Global warming could create "ghost states" with governments in exile ruling over scattered citizens and land that has been abandoned to rising seas, an expert said yesterday.
一位專家昨天表示，全球變暖可能導致“鬼國”出現，這些國家背井離鄉的政府將統治稀少分散的公民，以及由于海平面上升而被丟棄的國土。
Francois Gemenne, of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris, said the likely loss of small island states such as Tuvalu and the Maldives raised profound questions over nationality and territory.
巴黎可持續發展和國際關系研究所的弗蘭科斯·格梅恩表示，圖瓦盧和馬爾代夫等小島國家可能的損失為民族和領土問題提出了深刻的疑問。
"What would happen if a state was to physically disappear but people want to keep their nationalities? It could continue as a virtual state even though it is a rock under the ocean and its people no longer live on that piece of land."
“如果一個國家在地理上消失了而人們又希望保留自己的國籍，那會怎樣呢？它可能作為一個虛擬的國家繼續存在，盡管它已是海里面的一塊石頭，并且它的子民已經不再生活在那里。”
Gemenne said there was more at stake than cultural and sentimental attachments to swamped countries. Tuvalu makes millions of pounds each year from the sale of its assigned internet suffix .tv to television companies. As a nation state, the Polynesian island also has a vote on the international stage through the UN.
弗蘭科斯稱，對淹沒的國家來說有比文化和情感眷戀更利害攸關的事情。圖瓦盧每年通過出售互聯網域名后綴（.tv）使用權給電視公司賺取數百萬英鎊。作為一個民族國家，聯合國成員國波利尼西亞在國際舞臺上也擁有自己的投票權。
"As independent nations they receive certain rights and privileges that they will not want to lose. Instead they could become like ghost states," he said. "This is a pressing issue for small island states, but in the case of physical disappearance there is a void in international law."
他說：“作為獨立的國家，它們獲得了一定的權利和特權，它們不希望失去這些。否則，它們就會變成‘鬼國’。這對于小島國家來說是迫切的問題，但有關地理上消失的情況，國際法還是一片空白。”
Experts say it is a matter of time before global warming drives up sea levels the one or two metres it would take to force permanent evacuation of islands such as Tuvalu, the highest point of which is four metres above water.
專家表示，全球變暖致使海平面上升一到兩米只是時間問題，到時它將迫使圖瓦盧等島國的居民永久撤離，該島國的最高點只比水面高出四米。
The study of 23 regions where environmental degradation has caused people to move had showed that fears of millions of people flooding across borders could be misplaced. Most movement was within countries, Gemenne said.
弗蘭科斯稱，對23個因為環境退化導致人們遷移的地區的研究顯示，對數百萬人涌出國界的擔心可能是過慮了。大多數遷移都是在國家內部進行的。
The poorest and most vulnerable people were often unable to migrate, the research showed. "The poorest people lack the social and economic capital to escape," said Gemmene.
研究顯示，最貧困和最易受傷害的人往往無法遷移。弗蘭科斯說：“最貧困的人缺乏逃離所需的社會和經濟資本。”
Simon Hales of the World Health Organisation told the conference that widespread population movement would also pose a significant risk to global health. Health protection in a 4C warmer world, he said, would require "substantial redistribution" of global resources such as food, water and energy.
世界衛生組織的西蒙·黑爾斯在會議上表示，廣泛的人口流動也將對全球健康構成嚴重威脅。他稱，在一個氣溫升高4攝氏度的世界里，衛生防護將要求將全球資源進行“大規模再分配”，例如食物、水和能源。
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（來源：原版英語，英語點津編輯）
