The global movement to restore nature's biodiversity | Thomas Crowther

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs

翻译人员: TED Translators Admin 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

(Birds chirping)

What you're hearing

你正听到的是南欧原始森林的声音。

is the sound of a native forest in Southern Europe.

The calm, tranquil feeling we all get is not a coincidence.

我们都会有一种平静、 安详的感觉并非巧合。

We all evolved in ecosystems like this,

我们都在这样的生态系统中进化，

where the sounds of birds and insects

在那里鸟鸣和昆虫的声音

indicated the possibility of food, medicines

代表着食物、草药存在的可能性，

and all the resources we need for survival.

以及我们生存所需的所有资源。

Ecosystems and their biodiversity still hold the key to life on this planet.

生态系统及其生物多样性

仍然掌握着这个星球上生命的钥匙。

I'm obsessed with this biodiversity,

我对无限生物链的 生物多样性、魔力很着迷，

the magic of the infinite network,

where every species depends on others to survive.

每个物种都依赖其他物种生存。

For most of my career,

在我职业生涯的大部分时间里，

I focused on just one of those fascinating connections

我只专注于其中一个迷人的联系，

between insects and fungi in the soil.

昆虫和土壤中的真菌。

I longed to understand the scale of these networks

我渴望了解这些链接的规模，

and to understand how they might help us

了解他们如何帮助我们

with one of the greatest challenges facing humanity:

人类面临最大的挑战之一：

our rapidly warming planet.

我们急剧变暖的地球。

The problem is clear.

问题很清楚，

We know we need to reduce our emissions

我们知道我们需要减少排放，

and draw the existing carbon out of the atmosphere,

从大气中吸收现有的碳，

stop the damage and start the repair.

停止破坏并开始修复，

And this is where forests can help.

而这正是森林可以提供帮助的地方，

Like all plants, trees capture carbon from the atmosphere,

像所有植物一样， 树木从大气中吸收碳，

and they use it for growth.

用它来帮助生长。

And some of that carbon enters the soil,

其中一些碳进入土壤，

在那里它可以停留数百年甚至数千年。

where it can stay for hundreds or even thousands of years.

If we could stop the losses of forests around the world,

如果我们能阻止全世界森林的丧失，

we could directly help to cut our annual emissions.

我们可以直接帮助减少每年的排放量。

And if we could start to tip the balance in the other direction,

如果我们能开始努力 使天平朝另一个方向倾斜，

we might even help the repair process.

我们甚至可以帮助修复过程，

But if people were really going to invest their valuable time and energy

但如果人们真的要在这样的

解决方案中投入他们宝贵的时间和精力，

in a solution like this,

we needed to comprehend the size of this opportunity

我们需要理解这个机会的规模，

and understand the impacts that we can have as individuals.

并了解我们作为个体所能带来的影响。

But comprehending something of this scale

但是理解这种规模的东西，

was a completely new challenge for me and my colleagues.

对我和我的同事来说 是一个全新的挑战。

For this, we needed the knowledge of experts all over the world.

为此，我们需要全世界专家的知识，

So we began building a new network.

所以，我们开始建立一个新的网络，

The more people we contacted, the more data we received,

我们联系到的人越多，

我们收到的数据越多，

and the more clearly patterns began to emerge.

而且规律也开始变得更清晰，

With data from over 1.2 million forests,

利用来自 120 多万森林的数据，

we were able to build new machine learning models

我们能够建立新的机器学习模型

to predict forest structure around the world.

来预测世界各地的森林结构。

For the first time,

这是第一次，我们可以看到 我们的地球上有超过三万亿棵树，

we could see that our earth is home to just over three trillion trees,

almost half of what existed before human civilization.

几乎是人类文明之前的一半。

We could see where the different species are distributed

我们可以看到不同的物种分布在哪里，

and how carbon is stored in this massive system.

以及碳是如何储存在这个庞大的系统中。

But this approach could also show us something more transformative.

但是这个方法也可以告诉我们

一些更有变革性的东西，

Using the same models, we could begin to see where trees might naturally grow

使用相同的模型 我们可以在现有的气候下

开始看到树木自然生长的地方。

under the existing climate.

And this suggested

这表明在城市和农业地区以外，

that outside of urban and agricultural areas,

there's 0.9 billion hectares where trees would naturally exist.

有九亿公顷的土地，树木会自然存在，

And this is room for just over one trillion new trees.

而这仅能容纳一万多亿棵新树。

We estimated that if we could protect these areas in the long term,

我们估计如果我们能 从长远的角度保护这些地区，

then the soils and vegetation

然后是土壤和植被可能会

might capture up to 30 percent of the excess carbon in the atmosphere,

吸收大气中多余的 30% 的碳，

capturing decades of human emissions.

收集人类几十年的排放。

We now have a wealth of ongoing research to refine these initial estimates.

我们现在有很多正在进行的研究

来完善这些初步的估计，

But the scale of this potential

但这一潜力的规模表明，

suggests that along with all the other benefits these ecosystems provide,

除了这些生态系统提供的

所有其他好处外，

they might also represent a valuable role in our fight against climate change.

它们还可能在我们应对

气候变化的斗争中发挥宝贵作用。

When our research was accepted to be published in the journal Science,

当我们的研究被接受 并发表在《科学》杂志上时，

nothing could have prepared us for the media explosion that followed.

我们都没有准备好应对之后的媒体热度，

Suddenly, it seemed like the whole world was talking about the potential of trees.

突然间，好像整个世界 都在谈论树木的潜力。

Under the umbrella of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,

在联合国十年计划的保护下，

在生态系统恢复方面，

the World Economic Forum launched their Trillion Trees Campaign

世界经济论坛发起了 他们的 “万亿树木运动”。

to go alongside similar efforts from the WWF and United Nations.

与来自世界自然基金会和联合国 类似的努力并驾齐驱。

Suddenly, governments and companies all around the world

突然间，世界各地的政府和公司

were pledging their commitment to the restoration of earth's forests.

承诺恢复地球上的森林。

And with the job creation that would result,

随着就业机会的增加，

the idea of a global restoration movement was becoming a reality.

全球修复运动的构想正在变成现实。

But in the excitement of it all,

但在这一切的兴奋中，

and with the chance to make that positive impact I'd always dreamed of,

以及我一直梦寐以求着 有机会产生的积极影响里，

I made some naive and stupid mistakes in communication

我在表达中犯了一些天真而愚蠢的错误

that threatened the entire message.

对整个信息造成了威胁。

The simplicity of our message was its strength,

我们的信息越简单，越有力量，

but it came at the expense of nuance that is so important.

但这是以牺牲非常重要的细节为代价。

And as the headlines began to emerge,

当头条新闻开始出现时，

I desperately just wanted to pull them back in.

我拼命想把他们收回来，

Because to some, it seemed like we were proposing restoration

因为对某些人来说， 好像我们在提议修复

as the single solution to climate change.

作为解决气候变化的唯一办法，

And this is the opposite of what this movement needs.

而这与这场运动所需要的恰恰相反。

When viewed through this lens,

透过此观察修复 似乎是一条简单的出路，

restoration just seems like an easy way out,

a chance for us to "offset our emissions" by planting a few trees

通过种几棵树我们就能抵消排放，

and ignore the very real and urgent challenges of cutting emissions

而忽略了那些非常真实和紧迫的挑战：

减少排放

and protecting the ecosystems that we currently have.

以及保护我们现有的生态系统。

Restoration is not a silver bullet.

修复不是灵丹妙药，

There is no silver bullet.

没有灵丹妙药，

It is just one of a huge portfolio of solutions

这只是一个我们众多 迫切需要解决方案中的一个。

that we so desperately need.

And this view of trees as an easy way out is such a tempting perspective,

把种树看作是一条轻松的出路

是如此诱人的观点，

but it is a real threat to the climate change movement

但它对气候变化运动以及仍存在的

and to the ecosystems that still remain.

生态系统是一个真正的威胁。

(Faint sounds)

This is also the sound of trees.

这也是树木的声音，

It's a eucalyptus plantation

这是一个桉树种植园。

that exists just a couple of miles away from where we began.

离我们出发的地方只有几英里远，

Notice how there were no sounds of birds or insects.

注意这里没有鸟和昆虫的声音，

The songs of biodiversity are gone.

生物多样性之声已经消失。

That's because what you're hearing is not an ecosystem.

那是因为你听到的不是一个生态系统，

It's a monoculture of one single tree species

而是为树木快速生长而种植

planted for rapid tree growth.

的单一树种的单一栽培。

连同曾经生活在这里的生物多样性

Along with the biodiversity that used to live here,

this local community has now lost the benefits those ecosystems provided,

这个地方社区已经失去了

这些生态系统所提供的好处，

like clean water, soil fertility,

像干净的水，土壤肥力。

and most urgently,

最紧迫的是对大火失去抵抗力，

protection from the intense fires that now threaten the region every summer.

现在每年夏天都会威胁这个地区。

联合国所建议

The UN suggests that almost half of reforested areas around the world

世界上近乎半数的重新造林地区

are monocultures just like this,

就是像这样的单一栽培，

planted for rapid timber production or carbon capture.

为快速木材生产或吸收碳而种植，

Just like a farm, these plantations may be valuable for timber,

就像农场一样，

这些种植园可能是有价值的木材，

but they are not the restoration of nature.

但它们并不能帮助自然再生。

And monocultures are just one of the many ways

单一栽培只是众多方法中

we can damage ecosystems

可以破坏生态系统的一种。

when we offset our emissions without considering the local ecology

当我们为了抵消我们的排放时，

不考虑当地生态或者依赖它的人。

or the people that depend on it.

Following these mistakes, a second wave of articles flooded in,

在犯了这些错误之后， 第二波文章如潮水般涌来，

warning of the risks of restoration done wrong.

警告错误恢复的风险，

And this criticism was so painful

这些批评是如此的刺痛，

因为这是完全正确的，

because it was entirely correct.

But most of all,

但最重要的是我害怕我们会挥霍掉

I was terrified that we would squander this incredible opportunity,

这个不可思议的机会，

because restoration has such enormous potential for positive impact.

因为修复具有巨大的 潜力产生积极的影响，

But just like every good idea, it only works if we get it right.

但就像每一个好主意一样，

只有我们做对了才有效。

But as the dust settled,

但随着尘埃落定，

we realized that this was actually a time

我们意识到，这其实是

when the entire movement gained real momentum.

整个运动获得真正动力的时候。

More people than ever were interested in global restoration,

对全球修复感兴趣的人 比以往任何时候都多，

and with messages flooding in

随着世界各地修复项目的

about the successes and failures of restoration projects around the world,

成功和失败的信息涌入，

我们有机会获得

we had access to the lessons that can help us to get it right.

可以帮助我们正确处理的经验教训。

Every new criticism offered incredible opportunities to learn and grow.

每一个新的批评

提供了难以置信的学习和成长的机会，

Every failed restoration example

每个失败的还原示例

was a lesson on how to improve future projects.

是如何改进未来项目的一课。

These learnings were an entirely new source of data --

这些知识是一个全新的数据来源——

data from the real heroes of this movement,

来自这场运动的真正英雄们的数据，

from the people on the ground

来自当地的人们，

who were conserving and managing ecosystems around the world.

那些世界各地保护和管理

生态系统的人们。

No one knows their ecosystems more,

没有人比他们更了解他们的生态系统，

and no one is more aware of the risks of restoration done wrong

没有人比他们更清楚错误修复的风险，

and the need for accurate ecological information

以及准确的生态信息的必要性，

to show the best areas to focus on,

以显示出最佳的重点领域。

which species can exist in those regions,

哪些物种能在这些地区生存，

and what benefits those species can provide to the community.

这些物种能为社区提供什么好处。

Historically, these are questions that have been addressed

从历史来看，这些问题都是

through years of rigorous trial and error.

通过多年的严格试错来解决的。

But we started wondering:

但我们开始怀疑

What if we fed this deep on-the-ground knowledge

如果我们把这些深层次的实地知识带回到

back into our machine-learning models

我们的机器学习模型中传授给大家，

to learn from the thousands of successes and failures?

从成千上万的成功和失败中学习？

Could this help us to identify

这能帮助我们确认在世界范围内，

which strategies are working and failing around the world?

哪些战略是有效的，哪些是失败的吗？

And about a year ago, we started working with Google

大约一年前，我们开始和谷歌合作，

to help build and scale this idea into a functioning online ecosystem,

帮助建立和扩大这个想法，

变成一个正常运作的在线生态系统，

where projects from around the world can learn and grow together.

这样，来自世界各地的项目 可以一起学习和成长。

By pairing Google's technology and our models,

通过将谷歌的技术和我们的模型结合起来，

this ever-growing network of scientists, restoration projects, and NGOs

这个不断增长的科学家、 恢复项目和非政府组织的网络，

could now build the platform that could serve the restoration movement.

现在可以构建平台为复原运动服务。

And I am so excited to give you a first glimpse

我很激动能让大家第一次看看

of what we've been working on.

我们一直在做的事情，

This is Restor, an open data platform for the restoration movement,

这是 Restor—— 一个开放的数据平台，

为复原运动提供免费的生态见解，

providing free ecological insights

to show which species of trees, grasses, or shrubs might exist in that region,

显示可能存在于该地区的 树、草或灌木的种类。

monitoring of projects

项目监测以便我们能看到当地的发展。

so that we can all see the developments happening on the ground.

And most importantly,

最重要的是为了分享生态信息，

for the sharing of ecological information

so that restoration organizations can learn one another

这样复原组织就能够相互学习。

and so that funders can find and track projects to support.

因此，资助者可以 找到并跟踪支持的项目。

Restor is a digital ecosystem for restoration.

Restor 是一个数字化的修复生态系统。

The more data the community uploads, the stronger the predictions get

社区上传的数据越多，预测就越准确，

and the more informed action we can all take.

以及我们都能采取更明智的行动。

Putting the learnings of thousands of projects

把成千上万个项目的知识

into the hands of people everywhere.

交到各地人民的手中。

And this ecosystem is much bigger than just planting trees.

而且这个生态系统比仅仅种树要大得多，

Trees are just the symbol for entire ecosystem restoration.

树木正是整个生态系统恢复的标志，

Restor 是为了保护土地以便树木再生，

Restor is for the protection of land so trees can recover,

for the amendment of soil so vegetation can return,

为了改良土壤以恢复植被，

and for the thousands of other approaches used

以及其他数以千计的方法，

促进草原、泥炭地，

to promote the health of grasslands, peatlands,

and all other ecosystems that are equally important for life on earth.

以及对地球上所有生命 同样重要的生态系统。

Whether you want to support a wetland conservation project

无论你是否想支持具有巨大碳潜力的

with huge carbon potential

湿地保育计划，

or simply find which species of plant might exist in your garden

或者简单地找出哪种植物 可能种植于你的花园里，

and how much soil carbon they could accumulate,

以及它们能积累多少土壤碳。

with this tool,

有了该工具，我们希望每个地方的人

we hope that everyone everywhere

will have a chance to engage in the restoration movement.

将有机会加入复原运动，

The word "restore" is defined

“复原” 一词定义了将某物

as the act of returning something back to its original state,

回到原来的状态，

but it's also the act of returning it back to its original owners.

但这也是一种把它 还给原来的主人的行为。

The restoration of nature is for the local biodiversity

自然的恢复是为了当地的生物多样性，

and the communities that depend on it.

以及依赖它的社区。

And as that network grows, the collective action benefits everyone.

随着网络的发展，

集体行动对每个人都有好处，

And these benefits go far beyond the threat of climate change.

这些好处远远超出气候变化的威胁，

Even if climate change stopped right now,

即使气候变化现在停止

the protection and rebuilding of earth's biodiversity

地球生物多样性的保护与重建 仍然是首要任务，

would still be a top priority because it underpins all life on earth.

因为它支撑着地球上所有的生命。

It can help us with all other global threats,

它可以帮助我们对付所有其他全球威胁，

including extreme weather events, droughts,

包括极端天气事件、干旱、

food shortages and global pandemics.

粮食短缺和全球流行病，

但全球恢复并不容易，

But global restoration won't be easy,

and it will not be solved by tech solutions alone.

而这并不是仅靠 技术解决方案就能解决的，

These tools can inform us,

这些工具可以帮助我们，

but ultimately the challenge is one that can only be addressed by us,

但最终的挑战是 只有我们才能解决的，

by all of us.

通过我们所有人。

Just like the interdependent species that make up natural ecosystems,

就像相互依赖的物种 构成了自然生态系统，

we humans are deeply dependent on one another.

我们人类是深深依赖于彼此的，

We need the immense network of limitless connections,

我们需要无限联系的庞大网络，

the farmers and project leaders on the ground

需要当地的农民和项目负责人 去利用可持续产品。

who need local markets and industries to make use of sustainable products.

科学家、政府、 非政府组织、企业，你和我

The scientists, governments, NGOs, businesses, you, me,

我们需要大家来将这场运动继续下去，

we are all needed to keep this movement going.

我们需要整个人类生态系统。

We need the whole ecology of humanity.

谢谢。

Thank you.