2022年11月27日 VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：共享底格里斯河和幼發(fā)拉底河被證明是困難的

 

The countries of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran share parts of the Tigris and Euphrates river system. The famous rivers are among the world's most vulnerable waterways.
伊拉克、土耳其、敘利亞和伊朗等國(guó)家共享部分底格里斯河和幼發(fā)拉底河系統(tǒng)。著名的河流是世界上最脆弱的水道之一。
 
Water flow has fallen by 40 percent in the past 40 years as the four countries along their lengths seek to use the water for drinking, farming and industry.
在過(guò)去 40 年中，水流量下降了 40%，因?yàn)檠赝镜乃膫€(gè)國(guó)家都在尋求將水用于飲用、農(nóng)業(yè)和工業(yè)。
 
Turkey and Iraq use most of the water. They agree that both countries must cooperate to protect the rivers. Sixty million people depend on their water.
土耳其和伊拉克使用了大部分水。他們一致認(rèn)為，兩國(guó)必須合作保護(hù)河流。 6000 萬(wàn)人依賴水為生。
 
But political problems and historical issues prevent an agreement.
但政治問(wèn)題和歷史問(wèn)題阻礙了達(dá)成協(xié)議。
 
Recently, the Associated Press (AP) spoke with people in Turkey and Iraq, including top officials and local farmers. The AP found that Iraq fears a possible 20 percent drop in food production in the coming years while Turkey struggles to balance Iraq's and its own needs.
最近，美聯(lián)社 (AP) 采訪了土耳其和伊拉克的人士，包括高級(jí)官員和當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民。美聯(lián)社發(fā)現(xiàn)，伊拉克擔(dān)心未來(lái)幾年糧食產(chǎn)量可能下降 20%，而土耳其則在努力平衡伊拉克及其自身的需求。
 
"I don't see a solution," said former Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.
伊拉克前總理海達(dá)爾·阿巴迪說(shuō)：“我看不到解決方案。”
 
He said, "Would Turkey sacrifice its own interests? Especially if that means that by giving more (water) to us, their farmers and people will suffer?"
他說(shuō)，“土耳其會(huì)犧牲自己的利益嗎？特別是如果這意味著通過(guò)提供更多（水）對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)，他們的農(nóng)民和人民會(huì)受苦嗎？”
 
New dams built in Turkey
土耳其建造的新水壩
 
Turkey has built 19 dams on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and plans a total of 22. They are part of its Southeastern Anatolia Project, known as GAP. The project aims to develop the southeast, increase agriculture, and produce electricity.
土耳其在幼發(fā)拉底河和底格里斯河上建造了19座水壩，計(jì)劃建造22座。它們是其東南安納托利亞項(xiàng)目（GAP）的一部分。該項(xiàng)目旨在開發(fā)東南，增加農(nóng)業(yè)，生產(chǎn)電力。
 
At first, Turkey planned to provide water for 1.8 million hectares of land. But that amount was reduced to 1.05 million. Half the reduced goal has been met.
起初，土耳其計(jì)劃為 180 萬(wàn)公頃土地供水。但這個(gè)數(shù)額減少到105萬(wàn)。減少的目標(biāo)已經(jīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)了一半。
 
Farmers who receive water from GAP must use modern methods that Turkish officials say use two-thirds less water.
從 GAP 取水的農(nóng)民必須使用現(xiàn)代方法，土耳其官員說(shuō)使用的水量減少了三分之二。
 
But for Iraqis, every drop of water used for farming or other purposes in Turkey means less for Iraq.
但對(duì)于伊拉克人來(lái)說(shuō)，在土耳其用于農(nóng)業(yè)或其他用途的每一滴水對(duì)伊拉克來(lái)說(shuō)意味著更少。
 
"A single truth"
“一個(gè)事實(shí)”
 
Iraq depends almost entirely for water on the two rivers that come from outside its borders.
伊拉克的水幾乎完全依賴于兩條來(lái)自境外的河流。
 
In 2014, Iraq's Water Ministry prepared a report that detailed what it called "single truth." AP reporters have seen the report, which has not been made public. It said in two years, Iraq's water supply would no longer meet demand. It warned that by 2035, the lack of water would cause a 20 percent reduction in food production.
2014 年，伊拉克水務(wù)部準(zhǔn)備了一份報(bào)告，詳細(xì)說(shuō)明了所謂的“單一事實(shí)”。美聯(lián)社記者看到了這份未公開的報(bào)道。它說(shuō)兩年后，伊拉克的供水將不再滿足需求。它警告說(shuō)，到 2035 年，缺水將導(dǎo)致糧食減產(chǎn) 20%。
 
The predictions can already be seen in 2022. Lakes have dried up, crops have failed, and thousands of Iraqis are moving away.
2022年的預(yù)測(cè)已經(jīng)可以看到。湖泊干涸，農(nóng)作物歉收，成千上萬(wàn)的伊拉克人正在搬離。
 
Talks between Turkey and Iraq over many years have still not resulted in a long-term agreement.
土耳其和伊拉克多年的談判仍未達(dá)成長(zhǎng)期協(xié)議。期限協(xié)議。
 
Turkey sees itself as the owner of the beginning of the river system. It considers needs and decides how much to let flow downstream. But Iraq considers ownership shared and wants a more permanent agreement with defined limits.
土耳其將自己視為河流系統(tǒng)開端的所有者。它考慮需求并決定讓多少流向下游。但伊拉克認(rèn)為所有權(quán)是共享的，并希望達(dá)成具有明確限制的更永久的協(xié)議。
 
Veysel Eroglu represents Turkey on water issues with Iraq. He told the AP that Turkey cannot accept releasing a fixed amount of water because river flows are unpredictable.
Veysel Eroglu 代表土耳其處理與伊拉克的水資源問(wèn)題。他告訴美聯(lián)社，土耳其不能接受釋放固定數(shù)量的水，因?yàn)楹恿髁髁坎豢深A(yù)測(cè)。
 
Eroglu said Turkey could agree to setting a ratio release – but only if Syria and Iraq provide detailed information on their water usage.
Eroglu 說(shuō)，土耳其可以同意設(shè)定一個(gè)釋放比例——但前提是敘利亞和伊拉克提供有關(guān)它們的詳細(xì)信息用水量。
 
Turkey also finds it difficult to progress in the water talks because water officials from Iraq often change. Additionally, Turkey says Iraq must use water effectively.
土耳其還發(fā)現(xiàn)水談判難以取得進(jìn)展，因?yàn)橐晾说乃畡?wù)官員經(jīng)常更換。此外，土耳其表示伊拉克必須有效利用水資源。
 
One Iraqi ambassador said it was "a mistake" that his side once told the Turks that Iraqis knew 70 percent of their water was wasted on ancient farming methods. This led Turkey to increase its demands for Iraq to reform.
一位伊拉克大使表示，他的一方曾經(jīng)告訴土耳其人說(shuō)伊拉克人知道 70% 的水被浪費(fèi)在古老的耕作方法上，這是“錯(cuò)誤的”。這導(dǎo)致土耳其加大了對(duì)伊拉克改革的要求。
 
A numbers game
數(shù)字游戲
 
Iraq received an average flow of 625 cubic meters of water per second from the Tigris 10 years ago. Today, Iraqi water officials say the country gets only 36 percent of that because of less rainfall and a big dam in Turkey.
10 年前，伊拉克平均每秒從底格里斯河獲得 625 立方米的水流。今天，伊拉克水務(wù)官員表示，由于降雨量減少和土耳其的一座大壩，該國(guó)只能獲得其中的 36%。
 
Ilisu Dam produces electricity, so water must be released downstream.
伊利蘇大壩發(fā)電，因此必須向下游排放水。
 
But how much and when depend on Turkish officials. They must keep the reservoir water level at 500 meters above sea level to produce electricity. But they face less predictable water flow into the reservoir.
但排放量和時(shí)間取決于土耳其官員。他們必須將水庫(kù)水位保持在海拔 500 米以上才能發(fā)電。但他們面臨著流入水庫(kù)的水流難以預(yù)測(cè)的情況。
 
Turkish officials say that with the dam, they can control the river flow to help Iraq by storing more water during floods and releasing water during dry periods.
土耳其官員表示，通過(guò)大壩，他們可以控制河流流量，通過(guò)在洪水期間儲(chǔ)存更多水并在旱季放水來(lái)幫助伊拉克。
 
But Iraqi officials say they depend on one-time agreements with Turkey which make planning difficult.
但伊拉克官員表示，他們依賴于與土耳其的一次性協(xié)議，這使得規(guī)劃變得困難。
 
"They can cut water, they can release water. We urgently need a water agreement just to satisfy Iraq's minimum requirements," said Hatem Hamid. He is head of the National Centre for Water Resources Management.
“他們可以斷水，也可以放水。我們迫切需要一項(xiàng)水協(xié)議來(lái)滿足伊拉克的最低需求， “哈特姆·哈米德說(shuō)。他是國(guó)家水資源管理中心的負(fù)責(zé)人。
 
Difficult decisions
艱難的決定
 
Once Tigris River water reaches the Mosul Dam in Iraq, Hamid decides how much and where it goes in Iraq.
一旦底格里斯河水到達(dá)伊拉克的摩蘇爾大壩，哈米德就決定了它在伊拉克的流量和去向。
 
With shortages expected in 2022, Hamid had to make big cuts. Water amounts for agriculture were cut in half. Those cuts reduced the amount of water entering the marshlands of southern Iraq.
由于預(yù)計(jì) 2022 年會(huì)出現(xiàn)短缺，哈米德不得不大幅削減開支。農(nóng)業(yè)用水量減少了一半。這些削減減少了進(jìn)入伊拉克南部沼澤地的水量。
 
The result was an environmental emergency: Not enough water was entering the marshes to wash away salt from the ocean. Hamid tried to fix the problem, but the damage was done.
結(jié)果是環(huán)境緊急情況：沒(méi)有足夠的水進(jìn)入沼澤地沖走海洋中的鹽分。 Hamid 試圖解決問(wèn)題，但損害已經(jīng)造成。
 
"Life has ended"
“生命已終結(jié)”
 
In the Chibayish marshes, dead animals float near the sides of the river, poisoned by the salty water.
在奇貝伊什沼澤地，死去的動(dòng)物漂浮在河邊附近，被咸水毒死。
 
Over the past two years, what was once green and full of life in the marshes has died and turned yellow. Salt from the sea has built up from two years without enough fresh water from the river.
在過(guò)去的兩年里，發(fā)生了什么曾經(jīng)在沼澤中充滿生機(jī)的綠色已經(jīng)死去并變成黃色。兩年來(lái)，沒(méi)有足夠的河水淡水，海水中的鹽分已經(jīng)累積起來(lái)。
 
Obeid Hafez, a farmer, once planted more than 1,000 hectares of wheat. Today, his land in southern Iraq is without life and his sons have gone looking for work in the cities.
農(nóng)民奧貝德·哈菲茲 (Obeid Hafez) 曾經(jīng)種植過(guò) 1000 多公頃小麥。如今，他在伊拉克南部的土地上一片死寂，他的兒子們都去城市里找工作了。
 
"Life has ended here," he said.
“生活在這里結(jié)束了，”他說(shuō)。