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Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of World Environment Day
聯合國教科文組織總干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士世界環境日致辭
Small Island Developing States and Climate Change
小島嶼發展中國家和氣候變化
5 June 2014
2014年6月5日
World Environment Day is of particular relevance as we celebrate in 2014 International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These “small islands” are really “vast ocean States” whose land area is only a part of their territory and whose experience is vital for all the inhabitants of our blue planet.
2014年適逢小島嶼發展中國家國際年，當此之際，世界環境日的意義尤為重大。這些“小島嶼”實為“大洋國”，其陸地面積只是其國土的一隅，其經驗與藍色星球上的所有居民休戚相關。
The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underlines the extreme vulnerability of SIDS to climate change. The growing frequency of cyclones and coastal flooding places the inhabitants of these islands in highly precarious situations. The acidification of the ocean, combined with the increasing intrusion of saltwater into freshwater aquifers owing to rising sea levels pose significant risks for the food security of all people who depend directly on the sea for their food, affecting more than 2.6 billion people in the world.
政府間氣候變化專家組的最新報告強調了小島嶼發展中國家面對氣候變化的極端脆弱性。頻繁的颶風和沿海洪災令這些島嶼居民的處境岌岌可危。海洋的酸化加上因海平面上升導致的咸水對淡水層的日益入侵對于所有直接向海求食的人的糧食安全造成巨大風險，也危及到世界上的26億多人。
The international community is not doing everything that it could do to prevent the environmental and human disasters that lie ahead. Our primary task is to better understand the current phenomena, through scientific research and knowledge sharing. It is the role of UNESCO, through the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), which compiles information on the aquifers of 43 SIDS, to improve strategies for managing this fragile and vital resource in the islands and in the world. The second key element is to turn this knowledge into capacity to act. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) is involved in strengthening capacities in the sustainable management of oceans and coastal areas, to help confront the threats of tsunamis, rising sea levels and ocean acidification.
國際社會尚未盡其全力避免初露端倪的天災人禍。我們的首要義務是通過科學研究和知識共享，更好地理解眼前的現象。教科文組織國際水文計劃的作用是收集43個小島嶼發展中國家的含水層信息，以改善這些島嶼和世界上的這一脆弱和生死攸關的資源的管理戰略。第二項重要內容是改進行動能力方面的知識。政府間海洋學委員會參與提高可持續管理海洋和沿海地區的能力，幫助應對海嘯、海平面上升或海洋酸化的威脅。
In this regard, traditional knowledge is a resource of wisdom and practices that are still widely underestimated and underutilized. A joint publication of UNESCO and the United Nations University (UNU) has helped to accelerate the recognition of this immense potential, including by the IPCC, which sees in it a major resource for adaptation to climate change.
在這方面，傳統知識是一筆遠未受到重視和開發的知識和經驗資源。教科文組織和聯合國大學的一份聯合出版物促使世人認識到這一巨大潛力，包括政府間氣候變化專家組將其視為“一種適應氣候變化的重要資源”。
Sustainable environmental action hinges on the education of all citizens, from the earliest age, in sustainable development. Several UNESCO programmes, such as the Sandwatch Project, aim to build the capacities of children, young people and adults to monitor and analyse changes in the coastal environment of more than 30 countries worldwide.
一切有利于環境的可持續行動最終都要通過對所有公民從小進行可持續發展教育方可實現。教科文組織的多項計劃，如“觀沙”，皆旨在加強兒童、青年和成人的能力，在世界上30多個國家監督和分析沿海環境的變化。
No single country, however powerful, can resolve the challenges of our common environment. We must act together, over the long term, as close as possible to the needs on the ground. This is the message that we must take to the Third International Conference on SIDS, scheduled for September 2014 in Samoa, which should guide the adoption of a more sustainable and equitable global development agenda.
任何國家，不論多么強大，都無法單獨應對我們的共同環境的挑戰。我們應攜起手來，持之以恒，盡可能貼近實際需求。這就是我們向9月份在薩摩亞召開的第三屆小島嶼發展中國家問題國際會議傳遞的信息。此次會議將指導通過一項更加可持續和公正的全球發展議程。
