Today, one in two people around the world suffers from water scarcity for several months of the year.And in some parts of the world, this water scarcity has become the rule, rather than the exception.
今天，全世界有一半人口每年都有几个月时间面临缺水问题。在世界上某些地区，缺水曾是罕见现象，如今却成为常态。

We know the consequences of such a situation: water shortages not only fan the flames of geopolitical tensions, but also pose a threat to fundamental rights as a whole, for example by considerably undermining the position of girls and women. Indeed, in many rural areas, girls and women are primarily responsible for collecting water and spend several hours a day carrying out this task. In doing so, their access to education and participation in economic life is jeopardized.
我们了解这种情况的后果：水资源短缺不仅加剧地缘政治紧张局势，而且 也威胁到各项基本权利，例如，女童和妇女的处境就因此更加脆弱。在许多农村 地区，女性是取水的主力军，她们每天为此花费数小时，这影响到她们接受教育 和参与经济生活的机会。

Access to water and the preservation of water resources are therefore core challenges for our societies, requiring new ways of using and managing this precious resource.
因此，获取水和保护水资源是我们社会面临的重大挑战。针对这一宝贵资 源，必须采用新的消费和管理模式。

Such are the findings of our latest World Water Development Report, coordinated by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water.
这正是最新的《世界水发展报告》得出的结论，该报告由教科文组织代表 联合国水机制协调编写。

The report is published annually to mark World Water Day on 22 March. Both this year’s report and the 2024 edition of World Water Day focus on the theme of “Water for Prosperity and Peace”.
该报告在每年 3 月 22 日世界水日发布，今年的主题是“以水促繁荣与和平”， 而这也是 2024 年世界水日的主题。

On this occasion, UNESCO wishes to recall the importance of dialogue and cooperation in the field of water, whether surface or groundwater, liquid or frozen. This international cooperation is not only desirable, but essential, when over 40% of the world’s population lives in transboundary river basins, which account for almost 60% of the world’s freshwater resources.
教科文组织希望借此机会再次强调开展水领域（包括地表水、地下水、液 态水和冰冻水等）对话与合作的重要性。这种国际合作不仅是可取的，而且是必 要的，因为世界上逾 40%的人口生活在占世界淡水资源近 60%的跨界江河流域。

To encourage international cooperation in the field of water, UNESCO has launched a number of initiatives. In the Greater Mekong subregion, for example, which includes Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam, we are stepping up the use of groundwater resources as a means of adapting to climate disruption. In the same vein, our Organization has set up a joint management framework, between Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, for the Stampriet Aquifer.
教科文组织为促进水领域的国际合作推出了多项举措。例如，在包括柬埔 寨、老挝、泰国和越南的大湄公河地区，我们正在加强地下水资源的利用，以此 作为适应气候失调的手段。本着同一理念，本组织还为处在博茨瓦纳、纳米比亚 和南非之间的斯坦普里特含水层建立了一个共同管理框架。

UNESCO also provides technical support to its Member States to ensure the quality of freshwater resources. The Organization has launched an innovative platform for the operational satellite monitoring of water quality in two transboundary watersheds: the Lake Chad watershed, which covers Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Niger, Nigeria and Chad, and the Río de la Plata watershed, which irrigates Argentina, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
教科文组织还向会员国提供技术支持，以确保淡水资源的良好水质。为此， 本组织启动了一个创新平台，利用卫星对两个跨界流域的水质进行监测：一个是 覆盖喀麦隆、中非共和国、尼日尔、尼日利亚和乍得的乍得湖流域，另一个是灌 溉阿根廷、玻利维亚、巴拉圭和乌拉圭的拉普拉塔流域。

The theme of World Water Day 2024 is therefore a call to action – to sustainably manage water, to reconnect with our planet and, ultimately, to build peace. For, as Brazilian artist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Vik Muniz said in 2021, “There is only one Earth, not one planet for nature and another for humans”.
因此，2024 年世界水日的主题也是一项行动呼吁：实现可持续水管理，恢 复与地球的联系，并最终建设和平。正如教科文组织亲善大使、巴西艺术家维 克•穆尼兹（Vik Muniz）在 2021 年所言：“地球只有一个，人与自然共有这一 个地球。”