UN Secretary-General's Message on the International Day for Disaster Reduction
New York, 13 October 2010


聯(lián)合國秘書長潘基文2010年國際減災(zāi)日致辭
2010年10月13日


Biggest, deadliest, worst ever. We have seen those words in the headlines too often this year. We have used them about earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and forest fires, about loss of life and income. Those words are likely to be heard for years to come, as the climate changes and hazards multiply. To complicate the picture, just as weather patterns have altered, so has human society. We are more urban. If earthquakes, floods or storm surges were deadly in the past, they are deadlier still in an increasingly urbanized world.


有史以來最大、死傷人數(shù)最多、最嚴重。這些字眼我們今年經(jīng)常在頭版頭條上見到。我們用這些字眼來描繪地震、洪水、颶風(fēng)和森林火災(zāi)造成的生命和財產(chǎn)損失。而隨著氣候的變化和危險倍增，這些字眼今后若干年很可能會不斷傳來。更糟糕的是，不僅天氣模式發(fā)生了改變，而且人類社會也與以往不同了。我們更加城市化。如果說地震、洪水或風(fēng)暴潮從來就是致命的，那么在日益城市化的當今世界，這些災(zāi)害的致命性則更大。


Many cities are on the coasts, vulnerable to storms, inundation and sea level rise. More than a billion people in Asia live within 100 kilometres of the sea, and two-thirds of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean live within 200 kilometres. Too many people live on flood plains, others above earthquake fault lines. Some settle downstream from treeless areas, with little buffer against the elements. The risk of disaster quietly accumulates. And, while natural hazards menace everyone, the poor are by far the most vulnerable.


許多城市都位于沿海地區(qū)，易受暴風(fēng)雨、洪水和海平面上升的威脅。亞洲有十多億人生活在距海100公里之內(nèi)，拉丁美洲和加勒比區(qū)域三分之二的人生活在距海200公里之內(nèi)。太多的人生活在洪泛區(qū)，還有很多人生活在地震帶上。有的人居住在無樹區(qū)的下游地帶，幾乎無法緩沖災(zāi)難的影響。災(zāi)害風(fēng)險的累積是悄然無聲的。而且，雖說自然災(zāi)害威脅的是每個人，但迄今為止，窮人是最易受害的人群。


On the positive side, we are learning to cope. Today, on the International Day for Disaster Reduction, we recognize what local governments and communities are doing to protect themselves while building more sustainable towns and cities.


令人樂觀的是，我們正在學(xué)習(xí)如何應(yīng)對。今天，恰逢國際減災(zāi)日，我們要肯定一些地方政府和社區(qū)所做的工作，它們在建設(shè)更具可持續(xù)性的城鎮(zhèn)和城市的同時，開展自我保護。


Last May, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction launched a global campaign called “Making Cities Resilient”. More than 100 cities, with nearly 110 million residents, have signed up to the “Ten Essentials” – actions that will make communities safer from disasters. The role models with good practices include Albay Province in the Philippines, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, Bangkok, Bonn, Mexico City and Mumbai.


今年5月，聯(lián)合國國際減災(zāi)戰(zhàn)略發(fā)起了“使城市富有復(fù)原力”全球運動。已有100多個城市(居民人數(shù)共約1.1億)簽名參與了“十大要點”——即可加強社區(qū)在災(zāi)害中安全的若干項行動。菲律賓的阿爾拜省、日本兵庫縣、曼谷、波恩、墨西哥城和孟買等地堪稱楷模，其良好做法值得借鑒。


The Ten Essentials translate broad ideas about sustainable cities into workable solutions. They recommend that governments assign a budget to serve everyone – rich and poor alike – and that they invest in risk assessment, training on disaster risk reduction, ecosystem protection, and early warning systems. City planners must also tackle the principal sources of risk in urban areas – poor governance, planning and enforcement. Decision-making should be inclusive and participatory and the principles of sustainable urbanization must be embraced and upheld, especially for the benefit of people living in slums and informal settlements.


“十大要點”將關(guān)于可持續(xù)城市的寬泛理念轉(zhuǎn)化成可行的解決辦法?！笆笠c”建議政府提供服務(wù)于每個人(不論貧富)的預(yù)算撥款，并建議它們投資于風(fēng)險評估、減災(zāi)培訓(xùn)、生態(tài)系統(tǒng)保護以及預(yù)警系統(tǒng)。城市規(guī)劃者也必須解決城市地區(qū)風(fēng)險的幾大主要來源，即管理不善、規(guī)劃不妥和執(zhí)行不力。決策應(yīng)具有包容性和參與性，必須接受和奉行可持續(xù)城市化原則，特別是要有利于貧民窟和非正式定居點的居民。


Reducing disaster risk is everybody's business, and needs everyone's participation and investment – civil society, professional networks as well as municipal and national governments. On this International Day for Disaster Reduction, I commend those cities that are acting to build resilience to climate, environmental and social risks. And to all others I pose this question: Is your city ready?


減少災(zāi)害風(fēng)險是大家共同的責(zé)任，需要大家共同參與和投入——民間社會、專業(yè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)、以及城市和國家政府都義不容辭。值此國際減災(zāi)日之際，我要贊揚那些已經(jīng)行動起來，努力建立氣候、環(huán)境和社會風(fēng)險抵御能力的城市。而對所有其他城市，我要問一聲：你們的城市準備好了嗎？