2018中非合作論壇北京峰會于9月3-4日舉行。聯合國副秘書長兼聯合國環境署執行主任埃里克·索爾海姆發表署名文章，稱贊中國在打擊珍稀野生動物交易及建設生態文明方面取得的成績，表示相關經驗尤其值得非洲國家借鑒。

　　一名偷獵老手可以惟妙惟肖地模仿大象被殺死時發出的尖叫聲，還能繪聲繪色地描述一頭大象看到同伴倒地時哀嚎的景象。他們還知道，當母象被殺死后，幼象會圍著她殘破的尸體，在悲痛中等待自己的死亡。

　　Veteran poachers have killed so many elephants that they can often imitate the screams the animals make when speared. They can tell you how other elephants howl in distress when they see one of their own felled. Calves have been known to circle the disfigured body of their mother for days in mourning, even until their own death.

　　象是大自然的杰作，它們聰敏智慧，卻遭受如此野蠻對待，全然因為人類對象牙等光鮮亮麗的物件的貪念和欲望。早期的西方殖民者最先有了對象牙的需求，在當時，象牙是至高的獎賞；時至今日，消費水平的提升極大地推高了象牙需求，而偷獵活動也“進化”到了產業化運作的程度。

　　Behind the savagery visited on these magnificent, highly sensitive and intelligent creatures lies greed and a desire for shiny objects – sometimes rooted in trends, and sometimes tradition. It began with the early white settlers, with ivory becoming one of the great prizes of the colonial era. In recent years, however, demand has skyrocketed to match the rise in global consumer wealth, and poaching has reached an industrial scale.

　　過去十年，偷獵者為了獲取象牙殺死了十萬多頭非洲象，超過非洲象種群總數的四分之一。許多象牙被運往亞洲地區，制作成飾品供人們交易，成為身份和地位的象征。

　　Over the past decade, poachers have slaughtered more than 100,000 African elephants for their ivory – more than one quarter of the population. Many of the tusks ended up in China and other parts of Asia, where they were turned into trinkets and marketed as status symbols.

　　這些非法交易在迫害大象的同時，也給那些腐敗分子和犯罪集團帶去了巨大利益，世界和諧穩定受到威脅。

　　Elephants are not the only victims. The illegal trade has generated enormous profits that feed corruption and financial criminal cartels, stoking instability around the world.

　　為響應1989年起實施的國際禁令，中國宣布全面禁止象牙交易，這一決定值得高度贊揚，它也明確傳達出了中國的立場：中國會成為世界環保行動的領軍者。

　　That is why China’s decision to ban the sale of ivory nationally, to come in line with the international ban that has been in place since 1989, deserves huge praise. The government ban will shut down the legal trade in ivory, and establish a new narrative for China’s worldview: as a leader for environmental action.

　　通過調查發現，在中國三大城市中有95%的人支持全面禁止象牙貿易，并相信禁止此類貿易有助于保護非洲象。而就幾年前，類似的調查顯示大多數人都不知道獲取完整的象牙需要殺死一頭大象，很多人以為拔掉象牙不會對大象造成什么傷害。

　　Surveys in China’s three largest cities found that 95 percent of people supported the ban because they believed it would protect African elephants. Only a few years ago, similar surveys found that average people did not even realize that an elephant had to die to obtain ivory – as the word for ivory in Chinese means tooth – many people thought it was gathered without harm.

　　禁令得到了大多數的人支持確實是一個重大勝利，不過終結對大象的屠殺還有很長的路要走。和黑市交易相比，過去合法的象牙交易本來就只是冰山一角，消滅非法象牙交易才是真正的挑戰所在。

　　That the ban has such widespread support is a major victory. The fight to end the slaughter, however, is far from over. While the ban sends a strong message that ivory products are now taboo, the legal trade is only a very small part of the problem.

　　所謂“沒有買賣就沒有傷害”，贏得這場大象保衛戰的關鍵在于減少需求。轉變人們的思想需要有一個過程，然而非洲象卻等不起。我們要馬上行動起來，做出切實改變。我們要從供應鏈下手，加強執法力度，打擊走私犯罪團伙，阻斷大規模的互聯網貿易，破壞他們藏匿資金的避稅渠道。中非之間可以進行更高級別的安保合作，確保以上舉措有效實施。

　　The bigger battle lies in tackling the far larger illegal trade. Reducing demand will be a key weapon in this fight but changing minds takes years of hard work – time that the world’s dwindling population of elephants may not have. It is essential that we also come down hard on the supply chain. This means tackling the booming internet trade, strengthening law enforcement, smashing the criminal cartels running smuggling operations and disrupting the tax havens where they stash their money. Much of this will require improved security cooperation between China and countries in Africa where the slaughter, and initial trafficking, takes place.

　　當前，中國在非洲的影響力持續擴大，加上“一帶一路”倡議的推進，這種影響力會進一步提升。在非洲的中國僑民人數超過100萬人，大部分非洲國家中都活躍著中國企業的身影。在非洲民眾心中，中國的聲譽也很不錯，一項調查顯示，70%的非洲人表示對中國持積極態度。

　　China’s influence in Africa is growing, and with the Belt and Road Initiative, it is certain to grow further. There are more than one million Chinese expats living in Africa. Chinese firms have a strong foothold in most of its 54 countries. China’s reputation on the continent is also broadly positive. In attitude surveys, 70 percent of Africans say they view the country positively.

　　通過加強信息共享，中非雙方可以更有效地攜手遏制偷獵、走私活動，打擊犯罪集團。中方應進一步加強執法力度，而非方應在發展當地生態旅游和其他產業過程中給予專業指導，當人們有更多方式謀生，就無需去偷獵，這就從根本上消除了非法狩獵的動機。

　　Better intelligence sharing with African countries could seriously disrupt the smuggling rackets and break the cartels. China could also strengthen anti-poaching teams – the embattled first line of defence against poachers – and support institutions that tackle corruption, including police and customs officials at African ports. Africa also needs expertise in eco-tourism and alternative livelihood programs that undermine the financial incentives for poaching.

　　此外，中國企業也可以在生態環境保護事業中有所作為。前不久，馬云代表阿里巴巴公益基金會和桃花源生態保護基金會來到南非開普敦，為50名一線野生動物巡護員頒獎。他在頒獎儀式上做出承諾，支持野生動物保護，并指出野生動物巡護員是一項高危職業，不僅需要在財力上給予支持，還需要技術等其他資源的支持。

　　Chinese businesses can also get involved. I was in South Africa recently for the African Ranger Awards Ceremony, where Jack Ma, the co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, pledged his support for wildlife conservation. He said rangers should not only be given monetary support, but also the resources and technology they need to carry out their dangerous work. That’s a great example of the positive role Chinese businesses can play.

　　歷史會記住中國為世界做出的貢獻。現在，中國儼然成為非洲象和其它珍稀物種的救星，讓這些大自然留給我們的生靈有地可棲。

　　Such steps could well see China go down in history as the saviour of the African elephant and other precious species – something that would be an incredible legacy.

　　回到中國國內，中國政府正在下大氣力應對嚴峻的環境問題。中國啟用了世界上最大規模的空氣質量監測系統檢測霧霾，設計更加宜居節能的城市，投資綠色能源。在可再生能源領域，中國投入了數百億美元，比其他任何國家都多，并證明了經濟增長不需要高污染排放為代價。中國的這些變化可喜可賀，而其他國家如果想要減少資源消耗同時提升人們生活質量，不妨向中國學習。

　　At home, China has made a series of giant strides toward addressing some of the country’s toughest environmental challenges. It has installed the largest air-quality monitoring systems in the world to combat the smog that shrouds its cities. It is designing better, more energy-efficient cities and investing in cleaner forms of transport. It has pumped tens of billions of dollars into renewable energy – more than any other country, proving strong economic growth does not require high emissions. The transformation is incredible, and one that other countries need to emulate if the world is to reduce resource use while continuing to lift people from poverty.

　　以上進步只是中國建設生態文明，回歸人與自然和諧共處宏偉目標的一個縮影。中國正在打造一個資源節約型、環境友好型社會，而生態環境保護是一切經濟活動和人民美好生活的根基。

　　These advances are part of China’s ambitious vision to build what it calls an “ecological civilization” – an ambition that harks back to its ancient philosophy of harmony with nature. The modern-day plan is to create a resource-efficient, environmentally-friendly society that recognizes the environment for what it is: the bedrock of our economies and our way of life, and therefore fundamental to our survival.

　　中國的經驗打破了一直以來經濟發展必然伴隨著環境破壞的魔咒。中國可以以自身獨特的發展經歷為例，幫助非洲找到適合自身的工業化道路，完成跨越式發展。

　　By sharing its phenomenal development journey, China can help Africa leapfrog the rest of the world. That means helping African nations steer a more considered course to industrialization. China, after all, has suffered more from pollution than most nations, and has done more to tackle it. More broadly, it means showing that the old ways of development accompanied by environmental destruction can be broken.

　　早期人類發展史通常是這樣：人們遷徙到哪里，就獵殺到哪里。美洲的乳齒象和巨河貍，澳大利亞的袋熊和袋獅……這些已滅絕的大型動物都是這種可悲的發展模式的犧牲品。非洲象在地球存在了六千萬年，它們能否逃過這一劫呢？

　　Early human history often follows a sad pattern. Humans arrive in new lands and learn how to hunt the local wildlife for food. Large, plodding megafauna – America’s mastodons and giant beavers, Australia’s two-ton wombats and marsupial lions – tend to disappear first. The African elephant, which has roamed the earth for 60 million years, has so far bucked this trend.

　　歷史是否會重演，人類是否會再從地球上抹去一個大型物種，還要看生態文明發展與社會發展能否和諧共進。

　　Whether history repeats itself and humans wipe out yet another of the world’s big beasts will depend greatly on how well ecological civilization is married to its development.