Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of World Environment Day
联合国教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士世界环境日致辞

Small Island Developing States and Climate Change
小岛屿发展中国家和气候变化

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年适逢小岛屿发展中国家国际年，当此之际，世界环境日的意义尤为重大。这些“小岛屿”实为“大洋国”，其陆地面积只是其国土的一隅，其经验与蓝色星球上的所有居民休戚相关。

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.

政府间气候变化专家组的最新报告强调了小岛屿发展中国家面对气候变化的极端脆弱性。频繁的飓风和沿海洪灾令这些岛屿居民的处境岌岌可危。海洋的酸化加上因海平面上升导致的咸水对淡水层的日益入侵对于所有直接向海求食的人的粮食安全造成巨大风险，也危及到世界上的26亿多人。

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.

国际社会尚未尽其全力避免初露端倪的天灾人祸。我们的首要义务是通过科学研究和知识共享，更好地理解眼前的现象。教科文组织国际水文计划的作用是收集43个小岛屿发展中国家的含水层信息，以改善这些岛屿和世界上的这一脆弱和生死攸关的资源的管理战略。第二项重要内容是改进行动能力方面的知识。政府间海洋学委员会参与提高可持续管理海洋和沿海地区的能力，帮助应对海啸、海平面上升或海洋酸化的威胁。

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.

在这方面，传统知识是一笔远未受到重视和开发的知识和经验资源。教科文组织和联合国大学的一份联合出版物促使世人认识到这一巨大潜力，包括政府间气候变化专家组将其视为“一种适应气候变化的重要资源”。

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.

一切有利于环境的可持续行动最终都要通过对所有公民从小进行可持续发展教育方可实现。教科文组织的多项计划，如“观沙”，皆旨在加强儿童、青年和成人的能力，在世界上30多个国家监督和分析沿海环境的变化。

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.

任何国家，不论多么强大，都无法单独应对我们的共同环境的挑战。我们应携起手来，持之以恒，尽可能贴近实际需求。这就是我们向9月份在萨摩亚召开的第三届小岛屿发展中国家问题国际会议传递的信息。此次会议将指导通过一项更加可持续和公正的全球发展议程。