雙語：博科娃總幹事2017防治荒漠化和乾旱世界日致辭

Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

教科文組織總幹事伊琳娜·博科娃防治荒漠化和乾旱世界日致辭

17 June 2017

2017年6月17日

Our land. Our home. Our future.

我們的土地。我們的家園。我們的未來。

This must be our motto today – especially in the struggle against desertification.

這必須是我們今天的座右銘，特別是在防治荒漠化的鬥爭中。

The role of environmental changes in migration and population displacement across the world is increasingly clear. Massive numbers of 『environmental refugees』 are now regularly presented as one of the most dramatic possible consequences of climate change and desertification. And this is only set to increase. By 2030, the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification warned that 135 million people were at risk of being displaced because of desertification, with 60 million people expected to move from sub-Saharan Africa to Northern Africa and Europe.

在世界各地的人口移徙和民眾流離失所問題上，環境變化的作用日益明顯。大量的「環境難民」湧現，於今經常被視為氣候變化和荒漠化帶來的最可怕的一個後果。而這種現象只會有增無減。聯合國防治荒漠化公約秘書處警告 說，到2030年，將有一億三千三百萬人因為荒漠化而面臨流離失所的危險，預計將有六千萬人從撒哈拉以南非洲遷往北非和歐洲。

These forecasts show that arid and semi-arid regions would be mostly affected by desertification and population movements. Rural populations, relying on pastoral livelihoods, agriculture and natural resources, will be highly exposed due to existing vulnerabilities, including poverty, poor levels of education, lack of investment, remoteness, and isolation.

這些預測顯示，乾旱和半乾旱地區將是受到荒漠化和人口流動影響最大的地區。農牧人口、農業和自然資源，由於其現有脆弱性，如貧困、教育水平低、缺乏投資、地域偏僻、與外界隔絕等原因，將受到首當其衝的損害。

We must counter these trends and this means acting at two levels.

我們必須對這些趨勢加以遏止，為此需要在兩個方面有所作為。

First, we must manage land correctly, because this is crucial in preventing its desertification and for keeping its productivity. The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Las Bardenas Reales in Spain shows that informed management of arid lands, based on an alternation between pasture uses, cultivations and fallow periods, allows not only the halt of desertification but also the possibility of inverting the process and restoring previously degraded lands. This is why the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme is so committed to build capacity and provide policy guidance and tools to address drought and desertification related challenges, particularly related to water resources management, through the Global Network on Water and Development Information for Arid Lands (G-WADI).

首先，要正確管理土地，因為這對防治土地荒漠化和保持土地生產力至關重要。西班牙 Las Bardenas Reales教科文組織生物圈保護區的經驗顯示，以放牧、耕作與休牧、休耕交替的方式對乾旱土地進行知情管理，不僅可以防止荒漠化，而且還可能會逆轉進程，使退化的土地得到修復。正因如此，教科文 組織國際水文計劃通過乾旱地區水資源及其發展信息全球網，正努力開展能力建設工作並提供政策指導和工具，以解決特別是與水資源管理相關的乾旱和荒漠化問題。

Second, we must bolster the resilience of vulnerable populations by supporting alternative livelihoods to break the vicious circle of desertification and related socioeconomic consequences often leading to migration. In seeking to foster education and capacity building in science, technology and engineering, for both girls and boys in vulnerable countries, UNESCO』s International Basic Sciences Programme is working to create new employment opportunities for youth, lessen the reliance on climate dependent income resources, to offer people a future that is resilient at home.

其次，我們必須通過支持另謀生計，來打破荒漠化的惡性循環，應對經常導致移徙的相關社會經濟後果，從而增強弱勢群體的復原力。旨在促進弱勢國家男女青年在科學、技術和工程方面的教育和能力建設的教科文組織國際基礎科學計劃，正在致力於為青年創造新的就業機會，減少對靠天吃飯式收入來源的依賴，為人們提供一個不用離鄉背井、可在家園自立自強的未來。

On this day, we must recognise that desertification is a global phenomenon that threatens everyone and we must start to act globally to build a sustainable and stable future for all.

在這樣的一天，我們必須認識到，荒漠化是一個威脅到每個人的全球現象，我們必須開始在全球採取行動，為所有人建立一個可持續且穩定的未來。