Hello, this is Jane Goodal. I’m really honored to have a chance to say a few words to you today.

I lived on planet earth for almost 90 years and during that time I’ve seen many changes, including devastating changes affecting the environment. As a child growing up in the UK, I spent hours in our garden watching the animals, birds and insects. Now 80 years later, due to the use of pesticides(殺蟲劑) and herbicides（滅草劑）, pollution, habitat destruction, another harmful human activities, our garden has lost more than 1/3 of the bird species and well over 80% of insects. When I was young, you couldn’t leave a window open at night if there was a light on, because almost instantly your room would be full of moths and other night insects. Now I’m excited if one moth flies in. And as we are now aware insects and they from a major part of the diet of countless animals. A decreasing at a alarming rate worldwide,and this includes bees and other pollinators that we rely on to fertilize our crops.

?Sadly were in the midst of the 6th?great extinction of plant and animal species and this one caused by our activities, caused by our disrespect of nature. And the idea that there can be unlimited economic development on a planet with finite natural resources which in some places are being used up at an unsustainable rate. We have to change the way we do things. It’s really important to stress that loss of biodiversity is increasingly triggered by climate chang. A major impact of climate chang on biodiversity is the increase in the intensity and frequency of typhoons, flooding(洪水), periods of drought, heat waves and wildfires, and this adds to the threats to biodiversity, already caused by habitat destruction, pollution, ocean acidification growth of human and livestock populations and so on. In other words, slowing down climate change and protecting biodiversity go hand in hand.

So many people have become disconnected from the natural world today, young people are preoccupied with media and video games and parents with long work hours and so modern life comes between us and nature, and what you don’t know or understand, you’re not prepared to protect or respect. It’s our disrespect of the natural world that’ led to climate chang and biodiversity loss. It’s so important to understand that we’re part of the natural world and we depend on it for clean air,water,food ,everything. But what we depend on is healthy ecosystems. An ecosystem is made up of a complex and interdependent mix of plants and animals each with a role to play. I see it as a beautiful living tapestry, each time a species goes from that ecosystem, it says though a thread is pulled from the tapestry and enough threat if enough threads are pulled ,the tapestry will hang in tatters,?and the ecosystem will collapse, and that is happening already.

So it’s clearly of great importance that we work hard to protect existing intact ecosystems and restore those that are damaged. We must create a balance between present human need and protection of the environment for future generations. At the moment, we’re so often using up nature’s finite natural resources for immediate gain without thought of the future.

Fortunately there are many organizations today working on creating a more sustainable relationship with the natural world. A nature is amazingly resilient if we give her a changce. Places that have been utterly destroyed such as an abandoned quarry or a terribly polluted river or lake can with time and some help once again begin building up the diversity need to make up a healthy ecosystem. It was in 1960 that I begin my chimpanzee research in Tanzaniz the Gombe National Park where we are silll studying the chimpanzees was part of the great forest belt that stretched across equatorial Africa. 20 years later, Gombe was only a small island of forest surrounded by bare hills. More people living there than the land could support. Cutting down trees to make land for growing crops or many from timber or charcoal. Poor communities struggling to survive. In 1994, I and my team initiated a really successful really holistic community lead conservation project known as TACARE. This was in the villagers around Gombe. We introduved agroforestry, water management programs, micro finance opportunitied, so that people could start their own samll environmentally sustainable businesses, and scholarships to give young poeple a chance of higher education. That program is now in villagers throughout chimpanzee rang in Tanzania. And people understand the protecting the forest isn’t just wildlife but their own future. And so now trees have sprung up(出現(xiàn)，spring up)?on the once bare hills.There was tree planting around the villagers but the rest of the trees have grown from the seeds lying dormant in the ground?. And TACARE is now in 6 other African countries where we worked conserved chimpanzees and their habitat.

The resilience of nature is real reason for hope. Once nature is respected and habitats are protected or restored, animals that were endangered can be given another chance. This was the case with the giant panda?that’s now taken off the endangered species list in China. And I hope the same will soon be true for the Chinese pangolin(穿山甲)。I’ve great love for these charming little animals and all species are currently endangered by the idea that their scales have medicinal value. I’m encouraged by the growing number of re-wilding programs which are very successful in some countries where large areas are being set aside?for wldlife. And increasingly, we realize the importance of green corridors(生態(tài)走廊)?linking protected areas, because these allow animals to move freely in search of food or maids. In some cases, animal species that hace been extinct for years have been successfully reintroduced into these palces. China is doing a great job in reducing pollution of air water and soil and protecting and restoring the country’s forests. And I love the blue sea project that is protecting the so important wetlands and marine environments, combating illegal mining of sea sand and the dumping of waste.

Another reason for hope is the energy and commitment of young people once they know the problems and are empowered to take action. Back in 1991, I find that young people even then were losing hope, our future is being destroyed they said. But I told them there’s a window of time to start healing the harm we’ve inflicted, but we must take action. Thus my humanitarian an environmental program for young people Roots & Shoots was born. It’s now in 68 countries including China. It began in the late 1990s in China. Groups everywhere are planting trees, chaining up?beaches, looking after animals, raising awareness about environmentally issues. They’re making an impact in their communities and inspiring others to do the same including their parents and grandparents, teachers and friends. And as we began Roots & Shoots over 30 years ago, many members have gone on to become leaders in protecting the environment and its wildlife.

Another reason for hope is more and more scientists are working to find technological solutions to enable us to live in greater harmony with nature. There are actually machines that suck C02 carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and safely safely store it, given that slowing down climate change is helping species to survive. One important example is the increasing use of renewable energy from sun wind, tide and so on. I undestand that China has committed to drastically increasing its solar power in order to curb air pollution and that it leads the world in wind energy installations too. But let us not forget that it’s equally important to protect the natural world espesially forests and the ocean, the 2 great lungs of the world that sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and give us oxygen. Safeguarding these natural carbon sinks from further damage as an important part of limiting climate change andthus protecting biodiversity. Also?it’s urgent that each one of us plays a role in reversing loss of species and climate change. We must remember that each one of us has a role to play that each one of us make some impact on the planet every single day. So let’s make ethical choices in what we buy ,eat and wear, how we interact with people animals and nature. And let share stories of all the reasons why we can have hope that we can save the world if we take action. Because without hope we fall into apathy and do nothing, and if this happens we’re doomed.