Brooklyn Bridge Could Be a Landmark for Forest Conservation

*Editor’s note: On August 7, 2020, our Brooklyn Bridge Forest Proposal won the重新构想布鲁克林大桥比赛。下面的文本已相应更新。*

The Brooklyn Bridge, with its distinctive gothic towers and cable-bound span, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. It features in countless films, photographs, books and TV shows. It even has its own idiom in American parlance – when someone is “selling you the Brooklyn Bridge,” they are offering you a deal too good to be true. Some New Yorkers may even feel that it describes their experience of the bridge itself.

尽管有著名的魅力，但布鲁克林大桥经常拥挤，坚决的通勤者与蜿蜒的游客争夺空间。只有一条薄薄的线条将骑自行车的人和行人分隔在危险的捏点上。

这就是为什么纽约市议会和范阿伦学院启动的原因重新构想布鲁克林大桥- 一项国际设计竞赛，使桥梁更安全，更容易访问，更可持续。在审查了来自37个国家的200多个建议之后，他们选择了我们的项目，由飞行员项目集体的斯科特·弗朗西斯科（Scott Francisco）领导，Cities4Forestsand the Wildlife Conservation Society, as the winner.

与许多其他出色的建议一样，我们的设计具有专门的自行车道，新的“ Lookout”平台可减轻捏合点并增加了绿色植物。但是，与其他设计不同，我们重新想象布鲁克林桥的核心围绕着使用一种特殊材料，该特殊材料可以确保农村生计，保障威胁文化，保护濒临灭绝的物种并打​​击气候变化。必威官网是真的吗

That special material? Wood.

OurBrooklyn Bridge Forestwill restore the bridge’s pedestrian promenade with sustainably-sourced tropical hardwood originating from a community-managed "partner forest" in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve. Our effort is part of a larger movement where urban residents acknowledge that tropical timber and other commodities from faraway forests play a huge role in our lives, even when we aren’t aware of it. Building new partnerships to cultivate and source those materials sustainably can enrich the lives of everyone involved.

Communities Protecting Forests through Sustainable Forestry

热带硬木物种，例如Manchiche和Pucte，特别适合户外城市基础设施。许多人非常坚固，耐腐烂，长高，足够直接产生木板木板。

布鲁克林桥梁长廊木板路上一次替换时，该市的交通运输部使用了一种名为Greenheart的木头（Ocotea Rodiaeior叶绿素Rodiei），在南美北部生长。但是，该木材的采购几乎没有关注或了解对当地社区的影响，或者是否有助于森林砍伐。

这就是为什么我们的布鲁克林桥森林设计将从危地马拉的Uaxactún社区管理的可持续林业行动中采购木材Maya Biosphere Reserve。The community, in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society, has been广受认可for their成功的森林保护，，，，which includes certification by the森林管理委员会。

Rather than clearing the forest, the community practices low-impact timber harvesting, using small-scale equipment to remove just a few trees from each area while rotating harvest sites. They replant thousands of seedlings and leave the selectively harvested areas untouched for 40 years. After over 100 years of continuous community use, the community has保持完整的森林野生动植物正在繁荣。

提供可持续木材的主要合同，例如布鲁克林桥森林项目，可能会对Uaxactún社区及其所依赖的森林产生重大影响。

像许多热带森林一样，玛雅生物圈储备受到商业农业的扩大而受到威胁。在这种情况下，来自保护区外部的一群牛牧场主希望非法清理森林以进行牧场。他们经常是well-funded and even armed，，，，and will typically seize de facto ownership of the land once they have cleared it.

目前，森林的唯一防御是一群相对较少的社区成员，非政府组织工人，以及少数警卫，以巡逻像整个纽约市大小的地区。可持续木材的销售将支付更多的森林巡逻，消防，卫星监测和研究，以及社区医疗设施，学校和生计。

木材及以后的可持续供应链

用可持续木材重建布鲁克林桥将是一项重大壮举，但是要扭转森林砍伐的全球潮流，该解决方案需要比单个项目更大。

In 2019, the world lost a staggering3.8 million hectares(9.4 million acres) of tree cover in tropical forests, driven largely by the unsustainable production of wood pulp, palm oil, soy, beef, and other commodities. Not enough consumers appreciate the role that their demand plays in incentivizing the clearance of forests, and there are few easy avenues for people to advocate for more sustainable commodities on a large scale.

Cities4Forestsis seeking to change this through itsPartner Forest Program，它将城市与特定的热带森林地区和社区联系起来，以支持森林保护和恢复策略，以实现其相互利益。这些“地方到本地”的合作伙伴关系可以提供教育价值，超出其在建立木材，可可，咖啡和橡胶的可持续供应链中的直接影响之外。

For the Brooklyn Bridge Forest project, this will involve cultural and education programming in New York City and with the Uaxactún community that can link people across geographic boundaries and help generate interest and empathy that supports environmental and cultural sustainability.

Partnerships for forest conservation and restoration have never been more urgently needed. Deforestation增加新型疾病从野生动植物跳到人类的风险（就像导致Covid-19的病毒一样）。减少森林砍伐，尤其是通过sustainable community management，也是一个强大的杠杆in the fight against climate change.

城市正在进入罕见的机会之窗to “更好地建立” as COVID-19 economic recovery dollars are directed toward infrastructure projects. Forest-dependent communities, for their part, need urgent support for their conservation efforts as poaching and deforestation have reportedly增加作为大流行的政府。

Help Make the Brooklyn Bridge Forest Project a Reality

布鲁克林大桥于1883年开放时，是世界上最长的悬架桥。现在，布鲁克林桥有可能通过将各大洲的社区与木材和森林建立共同的关系联系起来，从而进一步扩展。

您可以帮助这项工作。支持布鲁克林桥森林sponsoringa wooden plank, which funds 18 acres of tropical forest conservation. If you are a city-dweller, ask your city government if they have a可持续采购政策用于木材或其他商品。有了这一胜利和您的支持，我们可以开始将更多的公共基础设施重新构想为森林保护的地标。

斯科特·弗朗西斯科（Scott Francisco）是试点项目设计集体的创始人兼总监，也是Cities4Forests的联合创始人兼总监。麦克·菲利普斯（Mack Phillips）是试点项目设计集体的设计策略助理。