by Andy Corbley 笪景行

“Here we have a mangrove bud2. You take it and you plant the lower third in the mud， and then you take 2 steps—one， two， and then you plant another one，” said the retired politician， with a smile ear to ear， as he wades3 in the coastal waters of Senegals Casamance Delta.

Planting since 2009， Haidar el Alis efforts have produced one of the most amazing successes in the history of modern large-scale reforestation4—the restoration of an entire Senegalese mangrove swamp5.

Forests are one of the most resilient6 habitats7 on our planet while also being one of the most exploited8. Ever since the scientific community began to encourage the planting of trees to “re-wild” previously lost forest ecosystems to respond to climate change， some very determined people have rolled up their sleeves and produced great results.

The 67-year-old was able to rally9 citizens from the local coastal population to help him plant 152 million mangrove buds by hand， and it created a truly beautiful coastal mangrove forest stretching hundreds of square miles—one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Because they store great amounts of carbon in their root systems， mangroves and other bodies of coastal vegetation10 are some of our planets most important ecosystems. They reduce the effect of the force of waves and tsunamis. And they also provide some of the most valuable habitat for wildlife including birds， insects， fish， and even monkeys.

In a video interview with BBC， Haidar described how the original mangrove forest in Southern Senegal was destroyed in the 80s and 90s as the nation began to build roads.“At the time there were no environmental impact studies， of course.”

It wasnt until the salt from the sea water entering the delta poisoned the nearby rice fields that people began to think about what had been lost.

Though nearing his seventh decade of life， Haidar swims butterfly stroke through the water-borne forest of his and his colleagues making， pointing out the returning wildlife is good to the local economy.

“I take a lot of satisfaction from this. Im ready to do it every day， all evening， all my life.”

“這里有一片（红树林）叶子。”这位退休的政治家在塞内加尔卡萨芒斯三角洲沿海水域淌水。他笑着说：“你拿着它，把下面的三分之一种在泥里，然后你走两步，一、二，然后再种另一颗。”

海达尔·阿里自2009年开始种的，他的努力造就了现代大规模造林史上最惊人的成就之一，恢复了整个塞内加尔红树林湿地。

森林是地球上最具弹性的栖息地之一，同时也是最易被开发的栖息地之一。自从科学界开始鼓励植树来“再野化”以前失去的森林生态系统，以应对气候变化以来，一些非常坚定的人挽起了袖子，并取得了显著的成果。

这位67岁的老人能够召集当地沿海居民，帮助他人工种植1.52亿株红树林芽，并创造了一片真正美丽的沿海红树林，绵延数百平方英里——这是世界上最大的红树林之一。

由于在根系中储存了大量的碳，红树林和其他沿海植被是我们星球上最重要的生态系统之一。它们减少了海浪和海啸力量的影响。它们还为包括鸟类、昆虫、鱼类甚至猴子在内的野生动物提供了一些最有价值的栖息地。

在接受英国广播公司（BBC）的视频采访时，海达尔描述了塞内加尔南部最初的红树林在上世纪80年代和90年代是如何被破坏的，当时该国开始修建道路。“当然，当时没有环境影响方面的研究。”

直到进入三角洲的海水中的盐分毒害了附近的稻田，人们才开始考虑失去了什么。

虽然海达尔已经快七十岁了，但他还是游着蝶泳穿过了他和同伴们建造的水上森林，并指出野生动物的回归对当地经济有好处。

“我对此感到非常满意。我已经准备好了每天、整个晚上、一辈子都这样做。”

（英语原文选自：www.goodnewsnetwork.org）

【Notes】

1. mangrove [■] n. 紅树林 2. bud [■] n. 芽，萌芽

3. wade [■] v. 涉水;费力行走 4. reforestation [■] n. 重新造林

5. swamp [■] n. 沼泽，水洼;湿地 6. resilient [■] adj. 有弹力的;能复原的

7. habitat [■] n. 栖息地 8. exploit [■] vt. 开发，开拓

9. rally [■] v. 召集;集结;联合 10. vegetation [■] n. 植被;植物

▲Discussion议一议：

1. What do you think of Haidars efforts？ 你对海达尔所做的有什么看法？

2. What can you do to protect the forests？ 你能做些什么来保护森林？

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