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Message from Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of World Water Day
教科文组织总干事奥德蕾·阿祖莱世界水日致辞
22 March 2021
2021年3月22日
As is the case when it comes to anything having to do with the environment, the issue of water forces us to deal with our contradictions and our inability to accept that everyday resources are both fragile and in short supply.
水的问题，犹如涉及到环境的问题一样，一直让我们陷入矛盾和无奈，无法去面对我们的日常资源既脆弱又有限这一事实。
This is particularly the case with water, even though it is a total social fact and a total human fact. Not only because humans cannot live without drinking water, but also because water is essential to all our lives.
水的情况尤其特别，这是一个不折不扣的社会事实和人类事实。不仅仅是因为人类不饮水就无法生存，更是因为水在我们生活的方方面面都必不可少。
As coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has reminded us, water is also matter of health. Access to clean water is vital to hygiene, yet in the middle of a pandemic, people are unable to wash their hands in two out of every five healthcare establishments.
正如我们通过这次冠状病毒病疫情所看到的那样，水的问题攸关卫生健康。虽然获取优质用水对保持卫生条件至关重要，但在疫情期间，在五分之二的医疗机构里，洗手却成了难题。
The difficulty of water access can also be measured in time wasted and thus in educational and economic losses. The burden of fetching water is an unequal one, mostly borne by women and girls. The 200 million hours which they spend collecting water every day are vanished opportunities-for them and for society. They are 200 million hours which could have been spent learning, reading, or working.
水资源获取方面的困难，既可以通过时间损失来衡量，也可以通过教育和经济损失来衡量。取水是一种不平等的负担，这一负担大部分情况下都落在妇女和女孩身上。她们每天用在取水上面的2亿小时，对她们自身以及我们的社会来说都是丧失掉的机会：这意味着用于学习、阅读、工作和获取信息的时间便相应地减少了。
Ensuring universal access to clean water is thus crucial, particularly since reserves are limited and needs are growing: nearly 4 billion people worldwide already experience severe water shortages at least one month a year.
因此，确保优质用水的普遍获取至关重要，更何况水储量有限但需求不断增加，而全世界近40亿人每年至少有一个月遭受严重缺水之苦。
Climate change will further aggravate global water stress. If we stand by idly, by 2030, humanity will be lacking 40% of the water it needs.
气候变化也将进一步加剧全球水资源压力。从现在起到2030年，如果我们不采取任何措施，人类将缺乏40%的所需用水。
The consequences of such a situation are incalculable. As water reserves dwindle, so does society. All of society suffers. From forced displacement to rising child mortality rates, and from malnutrition to an increase in tensions related to access to resources, the crisis is a global one.
这种局面的后果将难以估量。因为，正如我们所知，当水源短缺时，整个社会就会走向枯竭。从被迫流离失所到儿童死亡率上升，从营养不良到获取资源方面的紧张局势，这一危机一直是全球性危机。
Yet we continue to waste water, dumping some 80% of untreated sewage into the environment.
然而，我们却在不停地浪费水。大约80%的废水未经任何处理就被排放到环境中。
Greater awareness is necessary if we are to put a stop to this crisis.
因此，如果要阻止这场危机，广泛提高认识至关重要。
This is the reason why, in conjunction with the UN-Water family, we publish the World Water Development Report (WWDR) every year.
正因如此，我们每年都与联合国水机制大家庭合作出版《联合国世界水发展报告》。
The publication of the WWDR is an opportunity for the Organization to highlight the most sustainable, most innovative and most inclusive ways to manage this allimportant resource. The value of water is far from being merely monetary.
这是本组织提出最可持续、最具创新性和包容性方式管理这一日益宝贵资源的契机，这种资源的价值远非金钱可以衡量。
As Benjamin Franklin said: "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." We should not wait for the well to run dry.
本杰明·富兰克林所言不虚，我们不应该等到水井干枯才懂得水的珍贵。
World Water Day is meant to be a call to action. Responsibility lies with all of us. Governments, associations, private partners: we must all recognize the multifold value of water and take action to conserve this basic resource, the resource which gives our planet its unique colour.
因此，今年世界水日旨在呼吁开展行动。我们所有人，包括政府、协会和私人合作伙伴，都有责任认识到水的价值，并采取行动保护这一为我们星球带来独特色彩的根本性资源。
