绿色科技的撒哈拉

In the past year, African nations like Kenya and Uganda, have been investing heavily in green technologies, for example, renewable energy and organic agriculture. Here is economist Steven Stone of the United Nations Environment Program.

去年，肯尼亚、乌干达等非洲国家在可再生能源及有机农业等绿色科技领域投入大量资金。我们采访到的是联合国环境规划署的经济学家史蒂芬．斯特恩。

Steven Stone: They’re saying, well, if I do have for example limited ability to purchase oil, what can I do to increase my self-sufficiency? What kind of technologies will permit me to leapfrog from an older, dirtier technology?

史蒂芬．斯特恩：这些非洲国家在反思：既然我们不具备购买石油的能力，那怎样做才能加强国内自给自足的能力呢？什么样的技术才能让我们实现跨越式发展，摆脱原始落后技术的束缚呢？

For example, he said, a geothermal plant is currently in the works in Kenya. He also talked about Uganda, whose per capita income is only about $1,000 dollars a year. He said Uganda first began to invest in organic farming because its people couldn’t afford commercial fertilizer.

他举例说，肯尼亚正在筹备建造一个地热发电站。斯特恩也谈到了乌干达的状况，乌干达人民人均年收入大约只有1000美元，由于买不起商业化肥，就开始投资发展有机农业。

Steven Stone: In Organic agriculture in Uganda which has grown to about 23 million dollars a year now, from a base of 3 million dollars a year in 2003 and it’s now gotten to the point where it’s producing significant revenues for small farmers in Africa.

史蒂芬．斯特恩：乌干达从2003年开始发展有机农业，当时的年收益是300万美元，现在年收益已经增长到2300万美元左右，这一增长显著提高非洲小农户的收入水平。

Stone said that “green” policies that are economically successful can set benchmarks for the whole continent.

斯特恩说，这种在经济上取得的成功“绿色”政策为整个非洲大陆的发展提供了参考基准。

Steven Stone: Many people, when they think of Africa, they think of a landscape where many things are going wrong and just many crises. And I think the story about the green economy transition in Africa is one of hope and optimism.

斯特恩说：很多人每每想到非洲，都会觉得那里的问题多多、危机重重。我认为，随着非洲向绿色经济过渡，人们将对这片土地充满希望和信心。