Download 2017_EC1_2_6

FORUM OF: Environment Commission 1
QUESTION OF: Preserving the biodiversity and preventing further destruction of the Amazon
Rainforest
MAIN SUBMITTED BY: Federation of Malaysia
CO-SUBMITTED BY: Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Applauding the UN Environment Programme’s Agenda 21 focused on combatting deforestation
and the actions derived from this document,
Recognizing that approximately 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in the past 40
years and the negative effects this destruction will have on soil quality, ecosystem health, climate,
and local animal species and people,
Recalling Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the topic at hand: “all our efforts to
defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation
and further natural resource depletion continue unabated”,
Reminding that the Amazon rainforest has some of the richest biodiversity of any place on the
Earth,
Noting with satisfaction the previous efforts of relevant non governmental organizations like
Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, Greenpeace International
and The World Wildlife Fund,
Reaffirming the need for integrated collaboration between many nations in order to receive the
most effective outcome in protecting all organisms of the Amazon Rainforest,
Bearing in mind that major causes of destruction to the Amazon include plantation farming,
logging, cattle ranching, increase of infrastructure and climate change,
Further recognizing that major multinational companies play a major role in the destruction of
the Amazon rainforest, regarding their usage of unsustainable materials,
Deeply concerned in the fact that so much logging, farming and ranching industries are cutting
down the forest, which is accelerating the rate of the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest,
Fully aware of the duty of United Nations Environment Programme in preventing any further
destruction of the Amazon Rainforest,
Deeply concerned by the current deforestation level of Amazon Rainforest and how it is severely
affecting other factors such as global warming and biomass,
1. Urges all nations and their civilians to be fully aware of the topic regarding the seriousness of
ecosystem destruction that is currently happening in Amazon Rainforest through methods such
as using the internet, television, and other media sources to educate people about possible ways
to mitigate the issue and how they can be involved;
2. Promotes enforcement of Amazon rainforest monitoring by governments of countries
bordering the rainforest to to protect its endangered plants and animal species and the natural
environment from illegal activities through ways such as not limited to:
a) Gathering, analysing, using large amounts of data for the purpose of tracking species
effectively
b) Uploading collected data on a global and/or regional database to encourage international
collaboration and research
c) Implementing security checks on imports and exports to decrease the threat of invasive
species and environmentally harmful substances on the Amazon rainforest
d) Developing standardised and efficient tools to collect data
e) Urging bordering nations to submit absolutely original data, as inaccurate data will not be
advantageous;
3. Encourages relevant NGOs such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and United Nations
Environmental Programme to come together to support nations regarding imprisonment of
poachers, by methods such as but not limited to:
a) Increasing awareness through social media, campaigns, etc. of poaching in the
Amazon, and the negative effects it has on the ecosystem, which will:
i.
Encourage civilians to forewarn the police of any suspicious behavior
pertaining to evidence of unfamiliar or leery animals in the vicinity
ii. Raise funds for respective organizations, allowing them to invest in new
technology helpful to catching animal poachers;
b) Implementing systems used to educate indigenous people of the rainforest of the
value of local Amazonian flora and fauna, and the threats they pose by killing them
c) Holding seminars to teach indigenous people of the rainforest how to keep animals
out of their croplands which is a main reason why animals are killed;
4. Strongly urges nations bordering the Amazon to protect endangered plant and animal species
in ways such as, but not limited to:
a) Establishing protected areas or parks in each country to ensure the safety of the
endangered animal and plants species with the full support of organisation such as World
Wildlife Foundation (WFF),
b) Enhancing the prevention of deforestation, poaching and ranching of the impacted and
affected areas or regions by allocating volunteer rangers to scout the protected areas with
incentives such as but not limited to:
i.
lifetime insurance programs
ii.
adequate trainings
iii. proper protection equipment;
c) Collaborating with enforcement organisations, NGOs, and agencies such as the United
Nations Environment Organisation, Greenpeace International, and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) to ensure proper protection of biodiversity in the Amazon
through ways such as creating large scale parks;
5. Further encourages the UN Environment Programme and its partners to stay informed about
the status of the Amazon Rainforest through methods such as but not limited to：
a) Yearly collection of data about aspects of Amazon rainforest health through methods
such as:
i. Calculation of Simpson’s biodiversity index
ii. Estimation of the number of trees per square meter (or other unit of area);
b) Communication with local organizations, governments, and communities in regards to
i. Any additional data related to the Amazon rainforest they may have access to
ii. Arising local/regional concerns and needs relating to the Amazon rainforest;
6. Strongly suggests governments of countries bordering the Amazon to find effective and
suitable ways of striking Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) with local farmers and the
government to ensure that the development in the Amazon is eco-friendly and sustainable
through ways such as but not limited to:
a) Providing farmers with incentive programs, in which farmers are subsidised for
effectively using less land to grow crops
b) Buying back the unused lands and transmute them into parks or forest reserves to protect
the endangered plants and animal species
c) Educate farmers on specific and straightaway farming techniques so that they can
efficiently utilize the given land
d) Setting strict regulations on the amount of land which could be owned by a specific
individual or company
e) Collaborate with relevant NGOs and Intergovernmental Organizations in order to:
i) Financially support farmers if they decide to reduce the amount of land which
they use
ii) Increasing the cost of land in the Amazon rainforest, thus reducing the amount
of land totally bought and used;
7. Further invites nations to encourage all companies to begin using environmentally sustainable
materials, by methods such as but not limited to:
a) Implementing annual assessments of major multinational companies in order to
ensure that their materials are eco-friendly sourced
b) Certifying products as environmentally friendly in cooperation with organizations
such as:
i.
The Rainforest Alliance
ii. The Forest Stewardship Council;
9. Suggests the promotion of ecotourism in the Amazon rainforest to promote the biodiversity of
the forest through ways such as but not limited to:
a) Educating tourists on the ecosystem of the Amazon along with the importance of
biodiversity in the Amazon
b) Providing useful and engaging activities and attractions which will benefit the
environment such as planting and protecting plants that have a rapidly decreasing
population
c) Distributing information on the harmful impacts and consequences of poaching
deforestation, and ranching along with other means of illegal activity in respect to the
Amazon forest,
d) Limiting the number of permits granted to eco-tourism companies so as to control the
number of visitors in the area;
10. Recommends the strengthening of regional and international cooperation on previous efforts
made to save the biodiversity of the Amazon as well as discussions on new programs or plans to
be implemented, especially with key regional organisations that involve governmental
cooperation, such as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), for purposes such as
but not limited to:
a) Using diverse communication media
b) Producing videos on explanations with global warming and deforestation on websites
c) Holding semi-annual meetings to collaborate with each other in order to further protect
the Amazon;
11. Further invites Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organisations such
as the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) to send ambassadors to countries surrounding
and bordering the Amazon Rainforest in order to:
a) Effectively educate companies about environmentally harmful practices
b) Allow the general society to realise the importance of the Amazon Rainforest through
ways such as requesting educators at schools to implement curriculum that mainly
focuses on teaching the children the significance of biodiversity in the Amazon through
means such as annual tree planting activities,
c) Calls upon all the NGO’s focused on environmental protection, to attend to a symposium
organized by the UN Environmental Assessment Committee in order to join efforts to
deal with the delicate situation, exchanging ideas and proposals to debate its future
implementation by the UN;
12. Implement the monitoring of data collection of elements of the Amazon, including asking the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to
increase the amount of agents supervising areas where endangered species habitat and collect
data monthly;
13. Further recommends nations to assist in decreasing the amount of fish caught in the Amazon,
given overfishing, by setting regulations on, but not limited to:
a) Amount of fish caught by fisheries
b) Certain seasons in which fish can be caught in specific areas, as this allows fish to
reproduce and increase in number during the off-seasons;
14. Advocates for all local government officials to not cause corruption such as bribery with the
mining and logging industries in order to reduce the rate of corruption and cause less damage to
the environment and the indigenous people in ways such as but not limited to:
a) Inspecting police records on suspicious cases that seem as if indigenous people
were forcefully pushed away from their land
b) Asking the indigenous people to alert any suspicious actions that was made by
any law enforcement member as soon as possible.
15. Urges the decrease of deforestation that is most prevalent in the Amazon to prevent further
carbon emission and fragmentation through means such as but not limited to:
a) preventing increased logging by implementing strongly, the idea of Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) issued from the
UN-REDD to each country surrounding the Amazon forest,
b) recommending the use of sustainable methods such as but not limited to:
i.
establishing plantations of trees on degraded lands in the Amazon,
ii. ending subsidies granted to large landowners in the Amazon or for saw
mills and road construction in the Amazon;
16. Encourages ground supervision and satellite monitoring of the flora and the fauna in order to
prevent more species from being endangered or extinct in ways such as but not limited to:
a) Ask the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) to increase the amount of agents supervising areas where endangered
species habitat and collect data monthly,
b) Alert indigenous people and large landowners that there are illegal industries that start
small projects near protected area even though they are not allowed,
c) During security checks for exports, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable
Natural Resources (IBAMA)'s and other similar national organizations to implement
stronger inspection practices to protect species of trees that are protected by law are not
being exported;
17. Encourages the facilitation of financial support to nations in both private and public
sectors regarding the policy and technological development for the preservation,
protection and conservation of biological diversity agendas with the assistance of relevant
agencies and organizations in the respective sectors of financial support such as, but not
limited to:
a) World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for funding conservation and environmental
projects,
b) World Bank (WB) to fund developing countries for policy development regarding
biological diversity preservation in order to implement such projects in the future,
c) Rainforest Alliance to urge corporations to purchase goods and services with the
organization’s seal of approval, in order to create income through sustainable
resources
d) provide funds to rainforest communities and indigenous peoples with sound
management including, but not limited to:
i.
seed tree systems that leaves standing certain mature trees, instead of
clearcutting,
ii.
sustainable logging that gives trees and timber recovery time;