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On the hills of Haiti, only two percent of the forests are left.
海地山坡上的樹林只剩下2％。
Stripped bare, the soil no longer absorbs the rainwater.
裸露的土壤無法吸收雨水。
With no vegetation and no roots to reinforce them,nothing holds the soils back.
沒有植物和根莖的加固,土壤被雨沖走。
The rainwater washes them down the hillsides as far as the sea.
雨水把它們從山坡上沖進大海。
Erosion impoverishes the quality of the soils,reducing their suitability for agriculture.
雨水侵蝕令土壤貧瘠,不宜耕種。
In some parts of Madagascar, the erosion is spectacular.
在馬達加斯加雨水侵蝕景像非常壯觀。
Whole hillsides bear deep gashes hundreds of meters wide.
山坡布滿數百米寬的深坑。
Thin and fragile, soil is made by living matter.
土壤由生命物質構成 薄而脆弱。
With erosion, the fine layer of humus,which took thousands of years to form, disappears.
經過數千年形成的,一層腐植土因雨水侵蝕而消失。
Here's one theory of the story of the Rapa Nui,the inhabitants of Easter Island,that could perhaps give us pause for thought.
復活節島的故事和島上居民的遭遇或許值得我們反思。
Living on the most isolated island in the world,the Rapa Nui exploited their resources until there was nothing left.
復活節島是世上最偏僻的島嶼。島上居民把資源開發殆盡。
Their civilization did not survive.
他們的文明已不存在。
On these lands stood the highest palm trees in the world.
這里曾矗立世上最高的棕櫚樹。
They have disappeared.
如今蕩然無存。
The Rapa Nui chopped them all down for lumber.
當地人把樹變木材。
They then had to face widespread soil erosion.
導致大量水土流失。
The Rapa Nui could no longer go fishing.
當地人無法再出海捕魚。
There were no trees to build canoes.
因為已無樹木用來做獨木舟。
And yet the Rapa Nui formed one of the most brilliant civilizations in the Pacific.
但復活島人曾建立太平洋最耀眼的文明。
Innovative farmers, sculptors, exceptional navigators,they were caught in a vise of overpopulation and dwindling resources.
富有創造力的農夫 雕塑家和杰出的航海家。如今卻在人口過剩、資源減少的夾縫中掙扎。
They experienced social unrest, revolts and famine.
結果釀成社會動蕩,叛亂和饑荒。
