由于中俄抵制 南极海洋保护区计划告寝

SYDNEY, Australia — International talks in Australia on establishing two marine reserve areas, each larger than Texas, in the waters around Antarctica ended in failure on Friday, with some delegates to the negotiations saying that China and Russia had resisted the proposals.

澳大利亚悉尼——在澳大利亚举行的关于在南极附近水域建立两个海洋保护区的国际谈判，周五以失败告终。这两个保护区中的任何一个，面积都超过了美国的德克萨斯州。一些参与谈判的代表称，中国和俄罗斯抵制了上述提议。

The United States and New Zealand had jointly proposed the creation of a 500,000-square-mile reserve in the Ross Sea, in the hopes of alleviating pressure on Antarctic species facing the effects of climate change and fishing. A second major proposal, from Australia, France and the European Union, would have set up a series of four reserves in the east Antarctic waters, covering about 386,000 square miles.

此前，美国和新西兰联合倡议，在罗斯海建立50万平方英里的保护区，从而减轻南极物种因为气候变化和捕鱼的影响所造成的压力。另外一个重要的提议来自澳大利亚、法国和欧盟，包括在南极东部水域建立作为一个整体的四个保护区，面积约为38.6万平方英里。

But neither was approved at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which ended Friday in the Australian city of Hobart after two weeks of talks among government officials, scientists and environmentalists from 24 countries and the European Union.

但在南极海洋生物资源养护委员会(Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources)的年度会议上，这两项提议都没有通过。在来自24个国家以及欧盟的政府官员、科学家和环保人士进行了两周的谈判之后，会议于周五在澳大利亚的霍巴特结束。

Any one of the commission’s member states can block a major proposal like the creation of a marine reserve. The commission does not make its deliberations public, but several nonvoting delegates from nongovernmental organizations said China and Russia were the only countries to speak against the two proposals, both of which have been presented before in various iterations.

委员会的所有成员国都可以否决建立海洋保护区这样重大的协议。委员会不公开审议过程，但几名非政府组织的无表决权代表称，中国和俄罗斯是仅有的反对这两项提议的国家。此前，这两项提议都已通过多个版本被呈现。

“The overall political situation, where Russia is in a political confrontation with other countries, mainly Western or NATO countries, overshadows negotiations” at international forums like the marine commission, said Grigory Tsidulko, a Russian member of the nongovernmental organization Antarctic Ocean Alliance, who attended the talks.

“整体的政治形势是，俄罗斯正在与其他国家进行政治对抗，其中主要是西方国家和北约国家，这为海洋委员会这样的国际论坛的谈判蒙上了阴影，”非政府组织南极海洋联盟(Antarctic Ocean Alliance)的俄罗斯成员、出席了此次谈判的格里戈里·提斯杜克(Grigory Tsidulko)说。

Jiliang Chen of the Chinese nongovernmental organization Greenovation Hub said that China’s official delegation was reluctant to make long-term decisions about large-scale marine reserves, particularly given ambitions to expand the country’s fishing fleet.

中国非政府组织创绿中心的陈冀俍说，中国官方代表团不愿意做出关于大型海洋保护区的长期决定，尤其是考虑到其扩张捕鱼舰队的宏大目标。

“But change is happening in China,” Mr. Chen said. “National policies are moving towards environmental protection. Good things are happening domestically so I hope we can, in future, contribute more to the conservation of the Antarctic.”

“但中国发生了改变，”陈冀俍说。“国家政策正在朝着环境保护方向发展。国内正在发生好的事情，因此，我希望我们未来能够为保护南极做出更多贡献。”

Evan Bloom of the United States State Department, who led the American delegation, said the ecosystem in the proposed Ross Sea reserve “deserves protection because it hosts large populations of penguins, seals, whales, fishes and other animals that are vulnerable to climate change, in a unique location.” The New Zealand delegation said the Ross Sea, one of the most pristine natural regions in the world, is home to almost a third of the world’s Adélie penguins and Antarctic petrels.

美国代表团团长、美国国务院(State Department)的艾文·布卢姆(Evan Bloom)表示，提议的罗斯海保护区“应该受到保护，因为这里有大量企鹅、海豹、鲸鱼、鱼类及其他容易受到气候变化影响的动物，处在一个独特的位置”。新西兰代表团表示，罗斯海是世界上最原始、自然的地区之一，世界上几乎三分之一的阿德利企鹅和南极海燕生活在那里。

Scientists have warned that sections of the Antarctic are warming more rapidly than other parts of the globe, resulting in ocean acidification and the degradation of sea ice. “Cold waters absorb more carbon dioxide,” said Bob Zuur, a delegate to the talks from WWF. “A lot of animals and plants, especially animals like krill, suffer as acidity levels rise.”

科学家警告称，南极部分区域变暖的速度比世界其他地方快，导致海洋酸化，海冰退化。“冷水会吸收更多二氧化碳，”世界自然基金会(WWF)的与会代表鲍勃·祖尔(Bob Zuur)说。“随着海水酸度上升，很多动植物，特别是磷虾等动物会受到影响。”

“Krill is the lifeblood of the ocean,” Mr. Zuur added. “It supports the biodiversity in the Southern Ocean, from huge whales to tiny petrels to seals and penguins.”

“磷虾是海洋的命脉，”祖尔还说。“它为南大洋的生物多样性提供支持，从巨鲸到小海燕到海豹和企鹅。”

Mark Epstein, a delegate from the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, said it was clear from the meetings that the vast majority of delegates supported marine reserves. “That’s very positive,” he said. “There have been substantive conversations around how marine protected areas should function. But we need a game-change moment to get us through this impasse.”

来自南极和南大洋联盟(Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition)的代表马克·爱泼斯坦(Mark Epstein)表示，从会议的情况来看，很明显，绝大多数代表支持设立海洋保护区。“这是非常积极的，”他说。“我们就海洋保护区如何发挥功能进行了实质性的交流。但我们需要一个变革时刻，使我们突破这个僵局。”