Nearly 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the world is once again on the road to Rio – the site of the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Much has changed in the past two decades, geopolitically and environmentally. Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Latin America – and, increasingly, in Africa – have risen from poverty. Yet, evidence is also accumulating of profound and potentially irreversible changes in the ability of the planet to sustain our progress.
自1992年召開地球問題首腦會議之后，近20年已經過去。世界再一次踏上前往里約之路——2012年6月將在那里舉行聯合國可持續發展大會。在過去二十年里，世界在地緣政治和環境方面已發生巨大變化。有數億亞洲和拉丁美洲人，以及越來越多的非洲人已從貧困中崛起。然而，越來越多的證據也表明，地球維持我們進步的能力已發生深刻的和可能無法逆轉的變化。

Rapid economic growth has come with costs that traditionally rarely feature in national accounting. These range from atmospheric and water pollution to degraded fisheries and forests, all of which impact prosperity and human well-being. The theme of World Environment Day this year, “Forests: Nature at Your Service”, emphasizes the multi-trillion dollar value of these and other ecosystems to society – especially the poor.
經濟快速增長產生了傳統上很少包括在國民經濟核算中的代價，這些代價從大氣和水污染到漁業和森林的退化，所有這些均影響繁榮和人類福祉。今年世界環境日的主題是“森林：大自然為你服務”，強調森林和其他生態系統對社會——特別是窮人所能帶來的數萬億美元的價值。

Despite growing global awareness of the dangers of environmental decline – including climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification – progress since the Earth Summit has been too slow. We will not build a just and equitable world unless we give equal weight to all three pillars of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental. To sustainably reduce poverty, guarantee food and nutrition security and provide decent employment for growing populations, we must make the most intelligent use of our natural capital.
盡管全球越來越多的人意識到環境惡化的危險，包括氣候變化、生物多樣性喪失和荒漠化， 但自地球問題首腦會議以來的進展過于緩慢。除非我們同樣重視可持續發展的三個支柱——社會、經濟和環境，我們無法建立一個公正和公平的世界。為了可持續地減少貧困，保證糧食和營養安全，并為日益增長的人口提供體面就業，我們必須以最明智的方式利用自然資源。

India, the global host of World Environment Day in 2011, is among a growing number of countries working to address the pressures of ecological change. It is also helping to pioneer a better assessment of the economic value of nature-based services, with the assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank. India’s Rural Employment Act and the country’s encouragement of renewable energy are significant examples of how to scale up green growth and accelerate the transition to a green economy.
印度是2011年世界環境日的全球主辦國，它是世界上越來越多致力于應對生態變化壓力的國家之一。在聯合國環境規劃署和世界銀行的援助下，它也在協助開創一種辦法來更好地評估注重大自然的服務的經濟價值。印度的《農村就業法》和國家鼓勵使用可再生能源的作法，是如何擴大綠色增長，加快向綠色經濟過渡的顯著例子。

No single day can transform development onto a sustainable path. But on the road to Rio +20, this year’s World Environment Day can send a message that those with influence in government and the private sector can – and must – take the necessary steps that will fulfill the promise of the Earth Summit. The global public is watching, and expects nothing less.
促使發展走上可持續道路并非是一朝一夕之事，但在前往里約會議二十周年大會的道路上，今年的世界環境日可傳達一個信息，即那些具有影響力的政府和私營部門能夠——而且必須——采取必要步驟履行地球問題首腦會議的承諾。全世界各國人民都在關注，他們期望這些承諾能得到履行。