Name: 這就是遊牧民族的生活方式 (This is how nomadic farmers live)
Uploaded: 2025-08-17T07:21:51.000Z
Duration: 6 min 5 s

2,000 years after humanity domesticated crops and livestock, some farmers kicked off humanity's next agricultural innovation— pastoralism.

在人類馴化農作物和牲畜兩千年後，一些農民開啟了人類的下一個農業創新--畜牧業。

These pioneering livestock farmers strategically guided animals to seasonal grazing areas.

這些畜牧業先驅戰略性地引導牲畜前往季節性牧場。

Their mobile lifestyle allowed them to develop trade relationships with communities and farmers along their routes.

流動的生活方式使他們能夠與沿途的社區和農民建立貿易關係。

And this way of life provided pastoralists with wealth, social status, and political independence all the way to the 20th century.

這種生活方式為牧民提供了財富、社會地位和政治獨立，一直延續到 20 世紀。

Today, there are hundreds of millions of mobile pastoralists operating in every continent except Antarctica.

如今，除南極洲外，各大洲都有數以億計的流動牧民。

From the Himalayas to the Andes to the Alps, they keep sheep, goats, cattle, and yaks.

從喜馬拉雅山到安第斯山脈，再到阿爾卑斯山，他們飼養著綿羊、山羊、牛和犛牛。

Sami pastoralists work with reindeer in Arctic rangelands.

薩米牧民在北極牧場飼養馴鹿。

Vangujar pastoralists in northern India keep water buffalo.

印度北部的萬古賈爾牧民飼養水牛。

And all these communities work sustainably with their environments to produce food and other animal products.

所有這些社區都以可持續的方式與環境合作，生產食物和其他動物產品。

But in the last century, political and economic policies have worked against these communities, impeding their access to basic resources and making them more vulnerable to climate change.

但在上個世紀，政治和經濟政策對這些社區不利，阻礙了他們獲得基本資源，使他們更容易受到氣候變化的影響。

And one region where these issues are especially apparent is sub-Saharan Africa.

撒哈拉以南非洲是這些問題尤為明顯的地區之一。

This region is home to millions of pastoralists, who produce the majority of meat and milk consumed across their continent.

該地區生活著數百萬牧民，他們生產的肉類和奶類佔整個大陸消費量的絕大部分。

Yet throughout the late 20th century, various programs tried to incentivize these mobile communities to put down roots.

然而，在整個 20 世紀末，各種計劃都試圖激勵這些流動社區紮根。

Governments limited their access to public services like health care and education.

政府限制他們獲得醫療和教育等公共服務。

They created designated watering holes to keep pastoralists in specific regions year-round.

他們建立了指定的飲水點，讓牧民全年都能在特定區域飲水。

And huge areas of rangeland historically shared by pastoralists were privatized or converted to wildlife reserves.

歷史上牧民共有的大片牧場被私有化或改為野生動物保護區。

The motivation behind these policies varied widely.

這些政策背後的動機各不相同。

Some programs were earnest but misguided efforts to modernize an ancient agricultural model.

有些計劃是為了將古老的農業模式現代化而做出的認真但卻被誤導的努力。

Others were attempts to control what governments perceived as unmanageable populations.

還有一些國家試圖控制政府認為無法管理的人口。

By restricting how sub-Saharan pastoralists could use the land, these communities became poorer, less sustainable, and less economically resilient.

通過限制撒哈拉以南地區牧民使用土地的方式，這些社區變得更加貧窮，可持續性更差，經濟恢復能力更弱。

And in a region that's relied on pastoralism for millennia, these changes have had a huge impact.

在這個幾千年來一直依賴畜牧業的地區，這些變化產生了巨大的影響。

Historically, sub-Saharan pastoralists helped keep African grasslands healthy by guiding their livestock to graze specific amounts in specific areas.

歷史上，撒哈拉以南地區的牧民通過引導牲畜在特定區域放牧特定數量的草料，幫助保持非洲草原的健康。

Their seasonal migration prevented land from being overgrazed, and their livestock's fertilizing manure regenerated the soil.

他們的季節性遷徙防止了土地過度放牧，牲畜的肥料使土壤得以再生。

But policies restricting their movement have made this kind of land management incredibly difficult.

但限制他們行動的政策使得這種土地管理變得異常困難。

These policies also make pastoralists less resilient to climate change.

這些政策還降低了牧民抵禦氣候變化的能力。

While global droughts are increasing as the planet heats up, pastoralists are experts at following rain and reading the landscape to know how drought will impact different areas.

隨著地球升溫，全球乾旱日益加劇，但牧民是追隨雨水和觀察地形的專家，他們知道乾旱將如何影響不同地區。

Historically, this allowed pastoralists to maintain their herds regardless of the weather.

從歷史上看，這使得牧民可以不受天氣影響地維持他們的畜群。

But these techniques can't help communities confined to drought-stricken lands.

但是，這些技術無法幫助侷限於乾旱地區的社區。

And when their herds become unhealthy, the consequences can be deadly.

而當它們的畜群變得不健康時，後果可能是致命的。

Unhealthy herds can cause disease outbreaks that endanger livestock and humans.

不健康的畜群會導致疾病爆發，危及牲畜和人類。

But even without outbreaks, sick herds become unproductive, limiting what pastoralists have to sell.

但即使沒有疫情爆發，生病的牧群也會失去生產能力，從而限制了牧民的銷售。

Making things worse, sub-Saharan pastoralists are forced to sell their wares in informal markets that operate with minimal oversight.

更糟糕的是，撒哈拉以南地區的牧民被迫在監管極少的非正規市場上出售他們的商品。

And since these markets function on an international scale, they pit pastoralist communities against each other, resulting in sale prices that are generally low and extremely volatile.

由於這些市場是在國際範圍內運作的，它們使牧民社區相互競爭，導致銷售價格普遍偏低且極不穩定。

This leaves pastoralists with unstable incomes and a dependency on intermediaries who charge high transaction prices.

這使得牧民的收入不穩定，並依賴於收取高額交易價格的中間商。

Pastoralists on every continent are facing some version of these issues.

各大洲的牧民都面臨著這些問題的某種表現形式。

But hopefully, the solutions being pursued in sub-Saharan Africa can inspire global change.

但願撒哈拉以南非洲正在尋求的解決方案能夠激發全球變革。

Alongside government groups and NGOs, grassroots pastoralist movements are advocating to restore protected grazing reserves and improve public services like mobile health clinics and schools tailored to pastoral movement.

基層牧民運動與政府團體和非政府組織一道，正在倡導恢復受保護的放牧保護區，並改善公共服務，如流動診所和適合牧民運動的學校。

Some groups are trying to create new market systems that would establish standards for meat quality and sale price to prevent exploitation by middlemen.

一些團體正試圖建立新的市場體系，制定肉類品質和銷售價格標準，以防止中間商的剝削。

Others are working to ensure fair prices for female herders, who already account for 50% of sub-Saharan pastoralists.

其他國家正在努力確保女牧民的公平價格，她們已經佔到撒哈拉以南地區牧民的 50%。

And advocates are also working to improve animal health with new vaccines, accessible veterinary services, and livestock tagging systems to track disease outbreaks.

此外，倡導者們還致力於通過新疫苗、便捷的獸醫服務和牲畜標記系統來改善動物健康，以追蹤疾病的爆發。

But perhaps the most important change would be for governments to recognize the value of pastoral mobility.

但最重要的改變或許是各國政府承認牧民流動的價值。

Pastoralism has sustained countless ecosystems and economies for millennia, and embracing the knowledge underpinning that history is essential for Earth's future.

千百年來，畜牧業支撐著無數生態系統和經濟，而掌握支撐這段歷史的知識對於地球的未來至關重要。