Biodiversity

12月1日，國際知名環保組織“地球之友”根據衛星照片整理出的數據顯示，今年巴西亞馬遜熱帶雨林遭到過度砍伐，破壞面積比美國新澤西州還要大，而一條高速公路的修建是罪魁禍首。外電報道如下：An area of Amazon jungle larger than the U.S. state of New Jersey has been destroyed this year and work on a new highway is mainly to blame, environmental group Friends of the Earth and the government said on Wednesday. The preliminary figures, based on satellite images, alarmed environmentalists because they suggest that Amazon destruction has surpassed its second-highest level reached in 2002-2003. The data is based on a satellite system which has been monitoring Amazon deforestation on a test basis. The government's yearly figures, released in March, are based on data from a different satellite system. The images indicated that from 8,920 square miles to 9,420 square miles, or an area bigger than New Jersey, was cut down this year, said Joao Paulo Capobianco, the government's secretary of biodiversity and forests. Biodiversity表示“生物多樣性”。亞馬遜雨林里生活著地球上約30%的生物物種，平均每平方公里不同種類的植物達12OO多種。這里生態環境紛繁復雜，生物多樣性保存完好，被稱為“生物科學家的天堂”。在亞馬遜河流域的僅0．08平方公里左右的取樣地塊上，就可以得到4．2萬個昆蟲種類，然而由于人們對熱帶雨林的過度砍伐，那里每天都至少消失一個物種。 （中國日報網站編）