2 . The world is being alerted to the possibility of a severe drought crisis caused by the recent heatwave that has affected much of Asia and the arrival of El Niño, which can cause intense drought for 2 − 3 years, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa has warned.

Thailand is susceptible (易受影响的) to the effects of El Niño, which is forecast to start in June. The world is expected to face an intense drought due to the occurrence of El Niño, leading to reduced rainfall during the rainy season, or possibly no rain at all.

In addition to the ongoing drought, Thailand is also facing another unprecedented (前所未有的) phenomenon, the so-called “Monster Asian heatwave”. This extreme heatwave underlined growing global warming concerns and has made it even more important to recognise the need to reduce plastic wastes and industrial air pollutants. There is no quick fix, however. Because we have been worsening the environment for many decades, it will take many years of intensive efforts to tackle the global warming problem.

“Preparing to deal with the severe drought crisis for the next 2 − 3 years is urgent,” Varawut stressed. In the past, Bangkok has experienced flooding and a rising sea level due to the melting of the polar ice caps. If the situation worsens beyond the current level, the El Niño issue will become even more severe in the next 2 − 3 years.

Solutions to this problem include building more reservoirs (水库) and expanding the waterways to accommodate rainfall during this rainy season. Although this year’s dry season is a concern, there are still adequate water reserves in the dams. However, the situation is expected to worsen next year and in 2025. Therefore, sufficient water storage facilities and efficient farmland irrigation system are vital preparations.

“Whether the issue of climate change will lead to the collapse of our world, or not, is still up in the air. We may not have reached that stage yet but if we do not speed up efforts to tackle this issue seriously, we may face a loss of biodiversity,” Varawut said.

4 . A report issued on the eve of the first major U.N. conference on water in more than 45 years says 26% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to safe drinking water and 46% lacks access to basic sanitation (卫生). The U. N. World Water Development Report 2023, released Tuesday, painted an unpleasant picture of the huge gap that needs to be filled to meet U.N. goals to ensure all the 8 billion people have access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.

According to the report, water use has been increasing globally by roughly 1% per year over the last 40 years and is expected to grow at a similar rate through to 2050, mainly driven by population growth in urban areas.

With agriculture using 70% of all water globally, Richard Connor, editor in chief of the report, said, irrigation (灌溉) for crops has to be more efficient. As a direct result of climate change, an increase in intensity or frequency of droughts and “heat extremes” can be expected in most regions. On average, “10% of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress” — and up to 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month a year, said the report.

As for water pollution, Connor said, the biggest source of pollution is untreated wastewater. “Globally, 80% of wastewater is released to the environment without any treatment,” he said, “and in many developing countries it’s pretty much 99%.”

These issues will be discussed during the three-day U. N. Water Conference opening Wednesday. There are 171 countries, including over 100 ministers, on the speakers list along with more than 20 organizations. The meeting will also include five “interactive dialogues” and dozens of side events.

5 . Imagine driving down a 10-lane highway and knowing that, high above your head, a mountain lion is quietly going along its way. This remarkable image could soon be the reality for drivers on one of California’s busiest roads, as the world’s largest wildlife overpass(天桥) begins construction in April.

The history-making project will comprise a green bridge built across the 101 highway near Los Angeles, creating a passage between two parts of the Santa Monica Mountains. The overpass will allow safe passage for lizards, snakes, mountain lions, etc. with an acre of local plants on either side and vegetated sound walls to dampen light and noise for night-time animals as they go across.

The project, nearly a decade in the making, comes at a crucial time. Beth Pratt, a conservation leader with the National Wildlife Federation, feels as if she is running the last mile of a marathon. Pratt has spent most of the last decade planning the project, persuading transportation officials of its importance, and bringing donors to fund it.

The project is breaking records in many ways: not only is it the largest crossing in the world, but it’s also an engineering wonder. Robert Rock, a landscape architect who led the design, says this nature-centered type of construction makes it unusual among other wildlife bridges and underpasses around the world, which are typically made of cement(水泥)and steel. This one is designed to integrate into the environment on both sides — and send a message to the people driving below.

About 300,000 cars pass through this area each day, and Pratt calls it an opportunity for millions of Angelenos to see how humans can live more harmoniously with nature.“Someone could be in rush-hour traffic, and there could be a mountain lion right above them,”she says. “I think that’s such a helpful image, and one that inspires me that we can right some of these great wrongs.”

6 . Sustainable tourism focuses on reducing tourism’s negative impacts and on maximizing its positive benefits for communities, cultures, ecosystems, and the planet. There’s never been a better time to rethink past habits and reshape the way we travel.     1     As you read, think about which practices you can adopt.

Use efficient means of transportation. In general, planes and cars tend to be the least efficient means of transportation. When vacationing to closer destinations, travel by train or coach to cut your carbon footprint. Once you’re in your destination, consider taking the bus, or cycling around town.     2    

Conserve water and energy. Beyond transportation, tourism also relies on energy for heating, lighting, and centricity. This along with intensive water use by tourists can put great pressure on local water supplies and energy services.     3     Therefore, when you’re on vacation, do what you can to conserve local resources.

Slow down and stay awhile. Once you’ve reached your destination, you’ll likely spend the majority of your vacation rushing from one place to another.     4     Instead, you’d better slow down and park yourself in an area for a while. It will allow you to build deeper connections with local people and get to know the unique culture.

    5     Travel offers tourists an opportunity to experience other traditions, beliefs and ways of life. Wherever you go, remember that the destination you are visiting is someone else’s home. Be considerate of local people and treat them with dignity. Do your best to leave places like you found them so that future generations of travelers and residents can enjoy them too!

7 . In 2007, the African Union announced an ambitious project—to plant the Great Green Wall (GGW), a band of trees that would stretch the length of the Sahel.

The GGW is an ecological restoration project designed by African people for African people. Heavy rains, droughts, wildfires and landslides have all become common throughout the world. But nowhere is quite like the Sahel. In this huge African region, climate change has materialized in a dramatic manner. In some cases, the severe conditions have left people with no option other than to migrate elsewhere to survive. It was with all of this in mind that the extraordinary, but heavily debated project was first put forward.

Fourteen years have passed since the initiative formally kicked off. The stated goal was to create a 15-kilometre-wide, 8, 000-kilometre-long green belt of trees and other plants that, by 2030, would span（跨越）the entire width of the Sahel, from Senegal to Djibouti. Overall, 100 million hectares（公顷）of land would be restored by 2030. Once completed, it was announced, the wall could end up capturing（俘获）250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, while its creation and upkeep could create ten million jobs in rural areas.

Looking at the project as a whole, there’s still a long way to go. According to a status report by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, about four million hectares of degraded land have been restored. This means that progress towards the 100 million hectares target stands at just four per cent.

“When we started restoring the soil, we realized the area at risk was much wider than we initially thought,” explains Elvis Paul Tangem, the African Union’s GGW coordinator. “We had few funds to push the initiative as much as we wanted to. There was skepticism among investors, who didn’t understand the project, but also among the African states themselves, which needed time to figure out if the GGW was a priority.”

9 . The Children's Climate Prize(CCP) has been given every year since 2016 to a person between the ages of 12 and 17 who has made“extraordinary efforts”to improve life on the planet for children now and in the future. Here are some of the finalists this year.

Yash Narayan,17,from   California ,the US created a smartphone app called DeepWaste. Yash realized that a lot of waste could be avoided if people had a simple system for deciding what could be recycled,and what was truly garbage. Users who download the app can use their phone's camera to quickly find out the best way to get rid of something.

Sixteen-year-old Fernanda Barros is from Pará,Brazil,where she helped start the group Fridays For Future Amazonia(FFFA). Brazil's Amazon rainforest is seriously

Lesein Mutunkei,a 17-year-old from Nairobi,Kenya started a project called Trees For Goals(T4G). It   encourages   soccer teams to plant II trees for every goal scored

Seventeen-year-old Anjail Shama from Melbourne,Australia took Australia's Environment Minister to court in an attempt to stop a coal mine from being expanded. The case resulted in the court saying that the government had a“duty of care”to protect young people. It has inspired others to use the courts to force action on the climate crisis.