Nearly a third of animal species under threat in developing nations can be linked to global trade of manufactured goods and commodities such as sugar, coffee and cocoa, researchers said on June 6.
Policies aimed at curbing threats to species should take into account not only local producers who degrade the land, but also foreign consumers who benefit from products at the expense of the habitat, said a study led by the University of Sydney.
“Excluding invasive species, we found that 30 percent of species threats are due to international trade,” said the study, published in the June 7 edition of Nature.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
For example, the spider monkey is endangered and threatened by habitat loss linked to coffee and cocoa plantations in Mexico and Central America, which export their products abroad.
The US, the EU and Japan are the main destinations for commodities associated with species threats, while Indonesia and Malaysia are among the biggest exporters, the study found.
“To combat biodiversity loss, policies aimed at producers, traders and consumers must be implemented in parallel,” the authors wrote.
(Reuters)
開發中國家近三分之一動物物種生存受到威脅,可能與製造業商品以及諸如糖、咖啡和可可等原物料的全球貿易有關,研究人員六月六日說。
旨在遏制威脅物種的政策,應將導致土地退化的當地生產商,和從以犧牲(動物)棲息地為代價的產品中受益的外國消費者,都納入考慮範圍,這項由雪梨大學進行的研究指出。
研究稱:「排除入侵物種,我們發現百分之三十的物種生存受到威脅是因為國際貿易。」這項研究發表在六月七日的《自然》期刊上。
研究發現,蜘蛛猴因棲息地減少,生存受到威脅,與墨西哥和中美洲的咖啡和可可種植,並將產品銷往國外有關。
美國、歐盟和日本是威脅物種生存原物料的主要目的地,而印尼和馬來西亞都是這些商品最大出口國之一。
研究者表示:「為了因應生物多樣性的流失,針對生產商、貿易商和消費者的政策必須齊頭並進。」
(路透/翻譯:陳成良)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110