On the 17th of October, 2009, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives did something unusual.
2009年10月17日，马尔代夫总统穆罕默德·纳希德做出了一个不寻常的举动。
He held his cabinet meeting underwater.
他在水下召开了内阁会议。
He literally took his ministers scuba diving,
他和与会官员一起进行水肺潜水，
as it were, to warn the world that his country could drown unless we control global warming.
以警示世人，除非全球变暖得到控制，否则马尔代夫将被海水淹没。
Now I don't know whether he got his message across to the world or not, but he certainly caught mine.
虽然我不知道这一信息是否被全世界的关注，但我确实注意到了。
I saw a political stunt. You see, I'm a politician, and I notice these things.
在我看来，这是个政治噱头。大家知道我是个政治家，因此会注意到这些事情。
And let's be honest, the Maldives are distant from where I come from -- my country is Bhutan
实话实说，我来自不丹，离马尔代夫很远，
so I didn't lose any sleep over their impending fate.
其不幸的命运并不会使我寝食难安。
Barely two months later, I saw another political stunt.
仅在两个月后，我又看到了另一个政治噱头。
This time, the prime minister of Nepal, he held his cabinet meeting on Mount Everest.
这次是尼泊尔首相在珠峰上召开了内阁会议。
He took all his ministers all the way up to the base camp of Everest to warn the world that the Himalayan glaciers were melting.
他和部长一起登上了珠峰大本营来警示世人喜马拉雅的冰川正在消融。
Now did that worry me? You bet it did.
这次我该担心了吧？八九不离十吧。
I live in the Himalayas. But did I lose any sleep over his message? No.
毕竟我就生活在喜马拉雅山麓。但我寝食难安了吗？并没有。
I wasn't ready to let a political stunt interfere with my beauty sleep.
我才不要让一个政治噱头搅了我的好梦。
Now fast-forward 10 years. In February this year, I saw this report.
现在让我们快进十年。今年二月份时，我看到了这份报道。
This here report basically concludes that one-third of the ice on the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountains could melt by the end of the century.
其中主要提到了兴都库什-喜马拉雅山区三分之一的冰川在本世纪末之前将完全消融。
But that's only if, if we are able to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade over preindustrial levels.
但这发生的前提是，我们设法将全球变暖控制在比前工业时期水平高1.5摄氏度的范围内。
Otherwise, if we can't, the glaciers would melt much faster.
如果我们失败了，冰川将加速消融。
1.5 degrees Celsius. "No way," I thought.
1.5度，我想，“这不可能。”
Even the Paris Agreement's ambitious targets aimed to limit global warming to two degrees centigrade.
即使是巴黎协定也只是立志把全球变暖控制在2摄氏度之内。
1.5 degrees centigrade is what they call the best-case scenario.
1.5度只是个理想状态。
"Now this can't be true," I thought.
我想，“这不可能是真的。”
The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is the world's third-largest repository of ice, after the North and South Poles.
兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区拥有世界上第三多的冰川，仅次于南北极。
That's why we are also called the "Third Pole." There's a lot of ice in the region.
这也是我们为什么称其为“第三极”。该地区有大量冰川。
And yes, the glaciers, they are melting. We know that.
而冰川正在消融。这众所周知。
I have been to those in my country. I've seen them, and yes, they are melting. They are vulnerable.
我去过那里。亲眼所见，这些冰川的确正在消融。它们很脆弱。
"But they can't be that vulnerable," I remember thinking.
“但它们不可能这么脆弱。”我记得我这么思考过。
But what if they are? What if our glaciers melt much more quickly than I anticipate?
如果真的是这样呢？如果冰川比我预计的消融得更快呢？
What if our glaciers are much more vulnerable than previously thought?
如果冰川比我先前认为的更不堪一击呢？
And what if, as a result, the glacial lakes -- now these are lakes that form when glaciers melt
如果那些由冰川融水形成的冰川湖
what if those lakes burst under the weight of additional water?
由于水量过剩而决堤呢？
And what if those floods cascade into other glacial lakes, creating even bigger outbursts?
如果洪水涌进其他冰川湖从而导致了更猛烈的决堤呢？
That would create unprecedented flash floods in my country.
在我的国家，这将造成史无前例的洪灾。
That would wreck my country. That would wreak havoc in my country.
这将毁坏我的国家。造成混乱和失序。
That would have the potential to literally destroy our land, our livelihood, our way of life.
这可能摧毁土地、生命以及生活。
So that report caught my attention in ways that political stunts couldn't.
所以这个报道不同于别的政治噱头引起了我的注意。
It was put together by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, or ICIMOD, which is based in Nepal.
该报道是由总部设在尼泊尔的国际山区综合开发中心（ICIMOD）发表的。
Scientists and experts have studied our glaciers for decades,
科学家们已经对冰川研究了几十年，
and their report kept me awake at night, agonizing about the bad news and what it meant for my country and my people.
他们的报道使我夜不能寐，对这个坏消息焦虑不已，不断思考这对我的国家和人们意味着什么。
So after several sleepless nights, I went to Nepal to visit ICIMOD.
因此在数个不能成眠的夜晚之后，我去拜访了国际山区综合开发中心。
I found a team of highly competent and dedicated scientists there, and here's what they told me.
我遇到了一支由高水平的具有奉献精神的科学家组成的队伍，他们告诉我了这些。
Number one: the Hindu Kush Himalaya glaciers have been melting for some time now.
首先：兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区的冰川现在正在消融。
Take that glacier, for instance. It's on Mount Everest.
比方说，珠峰上的冰川。
As you can see, this once massive glacier has already lost much of its ice.
虽然曾经体量很大，但现在却大大缩减了。
Number two: the glaciers are now melting much more quickly
其次：现在冰川消融得更快了，
so quickly, in fact, that at just 1.5 degrees centigrade of global warming, one-third of the glaciers would melt.
以至于如果气温上升1.5度三分之一的冰川将会消失。
At two degrees centigrade of global warming, half the glaciers would disappear.
气温上升2度，一半的冰川将不复存在。
And if current trends were to continue, a full two-thirds of our glaciers would vanish.
如果该趋势持续下去，三分之二的冰川将不见踪影。
Number three: global warming means that our mountains receive more rain and less snow ...
第三：全球变暖还意味着山区降雨更多，降雪却更少。
and, unlike snowfall, rain melts ice, which just hurts the health of our glaciers.
不同于降雪，雨水会融化冰，进一步危及冰川。
Number four: pollution in the region has increased the amount of black carbon that's deposited on our glaciers.
第四：该地区的污染使得黑碳排放增加，这些黑碳会沉积在冰川表面。
Black carbon is like soot. Black carbon absorbs heat and just accelerates the melting of glaciers.
黑碳和煤烟类似。黑碳可以吸收热量从而加速冰川消融。
To summarize, our glaciers are melting rapidly, and global warming is making them melt much more quickly.
总结一下，冰川正在迅速消融，全球变暖则加速了这一过程。
But what does this mean? It means that the 240 million people who live in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region
这意味着什么呢？这表明住在兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区的2亿4千万人，
in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and my own beloved country, Bhutan
也就是居住在阿富汗、巴基斯坦、中国、印度、尼泊尔、孟加拉国、缅甸以及我亲爱的祖国不丹的人们，
these people will be directly affected.
这些人将受到直接影响。

When glaciers melt, when there's more rain and less snow, there will be huge changes in the way water behaves.
当冰川消融，降雨增加，降雪减少，水的运作将发生重大变化。
There will be more extremes: more intense rain, more flash floods, more landslides, more glacial lake outburst floods.
那会出现更多的极端情况：这会带来更密集的降雨，更频繁的暴洪和塌方，导致更多冰川湖泊决堤。
All this will cause unimaginable destruction in a region that already has some of the poorest people on earth.
在这个已经有世界上部分最贫穷的人口的地区，其破坏力不可估量。
But it's not just the people in the immediate region who'll be affected.
但不仅仅是上述地区的居民会受到影响。
People living downstream will also be hit hard.
生活在下游的居民也将会受到影响。
That's because 10 of their major rivers originate in the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountains.
因为有10条主要河流都发源于兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区。
These rivers provide critical water for agriculture and drinking water to more than 1.6 billion people living downstream.
这些河流为生活在下游的16亿居民带来了宝贵的农业用水和饮用水。
That's one in five humans. That's why the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountains are also called the "water towers of Asia."
该地区拥有世界上1/5的人口。这就是为什么兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区也被誉为“亚洲水塔”的原因。
But when glaciers melt, when monsoons turn severe, those rivers will obviously flood,
但倘若冰川消融，当季风变得严重，造成河流泛滥，
so there will be deluges when water is not required and droughts will be very common, when water is desperately required.
带来不合时宜的暴雨，在雨水少的季节，又产生经常性的旱灾。
In short, Asia's water tower will be broken, and that will be disastrous for one-fifth of humanity.
总之，亚洲水塔的崩坏会为世界1/5的人口带来灾难性的后果。
Should the rest of the world care? Should you, for instance, care?
世界上的其他人应该关心吗？你应该关心吗？
Remember, I didn't care when I heard that the Maldives could disappear underwater.
还记得吗，在听到马尔代夫即将消失的不幸时我漠不关心。
And that is the crux of the problem, isn't it? We don't care.
但这正是问题的关键，不是吗？我们并不关心。
We don't care until we are personally affected.
除非我们个人受到了影响，否则我们从不关心。
I mean, we know. We know climate change is real.
我是说，我们都知道，都了解全球变暖是真实的。
We know that we face drastic and dramatic change. We know that it is coming fast.
明白我们将经历翻天覆地的改变。懂得这一天很快就会到来。
Yet most of us act as if everything were normal.
然而我们大多数人表现得好像什么都没发生一样。
So we must care, all of us, and if you can't care for those who are affected by the melting of glaciers,
但我们所有人，必须关心，即使你不关心那些正在遭受冰川消融之害的人们，
you should at least care for yourself.
你至少应该关心自己。
That's because the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountains -- the entire region is like the pulse of the planet.
因为兴都库什-喜马拉雅山地区就好像是整个地球的脉搏。
If the region falls sick, the entire planet will eventually suffer.
如果这个地区病入膏肓，整个地球都不会好过。
And right now, with our glaciers melting rapidly, the region is not just sick -- it is crying out for help.
现在，这个冰川正在迅速消融的地方，这个还有药可医的地区，正在祈求着帮助。
And how will it affect the rest of the world?
它会对世界上其他地方造成什么样的影响呢？
One obvious scenario is the potential destabilization caused by tens of millions of climate refugees,
一个明显的可能情景就是潜在的不稳定将会带来成百上千万的气候难民。
who'll be forced to move because they have no or little water, or because their livelihoods have been destroyed by the melting of glaciers.
冰川消融造成的水资源短缺或者生计被毁，使得他们不得不离开故土。
Another scenario we can't take lightly is the potential of conflict over water
另一个不能忽视的情况是三个拥有核武器的国家，
and the political destabilization in a region that has three nuclear powers: China, India, Pakistan.
可能会因冰川消融形成潜在的水资源冲突和政治动荡：它们是中国、印度和巴基斯坦。
I believe that the situation in our region is grave enough to warrant the creation of a new intergovernmental agency.
我相信既然我们这个地区的情况已经如此糟糕，一个政府间代理机构的创立势在必行。
So as a native from that part of the world, I want to propose here, today, the establishment of the Third Pole Council,
作为该地区的一份子，今天在这里，我想提出倡议，建立一个“第三极委员会”，
a high-level, intergovernmental organization tasked with the singular responsibility of protecting the world's third-largest repository of ice.
以这个政府间的高级别合作机构来肩负保护世界第三大冰川容量的这个重大责任。
A Third Pole Council would consist of all eight countries located in the region as member countries, as equal member countries,
该“第三极委员会”将会吸纳该地区的所有八个国家作为成员国，地位平等的成员国，
and could also include representative organizations and other countries who have vested interests in the region as non-voting members.
并接受在该地区有相关切身利益的国家和代表性组织作为无表决权成员。
But the big idea is to get all stakeholders together to work together.
但大的理念是让所有利益相关团体共同协作。
To work together to monitor the health of the glaciers;
共同监测冰川的健康状况，
to work together to shape and implement policies to protect our glaciers,
共同制定和实施保护冰川的政策，
and, by extension, to protect the billions of people who depend on our glaciers.
更进一步，保护那些赖以生存的几十亿人民。
We have to work together, because thinking globally, acting locally ... does not work.
我们必须共同努力，因为全球思考，地方行动只会收效甚微。
We've tried that in Bhutan. We've made immense sacrifices to act locally ...
在不丹已经有过类似的尝试。我们为地方行动做出了很大的牺牲，
and while individual localized efforts will continue to be important, they cannot stand up to the onslaught of climate change.
然而尽管个体地方化的努力很重要，但他们个体的力量却无法与全球气候变暖抗衡。
To stand up to climate change, we must work together.
因此，为应对气候变暖，我们必须共同努力。
We must think globally and act regionally.
我们必须全球思考，区域行动。
Our entire region must come together, to work together, to fight climate change together, to make our voices heard together.
整个地区都必须携起手来，共同努力，共同抵御气候变暖，让世界听到我们的诉求。
And that includes India and China. They must step up their game.
中国和印度也需要参与进来。
They must take the ownership of the fight to protect our glaciers.
他们必须共同保护冰川。
And for that, these two countries, these two powerful giants,
与此同时，这两个国家，两个大国
must reduce their own greenhouse gases, control their pollution, and lead the fight.
也必须减少温室气体排放，控制污染，起带头作用。
Lead the global fight against climate change.
领导全球对抗气候变暖的斗争。
And all that with a renewed sense of urgency.
这件事迫在眉睫。
Only then -- and that, too, only maybe -- will our region and other regions that depend on our glaciers have any chance to avoid major catastrophes.
只有这样，这个区域和依赖于冰川的其他区域才有可能避免重大灾难。
Time is running out. We must act together, now.
时间有限。现在亟待行动。
Otherwise, the next time Nepal's cabinet meets on Mount Everest, that spectacular backdrop ... may look quite different.
否则，下次尼泊尔在珠峰召开的内阁会议其背景将会大不相同。
And if that happens, if our glaciers melt, rising sea levels could well drown the Maldives.
如果这真的发生了，冰川消融造成的海平面上升将淹没马尔代夫。
And while they can hold their cabinet meetings underwater to send an SOS to the world, their country can keep existing only if their islands keep existing.
而只有当马尔代夫还继续存在，他们在水下召开的向全世界呼救的内阁会议才得以发生。
The Maldives are still distant, away. Their islands are distant from where I live.
马尔代夫依旧很远。依旧和不丹远隔重洋。
But now, I pay close attention to what happens out there. Thank you very much.
但现在我却在密切关注那里发生了什么。谢谢大家。