Connecting People with Nature
联合国教科文组织总干事博科娃在2017年世界环境日上的致辞。（中英对照）
Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the Occasion of World Environment Day
教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士在世界环境日的致辞
Connecting People with Nature
连接人与自然
5 June 2017
2017年6月5日
It may seem hard to believe now, but, fifty years ago, it was thought the best way to protect nature was to make it off-limits to the human population…
现在看来似乎不可思议，但五十年前，人们曾经认为保护自然最好的方式是禁止人类涉足自然……
Today, we know better.
今天，我们对此有了不同的认识。
We now know that the closer the relationship between people and their natural environment the more likely people are to appreciate the importance of nature and its biodiversity, heritage and water, for their personal well-being and the planet’s future.
我们现在知道，人与所处的自然环境关系越紧密，就越有可能意识到自然、生物多样性、遗产和水对个人福祉和地球未来的重要性。
This spirit guides all UNESCO’s action, embodied in a unique global network of UNESCO-designated sites, designed to bring people closer to nature, drawing a new map of the world – a map of unity and peace, beyond borders, between women and men and the environment around them.
这种精神指引着教科文组织的一切行动，体现在教科文组织认定区域这一独特的全球网络中。这些认定区域旨在让人们走近自然，绘制一张全新的世界地图，这张统一与和平的地图看不到国界，只有男男女女与他们周围的环境相契相融。
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO Global Geoparks and World Heritage sites – often overlying key strategic surface or groundwater resources – bring together more than 2,000 exceptional sites around the world. All of them employ local people and have their doors wide open to the public, because we know now this is the surest path to more inclusive and sustainable development, respectful of the boundaries of the planet.
教科文组织生物圈保护区、教科文组织世界地质公园和世界遗产地往往座落在关键战略性地表区域或地下水资源之上，汇集着世界各地2000多个非同凡响的园区。所有这些认定区域都雇佣当地居民，并向公众敞开大门，因为我们现在知道，这是守护有限的地球资源、实现更加包容和可持续的发展的最佳途径。
Geoparks are open-air history books that take us back millions of years in time. Biosphere reserves are places where local communities tackle development challenges by crafting new social and economic pathways to sustainability. Geoparks and Biosphere Reserves combine conservation with education and innovative approaches to sustainable local development, such as ecotourism and organic agriculture.
地质公园是露天的史书，带我们回到数百万年前。生物圈保护区可以让当地社区通过开创走向可持续发展的社会和经济新途径，应对各方面的发展挑战。地质公园和生物圈保护区把保护与教育和创新结合在一起，通过开展生态旅游和有机农业促进当地可持续发展。
All this is led forward locally, but these sites fit into a unique global network that allow ideas, experience and best practices to be shared far afield. Respect for nature comes with understanding, which is why UNESCO launched an educational kit on biodiversity for schoolchildren.
引领所有这些行动的是当地社区，但这些认定区域也形成了一个独特的全球网络，使创意、经验和最佳实践能够广为分享。理解自然才能尊重自然，因此教科文组织为学生推出了生物多样性教学包。
Water connects people to nature, and many UNESCO Cultural World Heritage sites are examples of how humanity has managed water to obtain it, store it, harness its power and conserve it. Look no further than the aqueducts, water gardens, and mills that mark our landscapes.
水连接着人与自然，许多教科文组织世界文化遗产地都展示了人类怎样通过获取、存储、利用以及保存来对水进行管理。我们身边的水渠、水景花园和水磨坊都是极好的例证。
Today, I invite everyone to take time out from busy lives and to visit one of UNESCO’s sites. For a moment of contemplation, immerse yourself in a Persian Garden in Iran, where water plays an astonishing symbolic and ornamental role. In Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark in Canada, go for a swim in crystal-clear alpine lakes and sleep under the stars. Or go trekking in Jordan’s Mujib Biosphere Reserve, which lies 420 m below sea level in places, thanks to its proximity to the Dead Sea.
今天，我邀请每一个人都从百忙之中抽出时间，参观一个教科文组织指定区域。你可以在伊朗的波斯花园冥想沉思，水在花园里起着非常重要的象征和装饰作用；或是去加拿大塔布勒岭地质公园跳入清澈见底的高山湖泊游泳，在星空下宿营；或者去约旦穆吉布生物圈保护区徒步健行，这里由于毗邻死海，有的地点竟低于海平面420米。
On this World Environment Day, I call all countries to make the most of UNESCO designated sites – most of all, I call on women and men everywhere to connect with the nature around them that gives beauty, meaning and harmony to the lives we lead.
值此“世界环境日”，我呼吁所有国家充分利用教科文组织的各类认定区域。更重要的是，我呼吁世界各地的男男女女亲近大自然，因为大自然为我们的生活赋予美、意义与和谐。