Seventy-two boxes – that is all that was left of 100 African elephants, killed for their tusks. Confiscated from an office in New York City’s diamond district in 2012, the 72 office boxes were filled with small ivory beads, figurines, charms and toys.
72个箱子——这是100头非洲大象因为象牙被猎杀后所留下的一切。这72个文件箱是2012年从纽约钻石区的一个办公室没收的,里面装着各种小型象牙制品:珠链、小雕像、挂饰以及玩具。
Demand for these trinkets, often from consumers unaware the ivory comes from animals recently and illegally killed, is what drives the mass slaughter of elephants.
对这些小饰品的需求是致使大象被大规模猎杀的因素,而怀有这些需求的消费者,往往意识不到这些象牙是对动物的非法猎杀而得来的。
In a recent interview, a convicted poacher who spent a decade running a gang in Kenya admitted to personally killing more than 70 elephants. “My attacks were so frequent that the elephants could not mate and have calves. There were not enough male bull elephants left,” he said.
在最近一次采访中,一名被判有罪的偷猎者承认曾亲手猎杀70多头大象。他曾在肯尼亚一个偷猎团伙当了10年的头目。他表示:“我发动的攻击如此频繁,以至于大象们无法交配和产仔。剩下的成年公象数量不足。”
These examples, sad but unfortunately all too common, reveal the international ivory trade at its most brutal. An estimated 35,000 elephants and more than 1,000 rhinos were killed last year alone. At this rate we are on a path towards the extinction of both elephants and rhinos on the African continent.
这些例子令人遗憾,但不幸的是太过常见,它们揭示出国际象牙贸易最野蛮的一面。据估计,仅去年一年就有3.5万头大象和1000多头犀牛被杀。按照这种速度,非洲大陆的大象和犀牛将会灭绝。
This is an ecological and moral disaster. But that is not all. Illegal poaching and trafficking also represent an economic and security challenge in Africa and beyond.
这是一场生态和道德灾难。但这还不是一切。非法偷猎和贩运还成了非洲乃至世界面临的一项经济和安全挑战。
We have seen al-Shabaab from Somalia, the Janjaweed from Sudan, the Lord’s Resistance Army in east Africa and other armed groups move into illegal wildlife trafficking. It has become a multibillion-dollar business, facilitated by the same sophisticated criminal networks that are dealing in drugs, taking hostages on the open seas, and financing illegal arms sales and terrorist groups.
我们已看到索马里“青年党”(Al-Shabaab)、苏丹牧民武装部队(Janjaweed)、东非“上帝抵抗军”(Lord’s Resistance Army)以及其他武装组织染指非法的野生动物贩运活动。这已成为一项规模高达数十亿美元的业务,依托着从事毒品交易、在公海上劫持人质、为非法武器销售和恐怖主义组织提供资金的错综复杂的犯罪网络。
In recent years wildlife trafficking has become more structured, more lucrative and more ruthless than ever before. Poachers now use helicopters, automatic weapons, night-vision goggles and satellite phones to overwhelm and even kill park rangers and other local authorities. More than 1,000 wildlife rangers across the world have been murdered by these groups in the past decade.
最近几年,野生动物贩运已变得比以往任何时候都更有组织,更有利可图而且更加无情。偷猎者现在会利用直升机、自动武器、夜视镜和卫星电话,击败甚至杀害护林员和其他地方机构的人员。过去10年,全球有1000多名野生动物护林员被这些团伙谋杀。
These criminals are spreading instability, undermining the rule of law and threatening the tourist trade that is the lifeblood of so many African communities.
这些犯罪分子正在传播动荡,破坏法治并危及旅游业——旅游业是非洲很多社区的命脉。
On both sides of the Atlantic, the scourge of wildlife trafficking has been centre stage recently. This month the White House announced a ban on new commercial ivory sales in the US and released a national strategy to address the illegal exploitation of elephants, rhinos and other wildlife. In London, the Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales and the UK government hosted an international conference to address the wildlife trafficking crisis. Delegates from 46 countries and 11 UN organisations signed a declaration promising to improve cross-border co-operation and strengthen laws and policing.
野生动物贩运的祸害最近在大西洋两岸成为焦点。本月,白宫宣布在美国禁止新的商业象牙销售,并推出一项全国战略,应对大象、犀牛和其他野生动物的非法猎杀。在伦敦,剑桥公爵(Duke of Cambridge)、威尔士王子(Prince of Wales)和英国政府召开了一次国际会议,以应对野生动物贩运危机。来自46个国家和11个联合国(UN)组织的代表签署了一项宣言,承诺加强跨境合作,强化法律和执法工作。
We strongly endorse a complete ban on ivory sales in the US. The global ban agreed in 1989 was successful in stemming a previous killing spree. Over time, however, exceptions have eviscerated the international ban and illegal ivory is now routinely bought and sold under one or more loopholes, providing cover for illegal traffickers. These need to be closed and sanctions imposed on countries that continue to trade in ivory products.
我们强烈支持在美国全面禁售象牙。1989年达成的一项全球禁令成功遏制了上一波猎杀热潮。然而,随着时间的流逝,例外情况严重破坏了这条国际禁令,非法象牙买卖如今经常通过一个或更多漏洞进行,这些漏洞为非法贩运者提供着掩护。我们需要弥补这些漏洞,并对那些继续从事象牙制品贸易的国家实施制裁。
We are proud of the steps the US is taking and encouraged by the declaration made in London. But governments cannot end this crisis alone – private-sector action is needed as well.
我们对美国正在采取的措施感到骄傲,伦敦达成的宣言也鼓舞着我们。但各国政府不可能单靠自身的力量结束这场危机,还需要私营部门的行动。
At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September last year we brought together a coalition of African states, conservation organisations and other concerned parties to announce an $80m commitment to action, called the Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants. Our goal is to “stop the killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand”. With more than a dozen partners, we are scaling up anti-poaching enforcement at 50 sites; strengthening intelligence networks; imposing tougher penalties for violations; and more.
在去年9月召开的“克林顿全球倡议”(Clinton Global Initiative)年会上,我们召集非洲国家、自然保护组织和其他有关方面,宣布了一项8000万美元行动计划,名为“拯救非洲大象合作伙伴关系”(Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants)。我们的目标是“制止猎杀、制止贩运和制止需求”。我们正与超过12个合作伙伴一道,在50个地点扩大反偷猎执法的规模;加强情报网络;对违法行为实施更严厉处罚;以及更多措施。
Ultimately, saving Africa’s elephants depends on consumers everywhere. We need to connect the dots for people between the ivory goods they see in stores and the carcasses of dead elephants half a world away. And as consumers, we should urge companies to help law enforcement authorities disrupt the transfer of tusks, rhino horn and wildlife products on ships, aircraft and trucks. Financial institutions should help to trace illegal transactions, freeze assets and impound ill-gotten gains from illegal trafficking. Retailers need to stop selling ivory products. And businesses need to blow the whistle on government officials and institutions that have been corrupted by this lucrative, illegal trade.
最终而言,拯救非洲大象取决于各国消费者。我们需要帮助人们把他们在商店看到的象牙制品与地球另一端死亡大象的遗骸联系在一起。作为消费者,我们应敦促企业帮助执法部门阻止象牙、犀牛角和野生动物制品通过轮船、飞机和卡车转移。金融机构应帮助追踪非法交易、冻结资产,并没收来自非法贩运的非法所得。零售商需要停止销售象牙制品。企业需要检举那些被这种有利可图的非法贸易腐蚀的政府官员和机构。
Only by working together can we beat this crisis, break the nexus between trafficking and terrorism, and make sure these incredible creatures will roam the earth for generations to come.
只有通过通力合作,我们才能战胜这场危机、打破贩运与恐怖主义之间的轴心,并确保那些令人叹为观止的动物能够一代又一代地在地球上徜徉。