联合国水峰会：淡水告急！！！- 大数跨境

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联合国水峰会：淡水告急！！！

QuriositySISU

2023-03-30

导读：本世纪末全球淡水需求量将超过供应量40%，水危机迫在眉睫

联合国水峰会：

淡水告急！！！

水是可持续发展的核心，获得安全和清洁的水是一项基本人权。然而，几十年来的不善管理和滥用加剧了水资源紧张，威胁到依赖这一关键资源的人类生活的方方面面。

全文共2282字，阅读大约需要9分钟

水危机真的要来了？

1900-2025年间全球各大洲的水消费量

诸如“水资源十分宝贵”“节约用水就是拯救地球”之类的口号已经在人们耳边“聒噪”很多年了，而大多数人对此无动于衷。

但如今，淡水供应量越来越少，需求量却逐年上升。到2050年，多达57亿人每年要经历至少一个月的缺水期。专家在联合国水资源峰会(UN water summit)前夕表示，全球水危机已经迫在眉睫。预计到本世纪末，全球淡水的需求量将超过其供应量40%。

But nowadays, the supply of fresh water is getting less and less, while the annual demand is rising . By 2050, up to 5.7 billion people could be living in areas where water is scarce for at least one month a year. The world is facing an imminent water crisis, with demand expected to outstrip the supply of fresh water by 40% by the end of this decade, experts have said on the eve of a crucial UN water summit.

水是经济和社会发展的关键，但截止2022年，全球仍有20亿人的饮用水不安全，36亿人的卫生条件不达标。

约90%的气候影响与水有关——无论是水太多、太少还是太脏——但目前只有3%的气候相关资金被用于全球水系。美国太平洋研究院(Pacific Institute)的研究显示，近年来，随着水资源的减少，与水有关的冲突急剧上升，包括城市和农村居民、牧民和农民之间的许多内部纠纷。

About 90% of climate impacts are related to water – too much, too little, or too dirty – yet only 3% of climate finance is currently dedicated to the world's water systems. Water related conflicts have risen sharply in recent years as sources dwindle, including many internal disputes between urban and rural dwellers, and pastoralists and farmers, according to research by the Pacific Institute.

被低估的水危机

面对这场水危机，一份权威的研究报告称，各国政府必须立即停止误导性的农业补贴(misdirected agricultural subsidies)，这类补贴在发放时往往只关注产量等短期贸易指标，而忽视了农业发展对环境的长期影响，从而诱使水的过度使用。除此之外，从采矿业到制造业，所有行业都必须彻底制止浪费行为。

采矿业常常会对水资源造成极大污染

报告作者说，各国必须将水视作全球的公共利益*，并对其进行科学的管理和控制。因为大多数国家都高度依赖邻国的水供应，而水资源的浪费、污染和气候危机则威胁着全球的水供应。

Nations must start to manage water as a global common good*, because most countries are highly dependent on their neighbors for water supplies, and overuse, pollution and the climate crisis threaten water supplies globally, the report’s authors say.

*译注：commom good, 即公共利益，指被特定群体的全部或大部分成员所共享的有益之处，或人们通过集体行动积极参与公共服务而实现的目标。

该报告的主要作者Johan Rockstrom表示，世界对水资源的忽视正带来灾难性后果。“科学证据表明，我们面临着水危机。我们正在滥用水，污染水，而我们对气候的所作所为正在改变全球的水循环。这是一场三重危机。”

Johan Rockstrom, a lead author of the report, said that the world’s neglect of water resources was leading to disaster. “The scientific evidence is that we have a water crisis. We are misusing water, polluting water, and changing the whole global hydrological cycle, through what we are doing to the climate. It’s a triple crisis.”

Rockstrom说，在水资源问题上，许多国家的政府仍然没有意识到它们之间是相互依赖的。大多数国家大约一半的水供应都依赖于邻国的蒸发水——这种水被称为“绿水”(“green” water)，它存在于土壤中，由森林和其他生态系统的蒸腾作用传递。植物从土壤中吸收水分，并通过叶子把蒸汽释放到空气中。

Many governments still do not realize how interdependent they are when it comes to water, according to Rockstrom. Most countries depend for about half of their water supply on the evaporation of water from neighboring countries – known as “green” water because it is held in soils and delivered from transpiration in forests and other ecosystems, when plants take up water from the soil and release vapor into the air from their leaves.

而“蓝水”(blue water)指地表水和地下水，存在于湖泊、河流和水库中。“蓝水”和“绿水”相互转化，在地球的水循环中起着重要的作用，而它们并不局限于国界线的分割，而是在生物圈——这个最大的生态系统中和谐共鸣。

人类的生存发展依赖着可持续的水循环，包括“蓝水”和“绿水”间的转化（图源：卫报）

因此，国际间关于水资源的合作就显得尤为重要。而2023年版《联合国世界水资源开发报告》(United Nations World Water Development Report)也强调了伙伴关系和协作对于可持续发展的意义。只有不同国家、不同阶层、不同专长的人们携手共进，才能最大限度地实现优势互补，更有效地促进水资源的循环利用。

2023年版《联合国世界水资源开发报告》

当然，仅仅满足基本用水是不够的，因此，联合国在《水和环境卫生的可持续发展目标》(The Sustainable Development Goals on Water and Sanitation)中提出了更广阔的愿景。

“到2030年，所有人都应当平等获得安全、可负担的饮用水，以及足够的卫生设施和条件。露天排便应当被终止。女性以及其他弱势群体的需求应当被特别关注。这些目标反映了水和卫生设施作为一项人权变得日益重要。其他超出目前可及范围的目标也在考虑之中，例如减少污染以改善水质，以及大幅提高用水效率。”

“By 2030, universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all, and access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. This goal reflects the growing importance of water and sanitation as a human right. Additional targets that go beyond access are also being considered, such as improving water quality by reducing pollution, and substantially increasing water-use efficiency.”

关于水资源问题的七项倡议

1.把控制水循环视为全球的共同利益。只有共同保护才能共同受益。

Manage the global water cycle as a global common good, to be protected collectively and in our shared interests.

2.确保为所有的弱势群体提供安全充足的水资源，并与工业界合作，扩大对于水的投资。

Ensure safe and adequate water for every vulnerable group, and work with industry to scale up investment in water.

3.停止压低水价。适当定价、并针对性地支持穷人将使水资源的利用更有效、更公平、更可持续。

Stop underpricing water. Proper pricing and targeted support for the poor will enable water to be used more efficiently, more equitably, and more sustainably.

4.减少每年在农业和水资源领域超过7000亿美元的补贴（这些补贴往往会导致过度用水），并治理供水系统的渗漏。

Reduce the more than $700bn of subsidies in agriculture and water each year, which often fuel excessive water consumption, and reduce leakage in water systems.

5.建立“公正用水伙伴关系”，为中低收入国家提供资金。

Establish “just water partnerships” which can mobilize finance for low- and middle-income countries.

6.在这十年中采取紧急行动：恢复湿地和枯竭的地下水资源；回收工业用水；转向精准农业以更有效利用水资源；要求公司报告他们的“水足迹”。

Take urgent action this decade on issues such as restoring wetlands and depleted groundwater resources; recycling the water used in industry; moving to precision agriculture that uses water more efficiently; and having companies report on their “water footprint”*.

*译注：water footprint，即“水足迹”，是一种衡量消费者和生产者直接或间接用水情况的指标。通过追踪“水足迹”，人们可以清楚知道生产活动各环节中的具体用水情况，为节水提供更精确的指导和建议。

7.在国际层面变革水的治理方式，并将水资源纳入贸易协定。治理过程中还必须考虑到妇女、农民、土著居民和其他处于水资源保护第一线的人。

Reform the governance of water at an international level, and including water in trade agreements. Governance must also take into account women, farmers, indigenous people and others in the frontline of water conservation.