印度是世界公认的生物多样性大国之一，拥有世界上约8%的记录物种。除了物种丰富外，印度还具有很高的“特有率”，且被公认为作物、植物起源和多样性的世界八个中心之一。
Home to around eight percent of the world’s catalogued plants and animals,
India has rich biodiversity. India's biodiversity is so rich that it also boasts many unique species and has been recognized as one of the eight centers of origin of cultivated plants in the world.
尽管印度在生物多样性保护上付出不少努力，但也不可避免的存在一些问题。
India now faces many challenges related to biodiversity conservation despite great efforts in the field.
根据科学与环境中心题为《2021年印度环境状况》的报告称，印度有四个生物多样性热点地区，分别是西高止山脉、喜马拉雅山脉、桑德班斯和印缅地区。其中印缅热点地区受影响最严重，植被面积减少了95%。
According to the report State of India’s Environment in Figures 2021 released by India’s Center for Science and Environment (CSE), over 90 percent of biodiversity hotspots in India have already been lost. India is home to four of the world’s top 35 biodiversity hotspots: Western Ghats, Himalayas, Sunderbans, and the Indo-Burma region. Among the four, the Indo-Burma hotspot is the worst affected and has lost 95 percent of its vegetation area.
此外，在四个热点地区中，有25个物种已经灭绝。
Another worrying aspect is that in these four hotspots, 25 species have become extinct.
印度拥有世界数量最多的野生亚洲象。图片源自网络
新冠肺炎疫情加剧了印度生物多样性危机
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on India’s biodiversity conservation.
新冠肺炎疫情发生后，生物多样性危机却并没有因为城市的短暂“停摆”得以缓解，反而呈现出加剧的态势。
The biodiversity crisis wasn’t mitigated by lockdown measures but became even worse. The pandemic has impeded discovery of new animal and plant species in India.
一方面，疫情严重阻碍了新动植物种的发现。印度植物调查局表示，“由于各州实行封锁和旅行限制，科学家们无法前往生物多样性丰富的地区进行相关科学研究，且相关的科学预算被削减。”
According to the Botanical Survey of India, the pandemic caused a steep drop in discovery of plant species. Because of the pan-India lockdown, restrictions on travel imposed by several states, and the raging coronavirus, scientists could not travel to remote areas. The budget was also slashed and field tours severely limited.
2021年8月1日，因新冠肺炎疫情而关闭的印度新德里动物园当日重新对公众开放。
新冠肺炎疫情后，印度生物多样性危机呈现加剧态势。xinhua
另一方面，新冠肺炎疫情导致大量农民工回到乡村或山区，给生物多样性资源带来更大的挑战。一些贫困地区的生物多样性本就承受着巨大压力，大量农民工返乡谋求生计，因此不得不增加对生物资源的获取，导致更多的资源丧失。
Moreover, the pandemic caused many migrant workers who normally live in cities to return to their hometowns in rural or mountainous areas, exerting greater pressure on biological resources. Biodiversity in poor areas was already under tremendous pressure. Since many people went back home and had to make a living, they turned to biological resources, and the situation became worse.
气候危机对印度生物多样性的保护具有长期性影响
The impact of the climate crisis on India’s biodiversity is clearly visible and long-term.
印度是世界上第四大受气候灾害影响最为严重的国家，气候灾害的发生严重破坏印度生态环境。根据研究表明，印度容易遭受一些突发和缓慢发生的灾害的威胁，包括地震、海啸、风暴潮和干旱，但森林火灾是加剧印度生物多样性危机的最主要因素。随着全球气温的升高和降雨量的减少，印度森林火灾的发生率不断上升。
India has the fourth-worst climate-induced disaster rate in the world. Climate-induced disasters severely damaged the country’s ecological environment. Research shows that India is also prone to other sudden and slow-onset hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, and droughts. Forest fires have been another key factor aggravating the country’s biodiversity crisis. The warming temperatures and reduced rainfall has led to increased forest fires in India.
2019年2月，印度班迪普尔国家公园发生森林大火。图源自网络
印度《生物多样性法案》存在缺陷
Great room remains for The Biological Diversity Act to improve.
《生物多样性法案》作为印度生物多样性保护的基础性法案仍然存在一些问题，包括资格和适用性条款表述不明晰，对资源共享机制的监管不到位，以及三级体系存在角色、职责和权力划分不清等问题。
The basic legal framework for biodiversity conservation in India has some flaws such as vague expressions of qualifications and applicability of clauses, insufficient supervision of resource sharing mechanisms, and unclear divisions of roles, responsibilities, and powers in the three-tier institutional framework.
难以平衡经济发展、人口增长和加强生物多样性保护之间的矛盾
Balancing the relationship between economic growth and biodiversity conservation is a tightrope act.
印度环境部表示，近年来，恢复退化土地和减少碳排放都可能对社区权利构成挑战。为了追求更高的经济增长，印度正在牺牲其生物多样性，但同时大量的贫困人口又需要依赖相关生态资源谋求生计，三者间的矛盾使印度对生物多样性的保护始终踌躇不前。
According to India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, efforts to restore degraded lands and reduce carbon emissions have already created challenges for community rights in recent years. To pursue higher economic growth, India must sacrifice pieces of its biodiversity. A great number of people from poor communities depend on natural resources. Striking the ideal balance among economic development, population growth, and biodiversity conservation is no easy task.
本文作者李涛为四川大学南亚研究所常务副所长、教授。作者邓桢蕾为四川大学南亚研究所硕士研究生。本文为四川大学南亚研究所国家社科基金重大项目(17ZDA170)阶段性成果。
Author Li Tao is a professor and executive deputy director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University. Deng Zhenlei is a postgraduate with the institute. The article is a progress report on the 17ZDA170 project sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China and carried out by the Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University.
