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年召开地球问题首脑会议之后，近20年已经过去。世界再一次踏上前往里约之路——2012年6月将在那里举行联合国可持续发展大会。在过去二十年里，世界在地缘政治和环境方面已发生巨大变化。有数亿亚洲和拉丁美洲人，以及越来越多的非洲人已从贫困中崛起。然而，越来越多的证据也表明，地球维持我们进步的能力已发生深刻的和可能无法逆转的变化。

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.
经济快速增长产生了传统上很少包括在国民经济核算中的代价，这些代价从大气和水污染到渔业和森林的退化，所有这些均影响繁荣和人类福祉。今年世界环境日的主题是“森林：大自然为你服务”，强调森林和其他生态系统对社会——特别是穷人所能带来的数万亿美元的价值。

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.
尽管全球越来越多的人意识到环境恶化的危险，包括气候变化、生物多样性丧失和荒漠化， 但自地球问题首脑会议以来的进展过于缓慢。除非我们同样重视可持续发展的三个支柱——社会、经济和环境，我们无法建立一个公正和公平的世界。为了可持续地减少贫困，保证粮食和营养安全，并为日益增长的人口提供体面就业，我们必须以最明智的方式利用自然资源。

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年世界环境日的全球主办国，它是世界上越来越多致力于应对生态变化压力的国家之一。在联合国环境规划署和世界银行的援助下，它也在协助开创一种办法来更好地评估注重大自然的服务的经济价值。印度的《农村就业法》和国家鼓励使用可再生能源的作法，是如何扩大绿色增长，加快向绿色经济过渡的显著例子。

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.
促使发展走上可持续道路并非是一朝一夕之事，但在前往里约会议二十周年大会的道路上，今年的世界环境日可传达一个信息，即那些具有影响力的政府和私营部门能够——而且必须——采取必要步骤履行地球问题首脑会议的承诺。全世界各国人民都在关注，他们期望这些承诺能得到履行。