世界环境问题和中国减灾工作研究进展

Environmental problems in the world and progress in disaster reduction in China

环境和灾害是威胁人类生存的两大挑战性问题。由人类活动导致的自然环境破坏和恶化是一个长期累积的过程,类似于人体所患的慢性疾病,对其认识和解决不仅依靠多种条件,也需要很长时间的持久努力。自然灾害的发生一般是短时间内的突然事件,类似人体的急性疾病。为最大限度地减轻自然灾害给人类社会造成的损失,需要实施事先预防、灾前预警、灾时应急和灾后重建的系统工程,其中地球科学家的责任之一是找出有效的宣传演练,使社会各界充分认识灾害的危险性,做好必要的防灾准备。最近20 a来中国的减灾实践经验还说明,为进一步提高减灾的效益,要用科学观念指导各领域的减灾工作,在国家一级层次上要实行多部门协调、多学科合作的综合管理,并注重对灾害发生的规律性研究。例如对群发性灾害链过程及其潜在影响的估计,这对制定区域性可持续发展规划具有重要意义。

Environmental degradation and vulnerability of populated areas due to natural disasters remain two major challenges threatening the existence of humankind. Destruction and progressively worsening environmental issues caused by human activities are long-term accumulative processes. Like chronic diseases of man, whose recognition and solution require steady efforts over a long period of time. Occurrence of natural disasters is usually a sudden event. To reduce losses produced by disasters, a comprehensive system of sufficient preparation needs to be made in advance, comprising early warning, emergency relief, and post-event reconstruction. For this objective, earth scientists should find better mechanisms to disseminate facts about the risks of natural disasters, to help local populations make the necessary preparations. The experience of disaster reduction in China in the last 20 years, demonstrates that effectiveness on disaster reduction should be undertaken under the guidance of scientific concepts. At a national level, an integrated management system should be constructed to promote coordination between departments and cooperation among multiple disciplines. Meanwhile special attention should be paid on the space-time distribution of hazard occurrence, including processes of clustered hazard chains and their potential impacts on society. This is of great significance for making regional plans of sustainable development.