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Rob Harmon: How to keep rivers and streams flowing
Rob Harmon: Como pode manter o mercado os regatos correndo?
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Cos regatos e ríos secando por causa da sobreexplotación, Rob Harmon implementou un enxeñoso mecanismo de mercado para recuperar a auga daqueles. Os agricultores e as compañías cervexeiras atopan os seus destinos entrenzados nesta intrigante historia centenaria de Prickly Pear Creek.
Rob Harmon - Natural resources expert
Rob Harmon is an expert on energy and natural resources policy -- looking at smart ways to manage carbon, water and the energy we use every day. Full bio
Rob Harmon is an expert on energy and natural resources policy -- looking at smart ways to manage carbon, water and the energy we use every day. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
This is a river.
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Isto é un río
00:20
This is a stream.
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Isto é un regato.
00:23
This is a river.
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Isto é un río.
00:25
This is happening all over the country.
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Isto está ocorrendo en todo o país.
00:28
There are tens of thousands of miles
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Hai decenas de miles de quilómetros
00:30
of dewatered streams in the United States.
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de cursos de auga secos nos Estados Unidos.
00:33
On this map,
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Neste mapa,
00:35
the colored areas represent water conflicts.
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as áreas coloreadas representan conflitos pola auga.
00:39
Similar problems are emerging in the east as well.
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Problemas similares están xurdindo tamén no Leste.
00:42
The reasons vary state to state,
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As razóns varían de estado a estado,
00:44
but mostly in the details.
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pero, sobre todo, nos detalles.
00:46
There are 4,000 miles of dewatered streams
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Hai 6.400 km de cursos de auga secos
00:49
in Montana alone.
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só en Montana.
00:52
They would ordinarily support fish and other wildlife.
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Que normalmente deberían ter peixes e outra vida salvaxe.
00:56
They're the veins of the ecosystem,
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Son as veas do ecosistema,
00:58
and they're often empty veins.
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e, a miúdo, son veas baleiras.
01:02
I want to tell you the story
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Quero contarlles a historia
01:04
of just one of these streams
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dun destes cursos de auga
01:06
because it's an archetype for the larger story.
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porque é un arquetipo dunha historia máis grande.
01:09
This is Prickly Pear Creek.
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Isto é Prickly Pear Creek.
01:11
It runs through a populated area
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Discorre a través dunha área moi poboada
01:13
from East Helena to Lake Helena.
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dende o East Helena ata Lake Helena.
01:16
It supports wild fish
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Ten vida piscícola
01:18
including cutthroat, brown
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como a troita esganada, a troita común
01:20
and rainbow trout.
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e a troita arco iris.
01:22
Nearly every year
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Case todos os anos
01:24
for more than a hundred years,
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desde hai máis dun cento deles,
01:27
it's looked like this in the summer.
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parecíase a isto no verán.
01:30
How did we get here?
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Como chegamos a isto?
01:32
Well, it started back in the late 1800s
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Ben, todo comezou a finais dos anos 1800
01:35
when people started settling in places like Montana.
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cando a xente comezou a asentarse en sitios como Montana.
01:39
In short, there was a lot of water
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En resumo, había un monte de auga
01:41
and there weren't very many people.
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e non había moita xente.
01:44
But as more people showed up wanting water,
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Pero a medida que aparecía máis xente, máis auga cumpría,
01:46
the folks who were there first got a little concerned,
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a xente que chegou antes comezou a preocuparse,
01:49
and in 1865, Montana passed its first water law.
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e en 1865, Montana aprobou a súa primeira Lei de augas.
01:53
It basically said, everybody near the stream
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Basicamente dicía que toda persoa de preto dun curso de auga
01:56
can share in the stream.
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pode compartir ese ben.
01:58
Oddly, a lot of people showed up wanting to share the stream,
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Curiosamente, presentouse unha gran cantidade de xente querendo compartir o curso de auga,
02:01
and the folks who were there first
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e os que chegaran alí primeiro
02:03
got concerned enough to bring out their lawyers.
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preocupáronse abondo como para levar os seus avogados.
02:05
There were precedent-setting suits
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Houbo preitos que sentaron precedentes
02:07
in 1870 and 1872,
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en 1870 e 1872,
02:09
both involving Prickly Pear Creek.
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os dous relacionados con Prickly Pear Creek.
02:11
And in 1921,
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E en 1921,
02:13
the Montana Supreme Court
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o Tribunal Supremo de Montana
02:15
ruled in a case involving Prickly Pear
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pronunciouse nun caso relacionado con Prickly Pear sentenzando
02:18
that the folks who were there first
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que a xente que chegara alí primeiro
02:20
had the first, or "senior water rights."
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tiña dereitos primarios, ou superiores, sobre a auga.
02:24
These senior water rights are key.
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Estes "dereitos superiores" son a clave principal.
02:27
The problem is that all over the west now
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O problema é que hoxe en día todo o Oeste
02:29
it looks like this.
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ten este aspecto.
02:31
Some of these creeks
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Algúns destes regatos
02:33
have claims for 50 to 100 times more water
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teñen reclamacións por de 50 a 100 veces máis auga
02:35
than is actually in the stream.
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ca a que hai actualmente no seu curso.
02:38
And the senior water rights holders,
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E os titulares de dereitos superiores sobre a auga,
02:40
if they don't use their water right,
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se non os usan,
02:43
they risk losing their water right,
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arríscanse a perdelos,
02:45
along with the economic value that goes with it.
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xunto co valor económico que implican.
02:48
So they have no incentive to conserve.
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Xa que logo, non teñen ningún incentivo para conservar.
02:52
So it's not just about the number of people;
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Non se trata só da cantidade de xente;
02:55
the system itself creates a disincentive to conserve
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o propio sistema desincentiva a conservación
02:58
because you can lose your water right if you don't use it.
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porque un pode perder o seu dereito á auga se non o usa.
03:03
So after decades of lawsuits
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Así, logo de décadas de demandas
03:05
and 140 years, now, of experience,
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e 140 anos de experiencia
03:07
we still have this.
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aínda temos isto.
03:10
It's a broken system.
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É un sistema roto.
03:12
There's a disincentive to conserve,
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Desincentívase a conservación
03:14
because, if you don't use your water right,
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porque se un non usa o seu dereito á auga
03:16
you can lose your water right.
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pode perdelo.
03:18
And I'm sure you all know, this has created significant conflicts
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E, estou seguro que todos o saben, isto creou importantes conflitos
03:21
between the agricultural and environmental communities.
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entre as comunidades agrícolas e os ambientalistas.
03:25
Okay. Now I'm going to change gears here.
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Ben. Aquí vou cambiar de marcha.
03:28
Most of you will be happy to know
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A moitos de vostedes agradaralles saber
03:30
that the rest of the presentation's free,
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que o resto da presentación é gratis.
03:33
and some of you'll be happy to know that it involves beer.
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E algún alegrarase de saber que hai cervexa polo medio.
03:36
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:39
There's another thing happening around the country,
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Hai algo máis que está sucedendo no país,
03:41
which is that companies are starting to get concerned
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e é que as empresas están empezando a preocuparse
03:43
about their water footprint.
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por súa pegada hídrica.
03:46
They're concerned about securing an adequate supply of water,
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Preocúpaos asegurar unha subministración axeitada de auga,
03:49
they're trying to be really efficient with their water use,
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están tratando de usala de maneira moi eficiente
03:52
and they're concerned about how their water use
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e interesados en saber como afecta o seu uso de auga
03:54
affects the image of their brand.
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á imaxe da súa marca.
03:57
Well, it's a national problem,
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Ben, é un problema nacional,
03:59
but I'm going to tell you another story from Montana,
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pero eu voulles contar outra historia de Montana,
04:01
and it involves beer.
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e que ten que ver coa cervexa.
04:03
I bet you didn't know, it takes about 5 pints of water
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Aposto a que non sabían que cómpren 5 pintas de auga
04:06
to make a pint of beer.
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para facer unha pinta de cervexa.
04:08
If you include all the drain,
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Se se inclúen os sumidoiros,
04:10
it takes more than a hundred pints of water to make a pint of beer.
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son máis de 100 pintas de auga para facer unha pinta de cervexa.
04:13
Now the brewers in Montana
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Agora ben, os cervexeiros de Montana
04:15
have already done a lot
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xa fixeron moitas cousas
04:17
to reduce their water consumption,
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para reducir o seu consumo de auga,
04:19
but they still use millions of gallons of water.
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pero aínda empregan millóns de litros.
04:21
I mean, there's water in beer.
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Digo, hai auga na cervexa.
04:25
So what can they do
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Que poden facer eles
04:28
about this remaining water footprint
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con esta pegada hídrica remanente
04:31
that can have serious effects
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que pode afectar seriamente
04:33
on the ecosystem?
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o ecosistema?
04:35
These ecosystems are really important
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Estes ecosistemas son realmente importantes
04:37
to the Montana brewers and their customers.
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para os cervexeiros de Montana e os seus clientes.
04:39
After all, there's a strong correlation
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Despois de todo hai unha forte correlación
04:41
between water and fishing,
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entre a auga e a pesca.
04:43
and for some, there's a strong correlation
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E, para algúns, hai unha forte correlación
04:45
between fishing and beer.
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entre a pesca e a cervexa.
04:47
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:49
So the Montana brewers and their customers are concerned,
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Por iso os cervexeiros de Montana e os seus clientes están preocupados
04:52
and they're looking for some way to address the problem.
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e están buscando algunha maneira de enfrontar o problema.
04:55
So how can they address this remaining water footprint?
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Como poden enfrontar esta pegada hídrica remanente?
04:58
Remember Prickly Pear.
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Recorden Prickly Pear.
05:00
Up until now,
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Ata agora,
05:02
business water stewardship
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a administración comercial da auga
05:04
has been limited to measuring and reducing,
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limitouse a medir e reducir,
05:08
and we're suggesting that the next step
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e estamos suxerindo que o próximo paso
05:10
is to restore.
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sexa restaurar.
05:12
Remember Prickly Pear.
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Recorden Prickly Pear.
05:14
It's a broken system.
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É un sistema roto
05:16
You've got a disincentive to conserve,
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Hai desincentivo para a conservación
05:18
because if you don't use your water right, you risk losing your water right.
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porque se un non usa o seu dereito á auga, arriscase a perdelo.
05:21
Well, we decided to connect these two worlds --
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Pois ben, nós decidimos conectar ambolos dous mundos:
05:23
the world of the companies
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o mundo empresarial
05:25
with their water footprints
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coa súa pegada hídrica
05:27
and the world of the farmers
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e o mundo dos granxeiros
05:29
with their senior water rights on these creeks.
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cos seus dereitos superiores sobre estes regatos.
05:31
In some states,
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Nalgúns estados
05:33
senior water rights holders
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os titulares dos dereitos superiores
05:35
can leave their water in-stream
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poden deixar a súa auga na corrente
05:38
while legally protecting it from others
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mentres que a protexen legalmente de terceiros e
05:41
and maintaining their water right.
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e manteñen o seu dereito sobre ela.
05:44
After all,
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Despois de todo
05:46
it is their water right,
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é o seu dereito á auga
05:48
and if they want to use that water right
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e se queren usalo
05:50
to help the fish grow in the stream,
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pra promover a cría de peixes no curso de auga
05:52
it's their right to do so.
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teñen dereito a facelo.
05:55
But they have no incentive to do so.
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Pero non teñen incentivos.
05:59
So, working with local water trusts,
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Por iso, traballando cos fideicomisos locais de auga
06:02
we created an incentive to do so.
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creamos un incentivo para facelo.
06:05
We pay them to leave their water in-stream.
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Pagámoslles para que deixen a auga no curso do río.
06:08
That's what's happening here.
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Iso é o que está sucedendo aquí.
06:10
This individual has made the choice
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Esta persoa tomou a decisión
06:13
and is closing this water diversion,
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de pechar esta comporta,
06:15
leaving the water in the stream.
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deixando a auga no regato.
06:17
He doesn't lose the water right,
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El non perde o seu dereito á auga,
06:19
he just chooses to apply that right,
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só elixe aplicar ese dereito,
06:22
or some portion of it,
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ou unha parte del,
06:24
to the stream, instead of to the land.
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ó regato, no canto de aplicalo á terra.
06:27
Because he's the senior water rights holder,
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Dado que é titular do dereito superior
06:29
he can protect the water from other users in the stream.
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pode protexer a auga fronte a outros usuarios do regato.
06:33
Okay?
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De acordo?
06:35
He gets paid to leave the water in the stream.
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Págaselle para que deixe a auga no regato.
06:38
This guy's measuring the water
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Este fulano está medindo a auga
06:40
that this leaves in the stream.
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que deixa no regato.
06:43
We then take the measured water,
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Despois tomamos a auga medida
06:46
we divide it into thousand-gallon increments.
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e dividímola en incrementos de miles de litros.
06:49
Each increment gets a serial number and a certificate,
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Cada incremento recibe un número de serie e un certificado,
06:52
and then the brewers and others
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e despois os cervexeiros e outros
06:54
buy those certificates
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mercan eses certificados
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as a way to return water
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como unha forma de devolver a auga
06:58
to these degraded ecosystems.
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a eses ecosistemas degradados.
07:00
The brewers pay
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Os cervexeiros pagan
07:02
to restore water to the stream.
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para restituír a auga ao regato.
07:05
It provides a simple, inexpensive
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Isto proporciona unha maneira simple, barata
07:07
and measurable way
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e medible
07:09
to return water to these degraded ecosystems,
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de devolver a auga a estes ecosistemas degradados,
07:12
while giving farmers an economic choice
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á vez que lles dá aos granxeiros unha alternativa económica
07:15
and giving businesses concerned about their water footprints
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e ás empresas preocupadas pola súa pegada hídrica
07:18
an easy way to deal with them.
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unha maneira fácil de lidar con eles.
07:20
After 140 years of conflict
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Tras 140 anos de conflito,
07:23
and 100 years of dry streams,
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e 100 anos de cursos de auga secos,
07:27
a circumstance that litigation and regulation
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unha circunstancia que o litixio e a regulación
07:29
has not solved,
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non foron quen de resolver,
07:32
we put together a market-based,
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nos elaboramos unha solución de mercado,
07:34
willing buyer, willing seller solution --
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de compradores e vendedores dispostos;
07:36
a solution that does not require litigation.
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unha solución que non require litixios.
07:41
It's about giving
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Trátase de dar
07:43
folks concerned about their water footprints
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ás persoas preocupadas pola súa pegada hídrica
07:46
a real opportunity
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unha oportunidade real
07:48
to put water where it's critically needed,
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de poñer auga onde se necesita con urxencia,
07:50
into these degraded ecosystems,
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nestes ecosistemas degradados,
07:53
while at the same time
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mentres que á vez
07:55
providing farmers
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propónselles aos granxeiros
07:57
a meaningful economic choice
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unha alternativa económica coherente
07:59
about how their water is used.
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sobre o uso da súa auga.
08:01
These transactions create allies, not enemies.
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Estas transaccións crean aliados, non inimigos.
08:04
They connect people rather than dividing them.
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Conectan a xente no canto de dividila.
08:06
And they provide needed economic support for rural communities.
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E dan o apoio económico necesario para as comunidades rurais.
08:09
And most importantly, it's working.
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E, o máis importante é que funcionan.
08:12
We've returned more than four billion gallons of water
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Levamos devoltos máis de 15 mil millóns de litros de auga
08:14
to degraded ecosystems.
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aos ecosistemas degradados.
08:16
We've connected senior water rights holders
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Levamos conectado aos titulares de "dereitos superiores" sobre a auga
08:18
with brewers in Montana,
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con cervexeiros de Montana,
08:20
with hotels and tea companies in Oregon
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con hoteis e empresas de té de Oregon
08:23
and with high-tech companies that use a lot of water in the Southwest.
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e con empresas de tecnoloxía que usan moita auga no Sudoeste.
08:26
And when we make these connections,
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E cando establecemos estas conexións,
08:29
we can and we do
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podemos e facémolo,
08:31
turn this into this.
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transformar iso en isto.
08:35
Thank you very much.
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Moitas grazas.
08:37
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rob Harmon - Natural resources expertRob Harmon is an expert on energy and natural resources policy -- looking at smart ways to manage carbon, water and the energy we use every day.
Why you should listen
Taking the true measure of our environmental footprint is something that Rob Harmon has been doing for years. Starting as an energy auditor in Massachusetts, Harmon went on to manage an international marketing effort in the wind energy industry and, in 2000, develop and launch the first carbon calculator on the Internet.
Harmon joined Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) in 1999, and is credited with developing their Green Tag program. In 2004, he was awarded the national Green Power Pioneer Award for his introduction of the retail Green Tag (Renewable Energy Certificates) and his ongoing efforts to build a thriving and credible Green Tag market in the United States. He also conceptualized and directed the development of BEF's national Solar 4R Schools program. His latest venture is the creation of BEF's Water Restoration Certificate business line, which utilizes voluntary markets to restore critically de-watered ecosystems. He recently contributed chapters to the book Voluntary Carbon Markets: A Business Guide to What They Are and How They Work. Rob left BEF in November 2010 to explore his next venture, ConvenientOpportunities.com.
Rob Harmon | Speaker | TED.com