In what may be his highest- impact role yet, the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the Oscar- nominated "Wolf of Wall Street," is planning to heal an island.
因「華爾街之狼」一片獲奧斯卡提名的演員李奧納多狄卡皮歐 ,正計畫為一個島嶼療傷止痛,這可能是他迄今最具影響力的一個角色。
A known environmental activist, Mr. DiCaprio bought Blackadore Caye, 42 hectares of wild, unpopulated land off the coast of Belize, with a partner soon after he set foot in the country a decade ago. "It was like heaven on earth," he said . "And almost immediately, I found this opportunity to purchase an island there."
狄卡皮歐是知名的環保活動家,10年前,他踏上貝里斯這個國家不久,便和一名合夥人買下在貝里斯外海的「布雷卡多島」。小島面積42公頃,是座荒蕪的無人島。他說:「它像人間天堂。幾乎是立刻,我利用了機會,買下那裡的一座小島 。」
Now Mr. DiCaprio has joined with Paul Scialla, the chief executive of Delos, a New York City-based developer, to create an eco-conscious resort there. When it opens in 2018, Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island will feature the trappings of many luxury resorts, with sprawling villas, infinity pools and stunning sunset views.
現在,狄卡皮歐決定和保羅.夏拉合作,後者是總部在紐約的開發商「提洛斯」的執行長,準備在島上打造一座生態意識度假村。2018年揭幕時,「布雷卡多島」這座「復元島」將具有和許多豪華度假村一樣的特色:一望無際的別墅、無邊泳池和令人嘆為觀止的日落美景。
But the "Restorative" in the title refers to the impact the resort might have on not only guests but the island itself. Blackadore Caye has suffered from overfishing, erosion and mangrove deforestation , and the partners mean to put it back to rights.
不過,度假村名為「復元」,指的不光是度假村對觀光客的衝擊,還有對這個島嶼本身的影響。「布雷卡多島」水產遭過度捕撈、受到侵蝕,而且紅樹林遭到濫伐,兩個合夥人計畫讓島嶼恢復該有的舊貌。
The island has been used for hundreds of years, according to Juan Rovalo, a biologist who leads a team of scientists studying the cay . It was a popular spot for fishermen, who would stop on their way to markets in Mexico and cut mangrove, using the wood for fires to smoke their catch and the conch that they took from the reef, littering the island with thousands of empty shells. More recently, he said, the island's once plentiful palm trees have been uprooted and used to landscape hotels in San Pedro, a 15-minute boat ride away.
領導科學家團隊研究這座岩礁的生物學家胡安.羅瓦洛說,這座島嶼已被使用數百年。它是漁民的熱門地點,前往墨西哥市場的中途站。漁民會砍伐紅樹林,當柴火升火煙燻他們的漁獲和在珊瑚礁找到的海螺,在島上遺留數以千計的空螺殼。他說,最近,島上繁多的棕櫚樹被連根拔起,送往離此15分鐘船程的聖佩德羅城,替一些飯店造景。
The villas on Blackadore Caye will be built atop a platform that stretches in an arc over the water, with artificial reefs and fish shelters underneath. A nursery will grow indigenous marine grass to support a manatee conservation area, and mangrove trees will replace invasive species. A team of designers, scientists, engineers and landscape architects, some of whom have spent more than 18 months studying Blackadore Caye, will monitor the resort's impact on its surroundings.
「布雷卡多島 」的別墅將建造於水上延伸成拱形的一座平台上,下方是人工礁和人工魚礁。另有一個苗床將用來種植原生海草,以支持海牛保護區,並將以紅樹林取代入侵物種。由設計師、科學家、工程師、景觀建築師合組的一支團隊將負責監督度假村對周遭環境的衝擊,部分成員已研究「布雷卡多島」逾18個月。
"The main focus is to do something that will change the world," Mr. DiCaprio said. "I couldn't have gone to Belize and built on an island and done something like this if it weren't for the idea that it could be groundbreaking in the environmental movement."
狄卡皮歐說:「重點在於做件可改變世界的事情。它將成為環保運動的一項創舉,若非秉持這種理念, 我不會去到貝里斯,在島上建設,做這樣的一件事。」
Mr. DiCaprio bought Blackadore Caye for $1.75 million with Jeff Gram, the owner of Cayo Espanto Island Resort, a luxury vacation spot on another private island in Belize . Mr. DiCaprio said it had taken him 10 years to find the right development partner.
狄卡皮歐和傑夫.葛蘭姆以175萬美元買下「布雷卡多島」,後者是貝里斯另一個私人島嶼豪華度假地點「艾斯潘多礁島度假村」的老闆。狄卡皮歐說,他花了十年工夫才找到對的開發夥伴。
He was an early investor in Delos and serves on its advisory board, along with Deepak Chopra, the self-improvement guru; Richard A. Gephardt, the former United States representative from Missouri; and doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic.
他是「提洛斯」的早期投資人,且是顧問委員會的成員,其他成員包括自我改造大師狄帕克.喬普拉,美國密蘇里州前聯邦眾議員理查.A.蓋哈特,以及梅約診所、克利夫蘭診所的醫生。
The ecotourism market is large and growing, with eight billion ecotourist visits a year worldwide, according to the Center for Responsible Travel. But it is unclear if it actually works.
生態旅遊市場龐大且不斷成長,根據「責任旅遊中心」的資料,每年全球的生態觀光人次高達80億。不過,上述點子是否行得通,仍不得而知。
"No hotel can be truly sustainable because you have to fly to get there," said Jan H. Katz, a senior lecturer at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York.
紐約州綺色佳「康乃爾大學」飯店管理學院資深講師珍.H.卡茲說:「沒有飯店可以真的撐得下去,因為必須搭飛機行才到得了那裡。」
What people are buying, Ms. Katz said, is the status of staying at an exclusive eco-resort.
卡茲說,它的賣點,是可以入住獨一無二的生態度假村。
Mr. DiCaprio looks at it another way. "My goal was always the fact that I wanted to create something not just environmental, but restorative," he said. "A showcase for what is possible."
不過,狄卡皮歐另有觀點。他說:「我的目標一直是,我想打造一個東西,它不只是環保,還是復育。一個展示什麼是可能任務的櫥窗。」
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