(雙語)博科娃總幹事2017年世界水日致辭

Most human activities produce wastewater and over 80 percent of the world’s wastewater is released to the environment without treatment. This cannot go on – this is the message of the 2017 United Nations World Water Development Report. Limiting the discharge of untreated wastewater into nature not only saves lives and strengthens healthy ecosystems – it can help advance sustainable growth.

大部分人類活動都會產生廢水，世界上超過80%的廢水未經處理就排入環境之中。這種情況不能再持續下去了——這就是 2017年《聯合國世界水資源開發報告》的訊息。限制未處理廢水排入自然界，不僅可以拯救生命，強化健康的生態系統，還有助於推進可持續增長。

Access to safe water and sanitation services is essential to the human rights and dignity, and the survival, of women and men across the world, especially the most disadvantaged. This is vital for progress across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – water links all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their interconnected targets.

獲得安全用水和衛生服務，對世界各地人民尤其是最弱勢羣體的人權和尊嚴甚至生存都至關重要。這對全面推進《2030年可持續發展議程》起着關鍵作用，因爲全部17項可持續發展目標及其相互關聯的具體目標都與水有關。

In the face of growing demand, wastewater can be a reliable alternative source of water – this calls for shifting the paradigm of wastewater management from ‘treatment and disposal’ to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle and resource recovery’. Wastewater should no longer be seen as a problem, but as part of the solution to challenges that all societies are facing. Treated wastewater can be a cost-efficient, sustainable, safe and reliable alternative source of water for a variety of purposes – from irrigation and industrial uses to drinking water, particularly under conditions of water scarcity. For this, we need to change mind-sets, to raise awareness and redouble educational efforts to share the benefits of wastewater reuse.

面對日益增長的需求，廢水可以成爲可靠的替代性水源，而這需要將廢水管理模式從“處理和處置”轉變爲“減少、再利用、再循環和資源回收”。廢水不應再被視爲一個問題，而應成爲應對各社會所面臨挑戰的解決方案的一部分。廢水經過處理後可以是一種成本效益高、可持續、安全可靠的替代性水源，它用途廣泛：從灌溉和工業用途到飲用水，特別是在缺水條件下。爲此，我們必須轉變思維，提高意識，加強教育，分享廢水再利用的成果。

We need to see improved wastewater management at the heart of a circular economy, balancing development with the protection and sustainable use of natural resources. The benefits are wide-ranging, with implications on food and energy security and in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

我們必須將更好的廢水管理置放於循環經濟的核心地位，在發展與保護並可持續使用自然資源之間取得平衡。這樣做益處甚廣，尤其有助於保障糧食和能源安全，緩解氣候變化的影響。

As the United Nations agency for water sciences and education, UNESCO is working across the board to these ends, starting with the International Hydrological Programme and its network of National Committees, Centres and Chairs. Our World Water Assessment Programme provides Governments and the international community with cutting-edge and policy-relevant information on freshwater resources worldwide, pioneering also new techniques in gender-sensitive water monitoring. All of this is vital for the success of the 2030 Agenda.

作爲負責水科學和教育的聯合國機構，從國際水文計劃及其國家委員會網絡、中心和教席開始，教科文組織正爲實現上述目標作出全面努力。我們的世界水資源評估計劃，爲各國政府和國際社會提供全世界淡水資源方面的前沿性和政策性信息，並在注重性別平等的水資源監測新技術方面開展着開拓性工作。這一切都對成功實現《2030年議程》至關重要。

At a time when demand is growing and limited resources are increasingly stressed by over-abstraction, pollution and climate change, we simply must not neglect the opportunities from improved wastewater management. We cannot afford to waste wastewater – this is UNESCO’s message today.

在需求增長，有限的資源因過度開發、污染和氣候變化而日益緊張的時候，我們絕不應忽視改善廢水管理帶來的機遇。廢水不能浪費，這就是教科文組織今天要傳遞的訊息。