亲爱的同事们、朋友们:印度洋海啸以致命的暴力横扫亚欧许多国家和地区已经两年半了,而后又有各种灾害接踵而来,包括巴基斯坦的地震、加勒比海和海湾地区的飓风及亚洲的台风等。逝去的数十万生命本来也许是可以挽救的,如果人们将有效的减灾政策付诸实施的话。这就是为什么这次会议是如此的重要,我们必须实施从自然灾害中拯救生命和生计的行动,特别是发展中的国家。世界上最贫穷的国家也是在灾害面前最脆弱的国家。我们必须非常迫切地采取行动来应对全球气候变化的影响。科学家们警告说,更极端的气候正在向我们走来,包括海平面上升、更猛烈的风暴和干旱等。这些变化可能影响到数百万人民。减轻灾害风险就是应对这些威胁最前沿的防御。 Dear Colleagues and Friends, It has been two and a half years since the tsunami in the Indian Ocean swept through many countries and regions in Asia and Europe. Then there have been various disasters, including the earthquake in Pakistan, the hurricane in the Caribbean and the Gulf region. Asian typhoons and so on. The hundreds of thousands of lives lost may have been salvageable if people put effective disaster reduction policies into practice. This is why this conference is so important that we must implement actions to save lives and livelihoods from natural disasters, especially in developing countries. The poorest countries in the world are also the most vulnerable countries before disasters. We must act very urgently to deal with the effects of global climate change. Scientists warn that more extreme weather is coming to us, including rising sea levels, more severe storms and droughts. These changes may affect millions of people. Disaster risk reduction is the most cutting-edge defense against these threats.