2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Discuss Impact of Climate Change on Wat

By Efam Dovi
Accra
24 September 2006
 

Climate experts from across Africa, meeting in Ghana, say climate change would have a severe impact on Africa's water resources, energy, agriculture and eventually food security. The experts were assessing where Africa is vulnerable to climate change, and how countries can prepare for its effects.

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The U.N. projects that, by 2025, around 480 million people in Africa could face water scarcity¹, or the potential for conflicts over water, as supplies decrease and demands for water increase.

Moise Sonou is senior water development officer in the Africa regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organization. He says African countries need to work together to deal with the situation.

"We know that the scenarios² are not certain for the time being, but the impact, as has been forecast so far, will be beyond the means of the individual countries to cope with," said Sonou. "But, if we start preparing for it now, we certainly will be able to alleviate³ part of the risk."

The experts, meeting under the auspices⁴ of the U.N., say Africa is most vulnerable because of poor capacity to adapt to climate change, the harsh atmospheric⁵ conditions and poverty. All of these make it difficult for people to cope with the impact of climate change.

Kojo Ageman Bonsu, national climate change coordinator⁶ in Ghana, stressed the importance of information-sharing in the region.

"So, it is important for us to learn from each other. Ghana, for example, has done vulnerability assessments⁷ in almost all the sectors," noted⁸ Bonsu. "So, the national level activities are critical. But, at the same time, sharing information within the region is very important. And the problem we have in Africa is actually information-sharing."

The participants say changes in climatic conditions are already affecting many African countries. For instance, they said, Ghana is facing an energy crisis because of a shortfall in rain, while, in Ethiopia, flooding has displaced thousands of people.

Amare Hailu, from the Ethiopia national meteorology agency, says prediction is key.

"It needs the skill of predicting the climate. When we come to Ethiopia, Ethiopia is a mountainous area, different micro-climate systems are affecting the country," said Hailu. "We cannot predict the whole system at once, the temperature of the highland⁹ areas is not much affected¹⁰ when we come to lowland areas it was seriously affected. So, knowing this and the planning to that, and the working to that is the main thing that we have to be concerned about."

The three-day African regional meeting is one of several preparatory workshops in advance of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change conference scheduled for November in Kenya.

1 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

2 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

5 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。