紐時賞析／數百萬人依賴樹木維生 全球38%樹種面臨滅絕危機

Extinction Looms for More Than a Third of Tree Species, a Study Finds

研究發現全球38%樹種瀕臨滅絕

More than one-third of the world’s tree species are threatened with extinction, according to the first comprehensive assessment of trees by the world’s leading scientific authority on the status of species.

根據全球首屈一指的物種狀態科學機構首份樹木全面評估報告，全球逾三分之一樹種正面臨滅絕危機。

The findings, announced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, are especially sobering given the amount of life that trees sustain. Countless species of other plants, animals and fungi rely on forest ecosystems. Trees are also fundamental to regulating water, nutrients and planet-warming carbon.

這項發現由國際自然保護聯盟瀕危物種紅色名錄宣布。考慮到大量生命仰賴樹木維生，這份報告格外令人警醒。無數的其他植物、動物、真菌等物種仰賴森林生態系，對於調節水分、養分以及會讓地球暖化的碳，樹木也十分重要。

“Trees are essential to support life on Earth through their vital role in ecosystems, and millions of people depend on them for their lives and livelihoods,” Grethel Aguilar, director-general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said in a statement.

國際自然保育聯盟總幹事艾吉拉在聲明中說，「透過在生態體系中扮演重要角色，樹木在養育地球生命上不可或缺，數百萬人的生活與生計都依賴樹木」。

The tree assessment is considered comprehensive because it includes more than 80% of known tree species. In all, 38% were found to be at risk of extinction. More than 1,000 experts from around the world contributed.

這份評估被認為是全面的，因報告涵蓋逾80%已知樹種，總共38%樹種被認為面臨滅絕危機。全球各地1000多名專家對報告作出貢獻。

Island biodiversity is particularly vulnerable, in part because those species often have small populations that exist nowhere else, and island trees accounted for the highest proportion of trees threatened with extinction. In Madagascar, for example, numerous species of rosewoods and ebonies are threatened. In Borneo, 99 species in the family of trees called Dipterocarpaceae are imperiled. In Cuba, fewer than 75 mature individuals of the red-flowered Harpalyce macrocarpa, known in Spanish as maiden’s blood, remain.

報告指出，島嶼的生物多樣性特別脆弱，部分原因是這些物種通常族群數目較小，也沒有出現在其他地方；在瀕臨滅絕的樹木中，以島嶼樹木的占比為最高。例如，在馬達加斯加，多種紅木與烏木樹種面臨滅絕威脅；在婆羅洲，名為龍腦香科的樹木家族中約99個樹種陷入危機；在古巴，西班牙語稱為少女之血的紅花植物 Harpalyce macrocarpa，其成熟個體剩不到75株。

Around the world, the biggest threats to trees are agriculture and logging, followed by urbanization, said Emily Beech, head of conservation prioritization at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, a nonprofit group that led the research now included in the Red List.

國際植物園保育聯盟的保育優先順序主管艾蜜莉．畢區表示，在世界各地，對樹木最大的威脅是農業和伐木，其次是都市化。該組織是個非營利組織，領導的研究現已列入國際自然保護聯盟瀕危物種紅色名錄。

For temperate regions, pests and diseases are major threats to trees. Climate change is an emerging threat, Beech said, and it’s unclear how warming will affect the majority of tree species.

畢區說，在溫帶地區，樹木面臨的主要威脅則是病蟲害。氣候變遷是新浮現的威脅，目前仍不清楚暖化將如何影響大多樹種。

The group announced the findings in Cali, Colombia, where government representatives and other participants from countries worldwide have gathered for the United Nations biodiversity conference, which is held every two years. Now in their second week, negotiations are bogged down in tensions over how countries that are poorer economically but often wealthier in biodiversity are going to pay to conserve and restore nature instead of extracting resources.

該組織在哥倫比亞卡利公布調查報告，全球各國政府代表與其他參與者在當地參加兩年一次的聯合國生物多樣性會議。會議如今進入第二周，有關經濟較貧窮但生物多樣性通常較豐富的國家，如何支付費用保護並恢復自然而非開採資源，協商在緊張氣氛中陷入停滯。

文／Catrin Einhorn　譯／江昱蓁