Our planet is thirsty — thirsty because it is hungry. It takes one thousand times more water to feed the human population than it does to satisfy its thirst.
Water lies at the core of sustainable development concerns, and its rational and equitable management is crucial for human survival. That was one of the key messages to arise from the World Summit on Sustainable Development2 that was held in Johannesburg this summer. Next year's Third World Water Forum in Japan will address this issue in greater depth.
It is therefore fitting that this year's World Food Day spotlights the role of water in food security. Without water, there can be no food production. In fact, the agricultural sector is the user of 70 percent of the planet's water supply. In a world in which per capita water availability is declining, we need to focus on appropriate water management if we are to sufficiently increase food production, with a view to reduce hunger and malnutrition, and feed a population expected to rise to 8 billion in 30 years'time.
Shortage of water threatens extensive agricultural regions in developing countries and fans the prospect of food crises. At present, twenty countries do not have enough water to produce the food their populations need. In some cases, the overexploitation of water resources undermines future agricultural production, while in others, their underexploitation inhibits development.
The combined vicious impact of poverty, rising demand for food and insufficient availability of water therefore poses a serious challenge for world food security and universal access to clean water. One billion people are deprived of clean water, and most of these people are also hungry. They live in rural areas and agriculture is their main source of income.
How are we to ensure water availability and food security, while safeguarding the environment? At present, more than one-third of the world's food production comes from the irrigated areas that make up 16 percent of the planet's arable land. Irrigated farming is at least twice as productive as rainfed farming3, and during the next 30 years some 70 percent of additional food production in developing countries should come from irrigated land.
It is urgent to avoid poor irrigation practices that have often led to diminishing water supplies, land degradation and spread of disease . Far too often, more water is being pumped than can possibly be recharged. Also , too much water is being lost along canals, because of leakage , wastage , seepage or evaporation. Too many schemes are losing productivity because of inappropriate drainage, waterlogging and a build-up of salts in the soil.
We thus have to turn increasingly to adopt integrated watershed management, curb the upstream deforestation that generates flooding and erosion, and significantly increase investment in water control infrastructure. Finally, water use will be sustainable only if it is done in a socially equitable manner.
New water policy, and institutions and laws will facilitate the integrated management of river basins and water resources by all stakeholders, in a climate of transparency, accountability and social justice.
The cooperation of all development partners, the public, private and non-profit sectors at national and international level, will be indispensable to resolve conflicts of interest, mobilize substantial financial resources and create conditions for a fairer distribution of food and water.
The countries of Africa , the Middle East and southern Asia that are already facing serious water shortages will see their situation rapidly worsen unless there is stronger solidarity between the regions of abundance and the regions of scarcity. Such solidarity is necessary if we are to avoid a proliferation and aggravation of tensions relating to water .
練習題：
?、? Fill in each blank with proper words or phrases from the passage :
1. Many people in Africa ( 剝奪) their rights of living peacefully.
2. A few of spies are planning to ( 破壞) the social stability.
3. Library is usually regarded as a ( 非盈利) organization.
Ⅱ. Question :
Why should we avoid poor irrigation practices?
答案：
?、? 1. are deprived of 2. undermine 3 . non-profit
Ⅱ. Because such practices have often led to diminishing water supplies, land degradation and spread o
f disease.
譯文：
水:糧食安全之源
我們的星球很渴。它之所以渴是因為它饑餓。它用于生產供養(yǎng)人類的糧食所需要的水比用于人類飲用的水多一千倍。
水是可持續(xù)發(fā)展關注的核心問題。對水進行公平合理的管理是人類生存的關鍵。這是今年夏天在約翰內斯堡舉行的可持續(xù)發(fā)展首腦會議發(fā)出的主要信息之一。明年在日本舉行的第三屆" 世界水論壇"將要更加深入地討論這一問題。
因此, 今年的" 世界糧食日"突顯水在糧食安全中的作用是正逢其時的。沒有水, 就不可能進行糧食生產。事實上, 地球上的供水量有70% 為于農業(yè)部門所用。世界上水的人均占有量正在下降, 必須對水進行適當集中管理才能充分提高糧食生產, 從而減少饑餓和營養(yǎng)不良, 為30 年后預計將達到80 億的人口提供食品。
缺水對發(fā)展中國家的廣大農業(yè)地區(qū)造成威脅, 可能引起糧食危機。目前有20個國家無充足的水用于生產該國人口需要的糧食。在某些情況下, 水資源過度開發(fā)影響了農業(yè)生產前景, 而在另一些情況下, 水資源利用不足抑制了發(fā)展。
貧困、對糧食日益增加的需求以及供水量不足等綜合因素對世界糧食安全及人人獲得凈水提出了嚴重挑戰(zhàn)。有十億人缺乏凈水, 他們中的大多數還遭受饑餓。他們生活在農村地區(qū), 農業(yè)是主要收入來源。
我們如何才能在保護環(huán)境的同時確保水的供應和糧食安全呢? 今天, 世界糧食產量有三分之一以上來自灌溉地區(qū), 灌溉面積占全球耕地面積的16% 。灌溉農業(yè)的產量至少是雨育農業(yè)的兩倍。在今后30 年間, 發(fā)展中國家增加的糧食產量約有70% 來自灌溉土地。我們急需避免通常會導致供水減少、土地退化和疾病傳播的不良灌溉方法。更多時候抽水量都超過了儲水重新補給的能力。同樣, 因流失、消耗、滲透或蒸發(fā), 有太多的水在灌渠沿途損失。由于排水不當、積水和土壤鹽堿化日益嚴重, 許多灌區(qū)的生產率下降。
因此, 我們必須更多地采用小流域綜合管理方法, 制止造成水災和侵蝕的上游毀林, 大量增加對水利基礎設施的投資。最后, 水的利用只有以社會公平的方式進行才可能持續(xù)。新的水政策和體制及法律將在一種透明、負責和社會公正的氛圍下, 促使所有利益相關者接受對江河流域及水資源的綜合管理方法。
國家和國際范圍內所有發(fā)展伙伴之間、公共、私營及非盈利部門之間必須進行合作, 才能解決利益沖突, 調動大量經濟資源, 為更加公平分配糧食和水創(chuàng)造條件。除非富足地區(qū)與匱乏地區(qū)之間加強團結協作, 否則非洲、中東和南亞已經面臨嚴重缺水國家的形勢將會迅速惡化。如果我們要避免與水有關的緊張狀況擴散和加劇, 就需要這種團結協作。
