Living, dynamic systems.

充滿生機的生態系。

Natural, ancient beech forests.

自然古老的山毛櫸森林。

They are home to many animals and plants.

他們是許多動植物的家園。

They are globally unique.

他們是全世界獨一無二的。

But these forests have become extremely rare.

但這些森林變得十分稀有。

The originally widespread beech forests of Europe have now been reduced to scattered islands.

原本散布在歐洲各地的山毛櫸林，如今僅散落在幾處而已。

Many of our deciduous forests have disappeared during centuries of use.

我們許多的落葉林在數世紀的開採下已經逐漸消失。

They have completely vanished, converted into arable land and settlements.

他們已全部消失，變成了可耕地和新的拓居地。

Beech forests are important because they are typical features of Central Europe.

山毛櫸林是中歐的典型特色，因而顯得十分重要。

A major habitat for many plant and animal species:

它也是許多動植物物種重要的棲地，

home to an estimated 10,000 animal, plant and fungi species.

是預計 1 萬種動物、植物、真菌類的家園。

The ancient beech forests in Jasmund national park on Rügen,

這些古老的山毛櫸林散佈在 Rügen 島上的 Jasmund 國家公園、

[and] Müritz national park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,

梅克倫堡-西波美恩邦的 Müritz 國家公園、

the Grumsin woodland in the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve in Brandenburg,

布蘭登堡的 Schorfheide-Chorin 生物圈保護區的 Grumsin 林地、

the Hainich forests in Thuringia,

圖林根邦的 Hainich 森林，

and Kellerwald-Edersee in Hesse -

以及黑森邦的凱勒森林 ( Kellerwald ) 與埃德湖 ( Edersee) —

these became a UNESCO World Heritage property in 2011.

而這些地方在 2011 年成為了 UNESCO (聯合國教科文組織) 的世界遺產。

In addition to the five ancient beech forests,

除了這五座古老的山毛櫸林，

there are two other natural phenomena in Germany that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List:

德國還有兩項自然景觀被列在 UNESCO 的世界遺產清單上：

the Messel Pit in Hesse and the German-Dutch transboundary Wadden Sea,

分別是在黑森州的梅賽爾坑，以及德荷邊界的瓦登海。

with the three Wadden Sea national parks in Germany: in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg.

德國還建了 3 座瓦登海國家公園，分別是在下薩克森邦，什勒斯維希-霍爾斯坦邦以及漢堡。

The Messel Pit was the first German natural heritage site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995 due to its outstanding wealth of fossils.

由於梅賽爾坑開採出了大量的化石，它因此成為德國在 1995 年第一個被 UNESCO 列入自然遺產清單的地方。

The former mine in Messel, Hesse, gives a unique insight into the early development of mammals.

位於黑森區的 Messel 礦坑讓人們對於哺乳類早期的發展有更獨具的理解。

This was followed - in 2009 - by the Wadden Sea.

接著在 2009 年，瓦登海也被列入了世界遺產。

Around 10,000 square kilometres from Sylt to northern Holland,

從 Sylt 島到荷蘭北部大約 1 萬平方公里的區域，

shaped by a constant change between high and low tide,

受到持續變化的高低浪潮所沖刷，

are a unique habitat for over 10,000 different species.

成為一個提供超過 1 萬種不同生物居住的獨特棲息地。

They provide a resting area for between 10 and 12 million birds every year.

這些地方每年給 1 到 1.2 千萬的鳥提供一個休息的地方。

With a coastline of around 400 km, the Wadden Sea plays a crucial role in conserving global biodiversity.

有著長 400 公里的海岸線，瓦登海在保存全球生物多樣性上扮演了很重要的角色。

But what exactly is a UNESCO World Heritage property?

但 UNESCO 世界遺產到底是什麼呢？

The UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted in 1972.

1972 年，《 UNESCO 世界文化與自然遺產保護公約》被採用。

Natural phenomena and cultural sites of outstanding value can be declared universal heritage of mankind – and these form the World Heritage List.

自然奇觀和優秀的文化景點可以被稱為是人類世界級的遺產，而世界遺產清單便是由這些景觀所組成。

The 188 state parties are committed to providing special protection for world heritage properties and to conserving them for future generations.

188 個當事國致力於為世界遺產提供特別的保護，並且將其保存給未來的世代。

An intergovermental body - the World Heritage Committee -is responsible for inscribing properties on the World Heritage List.

世界遺產委員會這個政府間的組織，便是負責將這些資產寫入世界遺產清單。

Once a year, the 21 members from all continents and cultures review new applications for inscription and the conservation status of existing World Heritage properties.

21 位來自各大洲和文化圈的成員每年會審查新的登錄申請以及現存世界遺產的保存狀況。

The most important selection criterion is outstanding universal value.

最重要的選擇標準是在於其顯著的普世價值。

Additionally, natural heritage properties must be intact and cultural heritage properties must satisfy the criteria of authenticity.

除此之外，自然遺產必須完整保留，而文化遺產則須符合真實性的標準。

And adequate management must be guaranteed to ensure the long-term conservation of inscribed properties.

另外為了確保這些登記的文物能長期被保存，必須保證有適當的管理機制。

In 2011, the ancient beech forests of Germany were awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage property.

2011 年時，德國古老的山毛櫸森林獲頒 UNESCO 的世界遺產的地位。

They form a joint World Heritage property with the primeval beech forests of the Carpathians in the Slovak Republic and Ukraine.

與斯洛伐克和烏克蘭在喀爾巴阡山脈 (Carpathians) 的原始山毛櫸林一同被列為世界遺產。

These impressive forests are worthy of protection.

這些令人歎為觀止的森林值得我們的保護。

A unique habitat of outstanding value.

一個帶有傑出價值的獨特棲地。