在气候变化中 如何保护水资源?

EarthSky

Today, EarthSky speaks with water expert Mark Smith, who heads the Water Programme for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – IUCN – the world’s oldest and largest network of environmental scientists and agencies.今天，节目组采访了水利专家马克．史密斯，他是国际自然保护联合会水利项目总监。国际自然保护联合会是世界上历史最久、规模最大、由环境科学家及环保机构组成的联盟。

Mark Smith: When we think of climate change impacts … mostly what people are talking about is drought and floods and storms, and sea level rise, and melting glaciers. And all those things have to do with water.

马克．史密斯：人们谈到气候变化的影响时往往会想到水旱灾、暴风雨、海平面上升及冰川融化。这些都与水有关。

He talked about one example: According to a 2009 study, published in the proceedings of National Academies of Sciences, human-caused climate change is linked to the rapid melting of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, which could disappear entirely in just a few decades. More than 2 million people depend on water from the Kilmanjaro’s glaciers. Dr. Smith spoke about an IUCN project to help people in northern Tanzania better manage their water.

他举了个例子：据2009年《国家科学院学报》发布的一项调查，人为因素造成的气候变化导致乞力马扎罗山山顶冰川急剧萎缩，未来几十年内可能完全消融。这些冰川为超过200万人提供赖以生存的淡水资源。史密斯博士向我们介绍了国际自然保护联合会发起的一个项目，该项目将有助于坦桑尼亚北部居民更好地利用水资源。

Mark Smith: This is in the Pangani River Basin in northern Tanzania, which has Mount Kilamanjaro at its headwaters. So a very iconic place for climate change. But also a very typical place for Africa, where people are struggling with water security. The big problem in the Pangani is that water is running out. And climate change is making this worse.

马克．史密斯：坦桑尼亚北部潘加尼流域坐落着雄伟的乞力马扎罗山，它是潘加尼河的发源地。这里是气候变化的风向标，也是非洲非常典型的一个地区，人们致力于保护用水安全。水资源短缺是当地面临的重大问题，气候变化也使这一问题更为严重。