Biodiversity

12月1日，国际知名环保组织“地球之友”根据卫星照片整理出的数据显示，今年巴西亚马逊热带雨林遭到过度砍伐，破坏面积比美国新泽西州还要大，而一条高速公路的修建是罪魁祸首。外电报道如下：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“生物多样性”。亚马逊雨林里生活着地球上约30%的生物物种，平均每平方公里不同种类的植物达12OO多种。这里生态环境纷繁复杂，生物多样性保存完好，被称为“生物科学家的天堂”。在亚马逊河流域的仅0．08平方公里左右的取样地块上，就可以得到4．2万个昆虫种类，然而由于人们对热带雨林的过度砍伐，那里每天都至少消失一个物种。 （中国日报网站编）