Indigenous people are key to protecting our forests

甘肃 康慧珍

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难词探意

1. intrinsic /ɪn΄trɪnsɪk/ adj. 固有的；内在的

2. nomad /΄nəʊmæd/ n. 游牧部落的人

3. desertification /dɪˌzзːtɪfɪ΄keɪʃn/ n. 沙漠化

4. cultivated /΄kʌltɪveɪtɪd/ adj. 用于耕作的

There's a first time for everything: the Paris Agreement on climate change recognized theintrinsicrelationship between indigenous people and their environment.Whether they're in Taiga, the Sahel or the rain forests of Africa, America or Asia, what all indigenous people have in common is a deep connection to the natural environment in which they live.

I like to think of nature as our supermarket: it produces the grass we use to feed livestock, the food we eat, the water we drink, and also the medicine we need. But nature is more than that:it inspires our culture, our traditions, our science and our identity. For instance, traditional knowledge based on observing nature, such as birds, bugs and trees, helpsnomadcommunities to define their seasonal migration. When you're in a city checking the weather forecast via an app on your smartphone, try to imagine my people, in Chad, far away from any network, anticipating the rain or the wind by looking up at the sky.

This is why we indigenous people are on the front line of nature conservation. Preserving the balance of the ecosystem has always been the indigenous way of life. Even in the tropical forests of Africa, where some communities use wood products to build settlements, they do so without negatively affecting the nature around them.

In Chad, the seasonal movement of communities helps fertilize the soil, creating a natural barrier against deforestation.For centuries,indigenous people and their communities have helped to fightdesertification, following the rhythm of seasons and helping to regenerate plants. But while they are first to preserve the environment, indigenous people are also the first to suffer the consequences of climate change.

In Africa, one of the most affected continents, all ecosystems are endangered by global warming.Forests that have survived for centuries today face new pressure. The change in climate threatens the ecosystem's ability to restore itself, while commercial agriculture damages biodiversity and changes primary forest intocultivatedareas.These activities make it hard for indigenous people to protect their environment, and also to preserve their culture, their languages, their knowledge and their unique traditions.

Reading

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1. What do indigenous people have in common?

A. They prefer to go to supermarkets.

B. They're good at making medicine.

C. They make a living by raising livestock.

D. They're linked to the natural environment deeply.

2. What does the author think of nature?

A. It is mysterious in the eyes of indigenous people.

B. It mainly provides food for indigenous people.

C. It is important in indigenous people's culture and tradition.

D. It is like a large supermarket with many goods for daily life.

3. What may Africans in the tropical forests use to build settlements?

A. Wood. B. Bamboo. C. Grass. D. Plastic.

4. How do people in Chad protect the environment?

A. By updating their traditions.

B. By moving seasonally and growing plants.

C. By cutting down trees seasonally.

D. By suffering the consequences of climate change.

Language

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Sentence for writing

These activities make it hard for indigenous people to protect their environment, and also to preserve their culture, their languages, their knowledge and their unique traditions. 这些活动使原住民难以保护他们的环境，也难以保护他们的文化、语言、知识和独特的传统。

【信息提取】make it hard for sb to do sth意为“使某人做某事很难”。

【句式仿写】昨天的暴风雪使他开车很艰难。

Cultural

Background

《巴黎协定》

《巴黎协定》(Paris Agreement) 是2015年12月12日在巴黎气候变化大会上通过、2016年4月22日在纽约签署的气候变化协定，该协定为2020年后全球应对气候变化的行动做出了安排。 《巴黎协定》的长期目标是将全球平均气温较前工业化时期的上升幅度控制在2摄氏度以内，并努力将温度上升幅度限制在1.5摄氏度以内。

2019年9月23日，俄罗斯总理梅德韦杰夫签署政府令，批准《巴黎协定》，俄罗斯正式加入《巴黎协定》。 2019年11月4日，美国开启退出《巴黎协定》的正式流程，于2020年11月4日正式退出《巴黎协定》。