For tourists visiting from around the world, the Rifugio Guide del Cervino offers a break from winter sports for food, drinks, lodging, and as this reviewer called it: "A great Italian experience."

對來自全球各地的遊客們來說，德切維諾嚮導避難所是個能在進行冬季運動之餘享受美食、飲料、住宿服務，以及被評價為「正宗義大利體驗」的地方。

But something unexpected is happening here.

然而一個預料之外的狀況正在這裡發生著。

The nearby Theodul Glacier is melting.

附近的西奧朵冰川正在融化。

And as it does, this little Italian ski lodge is on the verge of moving into Switzerland.

在它融化的同時，這個小小的義大利滑雪山莊即將被併入瑞士的領土中。

Most of Italy's land border follows the watershed along the Alps.

義大利的陸地邊界大多沿著阿爾卑斯山的分水嶺。

There is this imaginary line that divides the water that falls in the Mediterranean Sea in the south.

在山脈上有條想像的分界線，降雨會沿著這條線往南流入地中海中。

Or in the north, they go into the Black Sea via the Dunabe. Or to the North Sea.

或是往北經多瑙河流入黑海，或是流入北海。

That's Marco Ferrari. He wrote a book about this border with architect, Andrea Bagnato and visual designer, Elisa Pasqual.

這位是 Marco Ferrari。他曾與建築家 Andrea Bagnato 與視覺設計師 Elisa Pasqual 一同撰寫了關於此邊界的書。

This watershed line traces many of the highest peaks of the Alps, forming a natural border between countries.

這個分水嶺界線連接了阿爾卑斯山脈許多高峰，形成了國家間的自然邊界。

Much of it is marked by over 8,000 boundary stones like these.

其中有許多由 8000 顆的這種邊界石劃界。

Some of which have been around since the 16th century.

其中有部分石頭從 16 世紀開始使用至今。

But in the most rugged terrain, where physical markers are few and far between,

但在那些物理性的標記稀少且相隔遙遠的崎嶇地形上，

Swiss, Italian, and Austrian cartographic agencies have long maintained official border records with meticulous measurements and annotated pictures like these.

瑞士、義大利與奧地利的地圖繪製機關長久以來便以精密的測量以及在照片上註記，來維持住官方的國境線。

Some of these areas are on top of glaciers. Their surfaces are too reflective for satellites which are often used to measure borders.

其中有些區域位於冰河之上，而冰河的表面由於反光率過高，因此無法用一般用來測量邊界的衛星來處理。

The work by the surveyors is done manually.

這些工作必須由測量員人工進行。

So every few years, there's a commission of surveyors composed of members of both countries that actually walk the border and look how it has changed.

因此每隔幾年，政府便會發包給由雙方國家的測量員所組成的團隊來實際去邊境走一趟，並看看邊境改變了多少。

As early as the 1920s, surveyors noticed a "slow but progressive" shrinking among glaciers, and that "some had disappeared."

最早在 1920 年代石，測量員們便發現冰河正「緩慢但漸進地」縮小，而且「有一些已經消失了」。

But by the 1990s, it became clear that summer melt had outpaced winter accumulation.

但到了 1990 年代，夏季時融化的雪量比冬季時累積的量還多已經是顯而易見的事實了。

The surveyors realized that the glaciers were melting and not accumulating ice anymore.

測量員發現冰河一直在融化，而且不再繼續累積冰雪。

This kind of cyclical change in the shape and geometry of the watershed became more and more permanent.

分水嶺在形狀以及外觀上的周期性變化變得越發明顯。

And as glaciers shifted, so did the watershed and so did the border.

隨著冰河的變化，分水嶺也跟著產生變化，連帶使邊界也產生了變化。

Here's what that looks like.

以下就是實際狀況看起來的樣子。

On many Alpine peaks, a glacier ridge forms the watershed boundary line and thus the national border.

在許多阿爾卑斯山脈的頂峰，冰河的峽谷形成了分水嶺邊界線，並被當作國家間的邊界。

But as those glaciers melt, their highest point might shift, often dozens of meters away.

但隨著這些冰河融化，它們的最高點可能會轉移到通常數十公尺之外。

If they melt far enough, they even reveal underlying rock peaks which then become the border line.

如果它們融化得夠多，甚至會顯露出底下的石質山峰，變成之後的國界。

These black X's mark the old national boundary between Italy and Switzerland.

這些黑色的叉叉是義大利與瑞士之間過去的國界。

But if you trace today's national boundary and compare it to old maps, you can see all the places where the boundary line has moved.

但當把現今的國界與過去的地圖相比較之後，便能看到國界變更的地方。

In the most extreme case yet in the Alps, shifts in the Theodul Glacier moved the border 150 meters.

而在阿爾卑斯山中最極端的例子中，國界因為西奧朵冰川而移動了 150 公尺。

That put this Italian ski lift on Swiss soil.

這於是便把這個原屬義大利的滑雪纜車劃進了瑞士的領土中。

And the Rifugio Guide del Cervino might be next.

而德切維諾嚮導避難所可能會是下個轉變國籍的地方。

Typically when countries renegotiate borders, there's a careful process to make sure that neither country gains territory at the other's expense.

通常當國家間重新協調邊境時，會經過一連串謹慎的流程來確保雙方都不會吃虧。

But recently, Italy signed a new type of agreement.

然而最近義大利簽署了一種新型態的協議。

First with Austria in 2006, and then with Switzerland in 2009 that recognized the Alps as a "mobile border."

他們分別與奧地利和瑞士在 2006 年與 2009 年時簽署了協議，認同阿爾卑斯山的邊界為「移動邊界」。

Acknowledging that the border was subject to changes in the natural world outside of those countries' control.

他們承認邊界會因為國家們無法控制，屬於自然環境的改變而遷移。

Fortunately, the Rifugio is the only inhabited place along this shifting border.

幸運的是，避難所是這個不斷轉變著的邊界上，唯一一處有人居住的地方。

And if it becomes Swiss, it'll be subject to Swiss law, taxes, and customs.

而如果該地變成了瑞士領土，將必須遵守瑞士法律、稅制與關稅。

They might have to change their wall plugs.

他們可能還得更換牆壁上插座的樣式。

But for most nearby residents, the changes won't mean much.

但對於大部分附近的居民來說，這些改變並不會有太大差別。

But if we think about different areas of the world where similar processes are happening, for example, the Himalaya or the Andes,

但當我們將這裡的狀況與世界上其他同樣也在發生類似狀況的地方相比對，例如說喜馬拉雅山脈或安地斯山脈，

these are completely different geopolitical situations in which also the scale of the phenomenon is much, much bigger, the histories are much more conflicted.

那裡的地理狀況完全不同，而整個現象的規模更加龐大，背後的歷史也更加充滿對抗。

In the Himalayas, China and India disagree about their border and have fought several times over it as it continues to melt and shift.

在喜馬拉雅山脈，隨著邊界不斷融化並轉移，中國與印度在邊界議題上僵持不下，並已經為此有過好幾次的爭鬥了。

And in the Andes, Chile and Argentina have long disagreed about their own melting border.

而在安地斯山脈，智利與阿根廷一直以來都對融化中的邊境爭執不休。

As climate change warms the planet and moves water-based borders, these conflicts could worsen.

隨著氣候變遷讓氣溫不斷升高並移動了水文國界，這些衝突還會繼續惡化。

Rivers, which make up over a third of the length of all international land boundaries, will be subject to extreme events that can change their course.

河流佔了國際陸地邊界長度的三分之一以上，而它們可能會因為極端氣候而改變了路徑。

Coastlines will give way to rising seas, affecting exclusive economic zones, where a country's sovereignty extends into the ocean.

海岸線則會隨著海平面上升而被侵蝕，影響到了國家主權延伸至海上的專屬經濟海域範圍。

And glaciers, like in the Alps, will continue to melt.

而像是在阿爾卑斯山脈的冰河則會繼續融化。

The alpine mobile border is almost like a laboratory, a prototype of a condition that will happen more and more in a lot of different parts of the world.

阿爾卑斯山的移動邊界幾乎就像是種實驗場、一種解法的原型，並會在世界上各個不同的地方更常的發生。

Keep going!

繼續吹！