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FORUM: Environment Commission Sub-Commission 1
QUESTION OF: Implementing measures to save keystone species in Southeast Asia
SUBMITTED BY: Spain
THE ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION,
Stressing the fact that keystone species help maintain biodiversity within the community level
and play a unique role in the way an ecosystem operates,
Keeping in mind that the extinction of a keystone species will negatively impact the
environment and disrupt the balance of populations and resources, causing other species
within the habitat to disappear,
Alarmed that less than 200 Asian elephants, a prominent keystone species in South East Asia,
are currently surviving in Vietnam,
Reaffirming the various UN conventions that focus on conservation of wildlife such as the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), and Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of
Wild Animals (CMS),
1. Calls upon the implementation of an International Consortium on Conserving Keystone
Species in Southeast Asia for the purpose of improving communication and collaboration
between NGOs, conservation agencies, and representatives from the Southeast Asian
nations; this will provide a neutral, multilateral platform for discussion of specific
methods, technologies, policies, and improvements that can be utilized to save the
keystone species; meetings will be held annually to allow for evaluation of methods used
and sharing of reports;
2. Requests working with NGOs, such as those previously mentioned, to protect the
keystone species by:
a) establishing sanctuaries to help preserve and care for the endangered species,
especially those in deforested areas
b) encouraging nations to implement more stringent logging regulations and
monitoring systems for at-risk animal habitats
c) limit the expansion of farms and plantations that could destroy animal habitats,
d) incentivizing individuals to protect endangered animal species by creating an
income for local villagers who participate in jobs such as protection and
monitoring
e) raise public awareness through educationally-based initiatives, to encourage local
participation in the conservation effort and decrease human-wildlife conflicts;
3. Strongly encourages establishing enhanced Community Anti-poaching Programs (CAPS)
and protected areas within each Southeast Asian nation to save the Asian elephants and
rhinos by:
a) collaborating with NGOs: Asian Elephant specialist group, Flora and Fauna
International, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Asian Elephant Foundation,
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and International Anti-poaching
foundation (IAPF) to help implement a strong anti-poaching program and
train/educate individuals involved
b) establishing protected areas, medical/recovery clinics, and wildlife reserves to
protect the species, while also building stronger policies
c) creating more forested corridors that will link protected areas and allow elephants
and rhinos to migrate between various reserves that may otherwise be too small
for them
d) encouraging community members to participate in anti-poaching projects as a way
to save the keystone species and earn a source of income, which will conserve the
environment and help boost the nation’s economy;
4. Urges utilization of advanced technology and law enforcement mechanisms to deter the
Asian elephant and rhino poachers by:
a) working with NGOs to implement Rainforest Connection’s cell phone tracking
device and hidden remote sensors that can pick up the sound of a gun or chainsaw
to rapidly alert rangers and allow them to combat the crime
b) working with CITES to extend a task force program to Southeast Asia, that is
currently being used in Africa, to increase monitoring, transparency, and data
collection which will help pinpoint hot spots of illegal poaching of the animals
and pave way for increased law enforcement
c) using INTERPOL’s Investigative Support Team to monitor and investigate hot
spots of poaching, and integrating INTERPOL’s project WISEDOM to increase
law enforcement and provide trained rangers with necessary tools and education
so they are aware of the maximum punishments for criminals
d) build a wall to contain the Asian elephant and rhino, to safely protect the animals
from poachers, using techniques such as but not limited to:
i.
using trained animals shamans with spiritual insight and mystical
techniques to take care, oversee, and pray for the animals
ii. these shamans will be the only people permitted into this sanctuary
because they alleviate stress to the animals;
5. Endorses reducing the demand for rhino horn powder in Asian medicines with further
research in alternative medicines that can be used to treat the diseases, that are perceived
to be only cured by using rhino horn:
a) introducing and encouraging the use of herbal plants and 9 botanical ingredients
as alternatives to using rhino horn according to the report prepared by the UK
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
b) encouraging medical practitioners in Asian nations to substitute rhino horn with
alternative ingredients in their medicines, and to discourage the use of medicine
with rhino horn
c) educating the Southeast Asian nations with consumers of rhino horn about how
the perceived medicinal properties of rhino horn are false through: Public
seminars, Advertisements, and News reports;
6. Suggests implementation of a Tiger Action Plan (TAP) in order to preserve Tiger species,
such as the Sumatran Tiger, throughout the Southeast Asian Nations of Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam:
a) suppressing the sale of tiger products by working with CITES and
establishing/reinforcing laws that prohibit the sale of tiger bone, hair, teeth, hide,
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
claws etc.; Imposing stringent punishments and heavy fines for those who illegally
poach tigers and sell their products
establishing an oversight board to investigate and prevent illegal trade and
trafficking, this sector will also oversee the enforcement of international
legislation
using Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) which can help expedite
anti-poaching measures by identifying potential hotspots
establish protected wildlife conservation zones and sanctuaries that will allow
limited human use of natural resources, and provide training to staff members to
protect the tigers and their habitats
hold workshops with the governmental officials from the various Southeast Asian
nations to discuss issues involving trade/trafficking and create strict border
control/security to stop poachers
provide increased education and awareness about the endangered tiger species to
work toward decreasing the demand for tiger products
collaborating with NGO the Big Cat Rescue to implement aforementioned
measures;
7. Calls upon working with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to provide
direct humanitarian and medical aid for endangered species:
a) create teams of rescue workers, veterinarians, policy experts, scientists and
educators within each region:
i. collaborate with individual communities to get community members
involved with the humanitarian aid projects
ii. establish local clinics and sanctuaries for the animals
b) rescue endangered animals, rehabilitate them in clinics and sanctuaries, provide
them with medical care, and then return them to the wild as soon as possible
c) work to protect critical habitats for keystone species;
8. Calls for providing the government officials and law enforcement with financial
incentives to reduce corruption in regards illegal poaching, deforestation, and wildlife
trade to help save the keystone species:
a) collaborate with NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund and International Antipoaching Foundation to implement this action
b) these financial incentives will help government officials to resist bribery from the
poachers and hunters and illegal loggers;
9. Invites nations to work with NGOs such as Flora and Fauna International and to
participate in Ecotourism methods to protect keystone species, increase their populations,
while simultaneously improving the nation’s economy and educating individuals about
the importance of preserving keystone species, and to set aside areas of land for
protecting keystone species on a nation specific basis;
10. Affirms working with the Independent Forest Monitoring System (IFM) and the NGO
Forest Stewardship Council to help the Southeast Asian nations develop community
based forest conservation zones and employ local residents to monitor the forest
management systems to prevent illegal logging:
a) work with IFM to conduct field missions/land surveys to examine and record what
laws, strategies, and policies need to be strengthened and improved in the specific
country, by creating a report and providing information and training so that
individuals can get involved in the preservation effort
b) use the Terra-I monitoring system and GPS to track the amount of deforestation
occurring and allow governments to take action; strengthen law enforcement to
combat illegal logging by working with INTERPOL:
i. the GPS system will be issued with all logging permits, and will be used to
pinpoint areas of logging activity and confirm whether the activity is legal
by checking the signal
ii. there should be various field checks that take place regularly by the
Environmental Investigation Agency; training will be provided to ensure
that officers and investigators have the right tools to deal with illegal
loggers
c) collaborate with Rain Forest Connection to integrate solar powered smart phones
to track illegal logging and deforestation at a lower cost;
11. Requests the introduction of sustainable farming practices to prevent deforestation due to
agriculture and preserve the habitats of keystone species by working with the NGO Heifer
and using cyclic agriculture, crop rotation, and high yield variety seeds so farmers can use
the same plot of land to grow different seasonal crops:
a) through cyclic agriculture, land will be used for crop cultivation until the soil loses
its fertility, then the farmers will be provided with livestock and cattle to occupy
the land and enable the farmers to continue to generate a source of income until
the soil regains its fertility and can be used again for crops
b) with crop rotation the same plot of land will be used to grow seasonal crops this
will prevent the cutting down of trees to create new land for cultivation;
12. Considers implementing the Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program in
developing nations to help them reduce deforestation rates by providing them with
financial support and incentives for the integration of environmentally friendly practices;
nations can develop forest-friendly agricultural growth methods, and integrate
reforestation without carrying a financial burden;
13. Recommends integrating bamboo as a more sustainable alternative to timber, to decrease
deforestation rates, by working with the NGOs Environmental Bamboo Foundation
(EBF) and the International Bamboo Foundation (IBF) to: deliver the high quality
bamboo plants and seeds to nations, provide education and training so people can
effectively produce, cultivate, and market the bamboo; encourage nations to develop
bamboo collection gardens to preserve bamboo stocks and spur eco-tourism and
economic benefit for the nation, as visitors can tour the bamboo collection gardens and
purchase bamboo products;
14. Endorses the establishment of the International Court for the Environment (ICE) that will
focus specifically on environmental issues to help nations in Southeast Asia hold
poachers and illegal loggers accountable for their illicit actions, thus ensuring that
developing nations will not be forced to bear the responsibility of holding such offenders
accountable for their actions and also enabling enforcement of legislation and
punishments;
a) The ICE will only have complimentary jurisdiction, meaning that they will only
prosecute if the member state cannot or will not prosecute
b) it will only prosecute crimes after the founding of the court
15. Supports the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect keystone
marine species within their natural habits by:
a) collaborating with NGOs such as Conservation International and Ocean
Conservancy to designate specific marine protected areas
b) coordinating with the governments to set limitations on marine activity that can
take place within the MPAs with harsh penalties to those who break these
regulations such as fines
c) increasing public awareness about the threats to keystone marine life and
improving their engagement in the conservation projects
d) encouraging fisheries to adopt standards to minimize the impact of gear loss and
the use more sustainable, ocean friendly fishing products and biodegradable nets;
16. Suggests that member states involved in building palm oil plantations in forested regions
to move their plantations to degraded or abandoned agricultural land to prevent pollution
that harms keystone species;
17. Recommends working with NGOs to develop and utilize a transparent, dynamic database
where information regarding the population and status of the keystone species throughout
the Southeast Asian nations will be stored for future endeavors,
18. Calls upon governments affected by the haze to immediately construct caves in areas that
are at least 30% less affected by the haze for immediate evacuation of the animals as a
temporary solution while the haze subsides.