玛雅人请求墨西哥法院承认湖泊为法律主体
📖 逐句对照翻译
In the Mexican state of Yucatan, hundreds of underground lakes form a semicircular shape in the northwestern part of Yucatan state.
在墨西哥的尤卡坦州，数百个地下湖泊在尤卡坦州西北部形成一个半圆形。
They are called the Ring of Cenotes.
它们被称为天然井环。
The lakes provide water for the area, but they are also part of a dispute between local people and pig farmers.
这些湖泊为该地区提供水源，但它们也是当地居民与养猪户之间纠纷的一部分。
The cenotes are also important to local people who earn a living by leading foreign visitors into the caverns to swim and explore.
天然井对当地人也很重要，他们靠带领外国游客进入洞穴游泳和探险为生。
Maribel Ek lives in the community of Homun, near the cenote known as Santa Maria.
玛丽贝尔·埃克住在霍蒙社区，靠近名为圣玛丽亚的天然井。
To native Mayans like Ek, cenotes are holy.
对于像埃克这样的玛雅原住民来说，天然井是神圣的。
She calls the Sant Maria cenote her "neighbor."
她称圣玛丽亚天然井为她的“邻居”。
That belief is behind a legal action, or lawsuit, that aims to have the Ring of Cenotes legally recognized as a person.
这一信念正是一起法律诉讼背后的动机，该诉讼旨在使天然井环在法律上被认定为一个“人”。
Personhood would give the lakes the same rights and protections of law that human citizens have.
人格地位将赋予这些湖泊与人类公民相同的法律权利和法律保护。
A Mayan organization called Guardians of the Cenotes has brought the lawsuit.
一个名为“天然井守护者”的玛雅组织提起了诉讼。
It aims to keep large pig farms out of the area because they are affecting the water quality of the underground lakes.
该倡议旨在将大型养猪场拒之门外，因为它们正在影响地下湖泊的水质。
If the group wins, the lakes will become the first ecosystem in Mexico to be considered a person.
如果该组织胜诉，这些湖泊将成为墨西哥首个被视为“人”的生态系统。
There have been other such cases worldwide, such as the Whanganui River in New Zealand or the Komi Memem River in the Brazilian Amazon.
世界各地还有其他类似的案例，比如新西兰的旺加努伊河或巴西亚马逊地区的科米梅姆河。
Ek is a member of the Guardians group.
埃克是守护者小组的成员。
Polluting the waters
污染水域
The threats to cenotes have been growing.
天然井面临的威胁日益加剧。
Cities in Yucatan are growing and there are new breweries and soybean fields in the area.
尤卡坦的城市正在发展，该地区出现了新的啤酒厂和大豆田。
But what most worries the Guardians of the Cenotes are the pig farms.
但最让天然井守护者担忧的是养猪场。
Mexico's Ministry of the Environment reports that 507 pig farms are operating near the Ring of Cenotes.
墨西哥环境部报告称，在天然井环附近有507家养猪场正在运营。
There is little to no control over what happens to the thousands of liters of water containing pig waste from the farms.
对于农场产生的数千升含有猪粪的水会发生什么，几乎无法控制。
Yameli Aguilar is a biologist from the Autonomous University of Yucatan.
Yameli Aguilar是尤卡坦自治大学的生物学家。
He said the polluted water goes into the aquifer.
他说，受污染的水会进入含水层。
A study carried out last year by the Ministry of the Environment found E. coli bacteria in 20 cenotes near pig farms.
环境部去年开展的一项研究发现，在养猪场附近的20个天然井中发现了大肠杆菌。
The state has named the land a natural protected area, and it is an important wetland.
该州已将这片土地列为自然保护区，它是一片重要的湿地。
Lourdes Medina is a lawyer who represents the Guardians in the legal case.
卢尔德斯·梅迪纳是一名律师，在该法律案件中代表监护人。
She said the government still has failed to prevent “serious contamination” from taking place.
她说，政府仍然未能防止“严重污染”的发生。
Ek and others created the Guardians of the Cenotes group to lead the fight against one pig farm built near Homun in 2017.
埃克等人创建了“天然井守护者”组织，带头反对2017年在霍蒙附近建起的一家养猪场。
They organized protests and legal actions without any effect.
他们组织了抗议和法律行动，但没有任何效果。
A year later, six children from Homun brought a case demanding their right to water and a healthy environment.
一年后，来自霍蒙的六名儿童提起诉讼，要求保障他们的用水权和健康环境权。
A judge ordered the farm closed.
法官下令关闭了这家农场。
In 2022, the group began its personhood legal action.
2022年，该组织开始提起人格权法律诉讼。
If successful, it would affect 52 communities within the Ring of Cenotes.
如果成功，它将影响天然井环内52个社区。
A Yucatan state judge has ordered officials not to give permission to any project that could affect the area until the lawsuit is settled.
尤卡坦州的一名法官已下令官员在诉讼结案前不得批准任何可能影响该地区的项目。
That could happen at the beginning of next year.
那可能发生在明年年初。
What do the pig farmers say?
养猪户们怎么说？
Pig farms and other large industries come to the area because of the availability of water.
养猪场和其他大型工业来到该地区，是因为这里有水源可用。
The farms use a lot of water to cool the animals and clean their waste.
这些农场用水大量为动物降温并清理它们的粪便。
The industry says it is not causing the contamination.
该行业表示，污染并非由其造成。
Carlos Ramayo Navarrete is director of the Pig Farmers Association in Merida.
卡洛斯·拉马约·纳瓦雷特是梅里达养猪户协会的主任。
It represents the largest pig farms in Yucatan.
它代表着尤卡坦州最大的养猪场。
He said the problem comes from a lack of drainage systems in cities and small pig farmers.
他说，问题源于城市缺乏排水系统以及小型养猪户。
Navarrete said small pig farms are not as officially regulated as the big farms he represents.
纳瓦雷特表示，小型养猪场不像他所代表的大型养猪场那样受到官方的严格监管。
He said around half the water the farms use is reused.
他说农场用水中大约有一半被重复利用。
In addition, he said all of the farms have treatment systems to reduce pollution in their wastewater.
此外，他表示所有农场都设有处理系统，以减少废水中的污染。
The remaining water is then used as fertilizer.
剩余的水随后被用作肥料。
However, both the Ministry of the Environment and Aguilar, the biologist, have said that the measures taken by the industry are still not enough.
然而，环境部和生物学家阿吉拉尔都表示，该行业采取的措施仍然不够。
What will the future bring?
未来会带来什么？
Back in Homun, Maribel Ek enjoys swimming in the waters of the cenote.
回到霍蒙，玛丽贝尔·埃克喜欢在天坑的水中游泳。
She said that she has learned the cenote is "a blessing, a dark hole that becomes a friend," and she added "That's why we demand rights for our cenotes."
她说，她了解到天然井是“一种恩赐，一个变成朋友的黑暗洞穴”，她还补充说：“这就是为什么我们要求为我们的天然井争取权利。”
I’m Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
Teresa de Miguel reported this story for the Associated Press.
特蕾莎·德·米格尔为美联社报道了这一故事。
Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
吉尔·罗宾斯为《学习英语》改编了它。
