UN Secretary-General's Message on the International Day for Disaster Reduction
New York, 13 October 2010

联合国秘书长潘基文2010年国际减灾日致辞
2010年10月13日

Biggest, deadliest, worst ever. We have seen those words in the headlines too often this year. We have used them about earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and forest fires, about loss of life and income. Those words are likely to be heard for years to come, as the climate changes and hazards multiply. To complicate the picture, just as weather patterns have altered, so has human society. We are more urban. If earthquakes, floods or storm surges were deadly in the past, they are deadlier still in an increasingly urbanized world.

有史以来最大、死伤人数最多、最严重。这些字眼我们今年经常在头版头条上见到。我们用这些字眼来描绘地震、洪水、飓风和森林火灾造成的生命和财产损失。而随着气候的变化和危险倍增，这些字眼今后若干年很可能会不断传来。更糟糕的是，不仅天气模式发生了改变，而且人类社会也与以往不同了。我们更加城市化。如果说地震、洪水或风暴潮从来就是致命的，那么在日益城市化的当今世界，这些灾害的致命性则更大。

Many cities are on the coasts, vulnerable to storms, inundation and sea level rise. More than a billion people in Asia live within 100 kilometres of the sea, and two-thirds of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean live within 200 kilometres. Too many people live on flood plains, others above earthquake fault lines. Some settle downstream from treeless areas, with little buffer against the elements. The risk of disaster quietly accumulates. And, while natural hazards menace everyone, the poor are by far the most vulnerable.

许多城市都位于沿海地区，易受暴风雨、洪水和海平面上升的威胁。亚洲有十多亿人生活在距海100公里之内，拉丁美洲和加勒比区域三分之二的人生活在距海200公里之内。太多的人生活在洪泛区，还有很多人生活在地震带上。有的人居住在无树区的下游地带，几乎无法缓冲灾难的影响。灾害风险的累积是悄然无声的。而且，虽说自然灾害威胁的是每个人，但迄今为止，穷人是最易受害的人群。

On the positive side, we are learning to cope. Today, on the International Day for Disaster Reduction, we recognize what local governments and communities are doing to protect themselves while building more sustainable towns and cities.

令人乐观的是，我们正在学习如何应对。今天，恰逢国际减灾日，我们要肯定一些地方政府和社区所做的工作，它们在建设更具可持续性的城镇和城市的同时，开展自我保护。

Last May, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction launched a global campaign called “Making Cities Resilient”. More than 100 cities, with nearly 110 million residents, have signed up to the “Ten Essentials” – actions that will make communities safer from disasters. The role models with good practices include Albay Province in the Philippines, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, Bangkok, Bonn, Mexico City and Mumbai.

今年5月，联合国国际减灾战略发起了“使城市富有复原力”全球运动。已有100多个城市(居民人数共约1.1亿)签名参与了“十大要点”——即可加强社区在灾害中安全的若干项行动。菲律宾的阿尔拜省、日本兵库县、曼谷、波恩、墨西哥城和孟买等地堪称楷模，其良好做法值得借鉴。

The Ten Essentials translate broad ideas about sustainable cities into workable solutions. They recommend that governments assign a budget to serve everyone – rich and poor alike – and that they invest in risk assessment, training on disaster risk reduction, ecosystem protection, and early warning systems. City planners must also tackle the principal sources of risk in urban areas – poor governance, planning and enforcement. Decision-making should be inclusive and participatory and the principles of sustainable urbanization must be embraced and upheld, especially for the benefit of people living in slums and informal settlements.

“十大要点”将关于可持续城市的宽泛理念转化成可行的解决办法。“十大要点”建议政府提供服务于每个人(不论贫富)的预算拨款，并建议它们投资于风险评估、减灾培训、生态系统保护以及预警系统。城市规划者也必须解决城市地区风险的几大主要来源，即管理不善、规划不妥和执行不力。决策应具有包容性和参与性，必须接受和奉行可持续城市化原则，特别是要有利于贫民窟和非正式定居点的居民。

Reducing disaster risk is everybody's business, and needs everyone's participation and investment – civil society, professional networks as well as municipal and national governments. On this International Day for Disaster Reduction, I commend those cities that are acting to build resilience to climate, environmental and social risks. And to all others I pose this question: Is your city ready?

减少灾害风险是大家共同的责任，需要大家共同参与和投入——民间社会、专业网络、以及城市和国家政府都义不容辞。值此国际减灾日之际，我要赞扬那些已经行动起来，努力建立气候、环境和社会风险抵御能力的城市。而对所有其他城市，我要问一声：你们的城市准备好了吗？