环球英语 — 380：Tribal Leaders Protecting the Environm
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Welcome to Spotlight, I'm Joshua Leo
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And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
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The sun sets in the mountains of Torghar, in the province of Balochistan Pakistan. Two wild sheep jump from rock to rock. Their long hair blows in the wind. Across the mountain valley, a man stands with a gun. But he is not hunting these animals. Instead, he is protecting them. He is a member of STEP. Today's Spotlight is on this group and the rare goats and sheep they are protecting.
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Many small tribes live in the Torghar area. The people in the tribes know each family in other tribes. Many are related to each other through marriage. These tribal people live semi-nomadic lives. When they move their herds of animals to find new areas of food, they also move their homes. They live in tents made of black goat hair. Some tribes have small farms where they grow food. But life in these mountains is difficult. Plants do not grow easily in the rocky ground.
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But these mountains are also home to two very rare kinds of animals: the Sulaiman Markhor goat and Afghan Urial sheep. Goats and sheep are very similar. In many places in the world, people keep these animals for their milk and hair. But the Sulaiman Markhor and the Afghan Urial are different. They are wild. And they only live in a few places in the world.
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The Sulaiman Markhor is a large long haired goat. Markhors are the largest kind of goat in the world. They have sharp horns that grow from the top of their heads. Most Markhor's horns bend out. But the Sulaiman Markhor's horns are straight. And the horns can grow more than a meter long.
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The Afghan Urial is a smaller sheep. It also has large horns. But its horns bend behind its head. The hair on the Urial's chest grows long and white. It is very beautiful.
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Over time, the Markhor and Urial have faced many difficulties. After conflict in the Torghar area, many people owned guns. And these guns made hunting easy. People killed too many Markhor. People also destroyed the land where the goats lived. And farm animals competed with the Markhor for food. Twenty years ago, the Markhor population reduced to less than one hundred. Something had to be done to save these animals.
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In 1984, Sardar Naseer Tareen was working in Torghar. He was making a film about the area for the provincial government. And he was very surprised to find a few small groups of the Markhor goats and Urial sheep. But he was angry that no one was doing anything to protect them. The government was not helping, and the tribal people were not helping either. So Sardar Naseer decided to help these animals himself.
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Sardar Naseer had no experience in environmental problems. He was born in Pakistan, in Balochistan province. As a student, he studied film-making in the United States. He had lived in the United States for twenty four years. After some time, he wanted to return to Pakistan and learn more about his family ancestors. He wanted to make films about Balochistan Province. That is what brought him to the Torghar area.
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The local government hired him to make a film about local animals. They had lots of information, including many pictures and papers. But Sardar Naseer found that this was the only place the animals existed. Many animals only existed in the pictures. They had died out completely. This was why he was so surprised to find the animals in Torghar.
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But the animals were in danger. The wild populations were very small. So Sardar Naseer decided to talk to a local tribal leader. He discussed the issue with Nawab Tiamur Shah Jogezai, chief of the Kakar tribe. Mr Jogezai told Sardar Naseer about his own struggles. He had tried to get help from the local government but had no success. And he could not get local people to guard the animals either.
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So Sardar Naseer went back to the United States to get help from government officials. But after some research, Sardar learned some important information. The local government in Balochistan has very little power over the land where the Markhor and Urial live. These are tribal lands. The tribes control the land, not the government. The answer to the problem was to get all the tribes in the area involved in protecting the animals.
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Sarder Naseer knew this would be difficult. So he went back to Mr. Jogezai. Mr Jogezai told Sardar Naseer that his son would help with the project. His son, Nawabazada Mahboob was a skilled hunter. But Mahboob took an important first step that started many changes. He was the first person to put down his gun and stop hunting. He became an example to many other people. He has greatly helped with the protection of the animals.
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With these tribal people, Sardar Naseer formed a new group to protect the Markhor and Urial. The group was called the Torghar Conservation Project or TCP. Their first step was guarding the animals. The group closed the area to all hunting. Then they hired tribal people to protect the animals.
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When the animal population started to grow, the group permitted limited hunting - just a few animals every year. It may seem strange that the group permitted this, but it was an important part of the project. The TCP encouraged the government to raise prices on hunting permits. Before the project, hunters from Europe and the United states only paid about one hundred [100] dollars for a hunting permit. But with the TCP's support, the government raised the cost to twenty five thousand [25,000] dollars. Most of this money goes to the tribes. With this money, the group pays fifty seven [57] tribal people to guard the animals.
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Since the group has started, illegal hunting in the area has stopped. The Torghar area now has the largest populations of Markhor and Urial. These populations have grown from just one hundred [100] to over fifteen hundred! [1,500] As time went on, the TCP became a larger organization. Today, it is the Society for Torghar Environmental Protection, or STEP.
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STEP is the largest employer in the Torghar area. It has helped the tribal communities support themselves. And the group plans to use money to build schools and health centers. The tribes have recognized the importance of the animals in the Torghar region. People from all around the world come to their area to learn about their methods. The Torghar tribes are proud that they have lead the way for a new way of environmental protection.
