导读:环境问题一直是人们关注的焦点。为了实现环境可持续发展，许多国家都在苦苦地坚持奋斗着，可为什么25年的坚持还是换不来环境的改善，来看看具体是哪里出了问题？
In 1992, more than 170 countries came together at the Rio Earth Summit and agreed to pursue sustainable development, protect biological diversity, prevent dangerous interference with climate systems, and conserve forests. But, 25 years later, the natural systems on which humanity relies continue to be degraded.
1992年，里约地球峰会上170多个国家聚集在一起，同意追求可持续发展，保护生物多样性，防止危及对气候系统的干扰和保护森林。但是，25年后，人类赖以生存的自然系统仍旧在恶化。
So why hasn’t the world become much more environmentally sustainable despite decades of international agreements, national policies, state laws and local plans? this is the question that a team of researchers and I have tried to answer in a recent article.
那么，为什么几十年的国际协定，国家政策，国家法律和地方计划还是没有让这个世界达到环境的可持续发展呢？这正是一个研究小组和我在最近的一篇文章中试图要回答的问题。
We reviewed 94 studies of how sustainability policies had failed across every continent. These included case studies from both developed and developing countries, and ranged in scope from international to local initiatives.
我们回顾了94个关于可持续发展政策在大陆上失败的研究。 这些包括发达国家和发展中国家的案例研究，范围从国际到地方的举措。
Consider the following key environmental indicators. Since 1970:
考虑以下自1970年以来影响环境的关键指标：
Humanity’s ecological footprint has exceeded the Earth’s capacity and has risen to the point where 1.6 planets would be needed to provide resources sustainably.
人类的生态足迹已经超过了地球的承受能力，上升到需要1.6个行星可持续地提供资源的地步。
The biodiversity index has fallen by more than 50% as the populations of other species continue to decline.
随着其他物种的减少，生物多样性指数下降了50％以上。
Greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change have almost doubled while the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent.
推动气候变化的温室气体排放量几乎翻了一番，而气候变化的影响也越来越明显。
The world has lost more than 48% of tropical and sub-tropical forests.
全球已经失去了48%以上的热带和亚热带森林。
The rate at which these indicators deteriorated was largely unchanged over the two decades either side of the Rio summit. Furthermore, humanity is fast approaching several environmental tipping points. If crossed, these could lead to irreversible changes.
这些指标在二十年来里约峰会的任何一方出现恶化的程度基本保持不变。 此外，人类正在快速接近几个环境转折点。 如果跨越的话，可能会导致不可逆转的变化。
If we allow average global temperatures to rise 2℃ above pre-industrial levels, for example, feedback mechanisms will kick in that lead to runaway climate change. We’re already halfway to this limit and could pass it in the next few decades.
例如，如果我们允许全球平均气温比工业化前水平上升2℃，那么反馈机制将会导致气候变化的失控。 我们已经做了一半了，这在未来几十年是可以通过的。
WHAT’S GOING WRONG?
哪里出了问题？
So what’s going wrong with sustainability initiatives? We found that three types of failure kept recurring: economic, political and communication.
那么可持续发展举措哪里出错了？ 我们发现经济、政治和交流三个领域的失败现象不断发生。
The economic failures stem from the basic problem that environmentally damaging activities are financially rewarded. A forest is usually worth more money after it’s cut down – which is a particular problem for countries transitioning to a market-based economy.
经济失败源于环境破坏活动得到财政奖励这一基本问题。 森林在削减后通常值更多的钱-- 这是向国家向市场经济转型的一个特殊问题。
Political failures happen when governments can’t or won’t implement effective policies. This is often because large extractive industries, like mining, are dominant players in an economy and see themselves as having the most to lose. This occurs in developed and developing countries, but the latter can face extra difficulties enforcing policies once they’re put in place.
政府不施行有效政策是政治方面失败的原因。这通常是因为大型采掘业，如采矿业，是经济中的主导参与者，并认为自己是失败情况最多的。这种情况发生在发达国家和发展中国家，但后者在实施政策上就面临着额外的困难。
Communication failures centre on poor consultation or community involvement in the policy process. Opposition then flourishes, sometimes based on a misunderstanding of the severity of the issue. It can also be fed by mistrust when communities see their concerns being overlooked.
沟通失败的重点在于咨询不足或社区参与政策过程。有时，反对党的兴盛是基于对这个问题严重性的误解。当社区人员看到他们的问题被忽视时，就会导致不信任。
Again, this happens around the world. A good example would be community resistance to changing water allocation systems in rural areas of Australia. In this situation, farmers were so opposed to the government buying back some of their water permits that copies of the policy were burned in the street.
再次，这种情况发生在世界各地。 一个很好的例子是在澳大利亚农村地区，人们反对水分配制度的改变。在这种情况下，农民强烈反对政府购买一些水资源许可证，政策也就落空了。
These types of failure are mutually reinforcing. Poor communication of the benefits of sustainable development creates the belief that it always costs jobs and money. Businesses and communities then pressure politicians to avoid or water down environmentally friendly legislation.
这些类型的失败是相辅相成的。 可持续发展沟通不足的好处在于认为它总是要花费人力财力的。企业和社区则迫使政客撤回环保立法的想法。
Ultimately, this represents a failure to convince people that sustainable development can supply “win-win” scenarios. As a result, decision-makers are stuck in the jobs-versus-environment mindset.
最终，这就意味着无法说服人们认为可持续发展可以提供“双赢”效果。 因此，决策者陷入就业还是环境的沉思中。
