of Freetown,

竞选弗里敦市长的因素之一，

a position I've held since 2018.

我自 2018 年以来 一直担任这一职务。

And one of my favorite initiatives

我最喜欢的倡议之一是，

is to make Freetown a tree town once again.

让弗里敦再次成为 一个树林密布的小镇。

Our goal:

我们的目标是，

to increase vegetation cover by 50 percent in Freetown

在 2022 年我的任期结束前，

将弗里敦的植被覆盖率提高 50%。

by the end of my term in 2022.

That means we will plant a million trees within the next two years.

这意味着我们将在未来两年内 种植 100 万棵树。

And we start by planting the first 500,000 seedlings

我们会从在今年雨季种植

this rainy season.

第一批 50 万株幼苗开始。

For this to work, we need to involve everyone.

要做到这一点， 我们需要每个人的参与。

We need to make our city collectively proud of what we can do together

我们需要让我们的城市 为我们能够

共同保护自己和家园

to protect ourselves

and our homes.

而感到自豪。

For nearly a year now,

近一年来，

15 different species of trees have been nursed on 11 sites

我们已经在全市的 11 个不同地点

across the city.

培育了 15 个不同的树种。

And now each tree will be planted in a home, a school,

现在，每棵树苗都将 被种植在家里、学校、

an office, a public space, on a hillside or in a mangrove

办公室、公共场所和山坡上，

或由树木管理员种植在红树林中。

by a tree steward.

Anyone in Freetown can opt to be a tree steward.

弗里敦的任何人 都可以选择成为树木管理员。

And the growth of the trees

树木的生长将由 基于社区的植树团队，

will be tracked by our community-based growing teams

使用我们定制的 树木跟踪器应用程序

using our custom-made Treetracker app.

进行跟踪。

This isn't just about planting trees,

植树仅仅是起点，

it's about growing trees,

我们还要保证让树木健康生长，

and it's about ensuring that each one of us

确保我们每个人

is part of the process.

都是这个过程的一部分。

A million trees will not fix climate change.

100 万棵树还远不足以 解决气候变化问题，

But they will reduce the risk of landslides and flooding,

但它们会降低滑坡和洪水的风险，

and they will reintroduce biodiversity --

并会重新引入生物多样性——

I've already seen the butterflies back in the park.

我已经在公园里见过蝴蝶了。

And they will protect our water catchments.

它们还会保护我们的集水区。

A million trees is our city's small contribution

100 万棵树，让我们的城市

to increasing the much-needed global carbon sink.

能够为急需的全球碳汇添砖加瓦。

Perhaps you should plant some trees, too.

或许你也应该种些树。

Thank you.

谢谢。