蚂蚁森林指路更好更绿的未来

拉奇纳·古普塔

Ant Forest， a green initiative by the worlds leading payment and lifestyle platform Alipay， received the “U.N. Champions of the Earth” award in September.

The award is the United Nations highest environmental honor and was given to Ant Forest for galvanizing more than half a billion people to adopt an eco-friendly and greener lifestyle， thus greatly contributing to ecological protection with the help of digital technology.

Alipay achieved this remarkable feat by inspiring its users to choose from various low-carbon options in their daily lives， such as limited usage of paper and plastic， online payment of utility bills， and green travel using public transportation or bicycles instead of driving cars.

“Green energy points” are also allotted to users each time they opt for an eco-friendly option， and once sufficient points are accumulated， users are allowed to grow a virtual tree in their Ant Forest app.

Subsequently， a real tree is planted by Alipay and its philanthropic partners in lieu of the virtual tree in some of the countrys most arid regions. Users can view their trees in real-time via satellite.

The publicity generated is creating a virtuous cycle whereby more and more residents are encouraged to adopt low-carbon and energy-saving lifestyle.

The Ant Forest initiative was launched by the Alipay app in August 2016， and so far， the company has planted almost 122 million trees to revitalize the most arid regions such as Inner Mongolia， Gansu， Qinghai， and Shanxi.

The app has attracted more than 500 million users and has efficiently averted almost 7.9 million tons of carbon emissions by forming a tree coverage area of 112，000 hectares. With these numbers under its belt， the project has become the countrys largest private-sector tree-planting initiative.

According to Inger Andersen， executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme， “Ant Forest demonstrates how technology can reshape our world by harnessing the positive energy and innovation of global users.”

She further highlighted that “although the environmental challenges we face are daunting， we have the technology and the knowledge to conquer them and fundamentally redesign how we interact with the planet. Initiatives like Ant Forest tap into the best of human ingenuity and innovation to create a better world.”

This initiative of Ant Forest is also in line with the Chinese governments strategy of transforming the nation into a “Green Economy”. To accomplish this objective， the country is taking aggressive action in expanding its green coverage.

A research report published by NASA early this year highlighted that China has contributed to the increase in the worlds green leaf area by almost 25% in the last two decades， despite possessing only 6.6% of worlds vegetated area.

Out of this increase， 42% is due to afforestation while another 32% is a result of farming activities. Also， several forestation projects covering 6.6 million hectares， almost the size of Ireland， is underway in the northern parts of Hebei， Inner Mongolia and Qinghai to cover nearly 23% of the mainlands total land area with forests.

Additionally， China has been making persistent efforts since the 1970s to contain advancing desertification. For instance， the “Great Green Wall”， a gigantic anti-desertification program， was initiated in the countrys northern region in 1978 to restrain expansion of the Gobi Desert. Thus far， over 66 billion trees have been planted in the area.

Moreover， several laws related to the transformation of arid lands were put in place by the country in the early 2000s to facilitate revival of degraded farms and grasslands.

The Forestry Administrations monitoring report highlighted that desert lands in the country expanded between 1994 and 1999， but contracted from then until 2014. The study also mentioned that such areas had shrunk by 2，424 square kilometers per year in the past decade.

According to the United Nations， an alarming 1.8 billion people are expected to suffer severe water scarcity by 2025， while almost two-thirds of the worlds population would experience acute “water-stressed” conditions.

Already， a third of the planets fertile land has become extinct due to land degradation in the last 40 years. In addition， a landmass almost half the size of the European Union （4.18 million square kilometers） is converted into a degraded land every year， with Africa and Asia being the most impacted regions as a consequence of their increasing population.

It seems clear that unless governments， businesses， and people all come together to form a focused team， its difficult to contain global warming and its ensuing impact. Going by the warnings of climate scientists， the planet is at a tipping point which could result in unparalleled natural disasters unless urgent actions are taken immediately.

Here， Alipay Ant Forest shows that it is possible to make collective efforts while relying on digital technology for a better and greener future. Several more initiatives， from not just China but all across the globe， are utilizing technology to contribute towards a sustainable and inclusive future of the planet.

蚂蚁森林是全球领先的支付生活平台支付宝发起的一项绿色倡议活动。2018年9月，它荣获“联合国地球卫士奖”。

这个奖项是联合国在环境领域的最高荣誉。蚂蚁森林获此殊荣，是因为它借数字科技之力，激励超过五亿人采用生态友好、更环保的生活方式，对生态保护贡献极大。

支付宝取得如此卓越的成绩，是通过鼓励用户在日常生活中做出各式各样的低碳选择，比如限制使用纸张和塑料、在线支付水电费、绿色出行（即放弃开车，转而乘坐公共交通或骑自行车出行）。

用户每选择一个生态友好选项，就会获得“绿色能量值”，一旦积累了足够的数值，就可以在蚂蚁森林程序内种植一棵虚拟树。

随后，支付宝及其慈善合作伙伴会在中国某些最为干旱的地区种植一棵真树以代之。用户可以通过卫星实时观看他们的树。

这个活动的推广正在形成一种良性循环：越来越多的居民受其鼓舞，采取低碳、节能的生活方式。

支付宝在2016年8月发起了蚂蚁森林倡议，迄今为止，种植了约1.22亿棵树，为内蒙古、甘肃、青海和山西等最干旱地区注入了活力。

支付宝吸引了超过5亿用户，开发了11.2万公顷树木覆盖区，有效避免了约790万吨碳排放。有此骄人成就，蚂蚁森林项目已成为中国私营企业最大的植树倡议活动。

联合国环境规划署执行主任英格·安德森说：“蚂蚁森林展示了科技如何利用全球用户的正能量和创新力来重塑我们的世界。”

她进一步强调说，“虽然我们面临艰巨的环境挑战，但我们拥有技术和知识，可以征服这些挑战，并从根本上重构我们与地球的互动方式。像蚂蚁森林这样的倡议活动将人类才智和创新挖掘到极致，让世界变得更美好”。

蚂蚁森林倡议也合乎中国政府的战略——举国转向“绿色经济”。为了完成这个目标，中国正采取积极措施以扩大绿化覆盖面积。

2019年年初，美国国家航空航天局发布了一份研究报告。该报告强调说，虽然中国的植被面积只占世界的6.6%，但过去20年，中国对世界绿叶面积增量贡献了近25%。

中国绿叶面积增加，42%是由于植树造林，另有32%是来自于农业活动。而且，在河北、内蒙古和青海三地的北部，有好几个造林项目已经启动，总体覆盖660万公顷土地，相当于爱尔兰的大小，要让中国大陆陆地区域的森林覆盖率达近23%。

此外，自1970年代以来，中国就一直致力于遏制荒漠化蔓延。比如，1978年在中国北部启动的“绿色长城”就是一个规模庞大的防治荒漠化项目，旨在限制戈壁沙漠的扩张。迄今为止，已在中国北方地区种植了超过660亿棵树。

而且，在2000年代早期，为了帮助复原退化的农场和草场，中国制定了好几项涉及改造干旱区的法律。

林业局的监测报告显示，虽然1994年至1999年年间，中国的荒漠地带向外扩张，但从1999年到2014年，中国的荒漠地带向内收缩。这份研究还提到，过去10年，荒漠地区每年缩减2424平方公里。

据联合国预测，到2025年，有18亿人会遭遇严重缺水危机，这一数字触目惊心。而与此同时，有近三分之二的全球人口会经历严峻的供水緊张状况。

过去40年，由于土地退化，全球已有三分之一的沃土变得贫瘠。此外，每年有418万平方公里的地块退化，大约是半个欧盟的面积，其中非洲、亚洲因人口不断增长，受害最深。

显然，除非政府、企业和人们联合起来，集中发力，否则很难抑制全球气候变暖及其后续影响。正如气候学家所警告的那样，地球正处在一个临界点，如不立刻采取紧急行动，可能会引发前所未有的自然灾难。

现在，支付宝蚂蚁森林表明，以数字科技集众人之努力，创造更好更绿的未来是可行的。另外几项来自中国和全球各地的倡议也在利用科技为一个可持续发展、包容广阔的未来作出贡献。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

重大国家战略常用关键词英文译法（一）

——黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展

1. 黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展 ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin （YB Conservation and Development）

2. 保护、传承、弘扬黄河文化 to preserve， inherit and promote the Yellow River culture

3. 黄河安澜 When the Yellow River is harnessed， China will enjoy tranquility.

4. 以水而定、量水而行 to use Yellow River water resources as its capacity permits

5. 共同抓好大保护，协同推进大治理 to work together to protect and harness the Yellow River

6. 黄河长治久安 to keep the Yellow River harnessed

7. 宜水则水、宜山则山，宜粮则粮、宜农则农，宜工则工、宜商则商 to make use of the water and mountain resources， grow crops， and develop agriculture， industry or business where conditions permit

8. 山水林田湖草综合治理、系统治理、源头治理 to protect mountains， rivers， forests， farmlands， lakes and grasslands and address their degradation at the source in a coordinated way