Download GeMUN 2011 Environmental Commission Research Report – Topic

GeMUN 2011
Environmental Commission
Research Report – Topic 1
Measures in controlling overfishing and protecting marine biodiversity
1 Guidelines
2 Introduction
3 Background
4 Measures
5 Developments
6 Problems/ Controversial Aspects
7 UN Departments
8 Terms
9 Works cited and further reading
1
GUIDELINES
Biodiversity represents the variety of living organism within a given ecosystem or environment. It is
consistently found in the tropics and in particular regions such as the Cape Floristic Province, while in Polar
Regions it is rarely found. Almost 30% of species that we can now see on Earth will be extinct by 2050. All of
them are heading toward extinction due to several reasons such as: Habitat destruction, Invasive species,
Pollution, Human Over Population and Overharvesting.
World attention is now focused on the problem of overfishing and mortal catches of marine wildlife in
certain marine regions. An example of overfishing is the extensive use of illegal fishing techniques in the
Mediterranean Sea. According to the WWF 52% of the world’s fishing reserves are fully exploited, while
about 24% are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion. The fact that impresses the most is
that at least the 90% of all of the ocean’s large fish have been fished out.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/problems_fishing/
2
INTRODUCTION
Earth is the only planet so far discovered able to sustain complex life. Its delicate biochemical equilibrium is
unique in the whole known universe as it has allowed the formation and evolution of life as we know it
today. Favourable conditions have allowed the development of vast amounts of unique species and
organisms, each of which possessing its own unique genome. It is our responsability, as we head towards
the achievement of the Millenia Development Goal (2015) to cooperate and attempt to restore and devise
measures to safeguard this equilibrium from threat.
The continuity of species is entirely dependant on the conditions of the environment and the stability of its
ecosystem. Threatening the biological equilibrium of a region will result in the loosening of the delicate
balance, fundamental for the well-being of the organism living in it.
In the past few years the adoption of inefficient conventions aimed at preserving Earth’s natural heritage
has allowed for private companies and enterprise to savagely exploit natural resources, resulting in the loss
of precious habitats for endangered wild species.
It is a moral obligation for member nations to cooperate in order to prevent the full loss of our planet’s
biodiversity.
Overfishing in one of the major aspects which contribute to the loss of biodiversity. This problem has
recently developed due to abuse of technological progress and is now threatening the stability of our global
ecosystem. Delegates should try to stress the dangerous ways in which extreme consumism could develop.
Biological overfishing occurs when fishing mortality has reached a level where the stock biomass has
negative marginal growth. Strictly speaking, overfishing occurs when resources are harvested quicker than
they can reproduce themselves. If the replenishment continues to slow down for long enough,
replenishment will go into reverse and the population will decrease.
3
BACKGROUND
In the past few decades since the dawn of the industrial era technological developments have allowed for a
wider range of production. However, society has also been faced with the issue of waste products. Until a
few years ago legislations regulating the treatment of such wastes were either absent of insufficient, thus
resulting in them being released in unprotected external environments causing great damage to local
ecosystems and their stability. In the near past, however, there has been rising awareness of the problem’s
impact on our planet’s global health and efforts have been made both at national and international levels
to amend the damage so far inflicted.
Since the dawn of the industrial era developed countries have been faced with the issue of dealing with
chemical and inorganic waste products. Prior to the rise of awareness with respect to the damages caused
by these proceedings industrial leftovers were released into streams, oceans or simply dumped in
wastelands.
In 2000, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution dealing with the question of
threatened biodiversity. The leading clauses in the resolution stated that all countries should take a clear
stand to guarantee the establishment of well founded clauses aiming at protected their natural biodiversity
and natural heritage.. Delegates should therefore
tackle the issue from an economic perspective as well.
According to a 2008 UN report, the world's fishing fleets are losing $50 billion USD each year through
depleted storings and poor fisheries management. The biomass of global fish stocks have been allowed to
run down to the point where it is no longer possible to catch the amount of fish that could be caught.
Massive growth of jellyfish populations threaten fish stocks, as they fight with fish for food, they eat fish’s
eggs, and can survive in oxygen depleted environments where fish cannot. Overfishing eliminates a major
jellyfish competitor and predator exacerbating the jellyfish population explosion.
4
MEASURES
Delegates should propose resolutions tackling the major aspects of this problem, proposing measuring to
reduce the effects of harmful chemical propagations in the environment and treat current damages. They
should also include the use of “greener” and less polluting technologies.
DEVELOPMENTS
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation calls for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs),
which many experts believe may hold the key to conserving and boosting fish stocks. Yet, according to the
UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in Cambridge, UK, less than
one per cent of the world’s oceans and seas are currently in MPAs.
The International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Unreported and Unregulated Fishing has
been introduced, although few, if any, developing countries and only a limited number of developed ones
are on track to put it into effect this year.
The Fish Stocks Agreement, covers highly migratory species that regularly travel long distances, through
both the high seas and areas under national jurisdiction, such as tuna, swordfish and oceanic sharks. It also
covers straddling stocks, stocks that occur both within EEZs, where coastal States have sovereign rights for
the conservation and management of marine living resources, and in areas beyond and adjacent to the
zones. Examples include cod, halibut, pollock, jack mackerel and squid. There is general consensus that the
Fish Stocks Agreement has not been fully implemented.
Possible Solutions: better monitoring, control and surveillance on the
high seas;
better controls by Governments of foreign fishing ships
docking at heir ports and
terminals; reduction of the use of flags of
convenience; and the application of the
precautionary and ecosystem
approaches to fishing activities.
The parties to the Agreement are: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Brazil,
Canada, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, European Community, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Guinea, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Kiribati, Liberia, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta,
Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Solomon
Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tonga, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and
Uruguay.
Further Reading:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sea1852.doc.htm
5
PROBLEMS/ CONTROVERSIAL ASPECTS
The magnitude of the problem of overfishing is often overlooked, given the competing claims of
deforestation, desertification, energy resource exploitation and other biodiversity depletion dilemmas. The
rapid growth in demand for fish and fish products is leading to fish prices increasing faster than prices of
meat. As a result, fisheries investments have become more attractive to both entrepreneurs and
governments, much to the detriment of small-scale fishing and fishing communities all over the world. In
the last decade, in the north Atlantic region, commercial fish populations of cod, hake, haddock and
flounder have fallen by as much as 95%, prompting calls for urgent measures. Some are even
recommending zero catches to allow for regeneration of stocks, much to the ire of the fishing industry.
These problems are aggravated by other factors, including issues related to fishing rights and access to
fishery resources; the persistence of subsidies that contribute to fleet overcapacity and overfishing; the lack
of control by some States over vessels flying their flag, fishing on the high seas; the absence of a
management regime in some areas of the high seas; the inadequacy of the geographical or species
coverage of some regional fishery management organizations and arrangements; the absence of
enforcement and compliance schemes in some of these organizations; the lack of port State control in
some countries; and the insufficient cooperation among countries, in collecting and sharing high seas
fishery data.
UN DEPARTMENTS- MAJOR COUNTRIES AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
-Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
-Ministers of the High Seas Task Force made up of fisheries ministers from Australia, Canada, Chile,
Namibia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom
DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
6
BIODIVERSITY- Biodiversity is the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem, in this
case, the sea. Biodiversity becomes under threat only when serious extinction of fauna or flora occurs due
to natural/human reasons.
OVERFISHING- Overfishing is the act of depleting the stock of fish in a body of water by too much fishing.
The practice of commercial and non-commercial fishing which depletes a fishery by catching so many adult
fish that not enough remain to breed and replenish the population. Overfishing exceeds the carrying
capacity of a fishery.
Catching too many fish; fishing so much that the fish cannot sustain their population. The fish get fewer and
fewer, until finally there are none to catch. 3
Fishing with a sufficiently high intensity to reduce the breeding stock levels to such an extent that they will
no longer support a sufficient quantity of fish for sport or commercial harvest.
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS- Marine ecosystems are a part of the largest aquatic system on the planet, covering
over 70% of the Earth's surface. The habitats that make up this vast system range from the productive near
shore regions to the barren ocean floor. Some examples of important marine ecosystems are:
* Oceans
* Estuaries and Salt Marshes
* Coral Reefs and Other Tropical Communities (Mangrove Forests)
* Coastal areas like Lagoons, Kelp and Seas grass Beds and Intertidal systems (rocky, sandy, and muddy
shores)
WORKS CITED AND FURTHER READING
http://www.un.org/events/tenstories/06/story.asp?storyID=800
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sea1852.doc.htm
http://overfishing.org/
http://www.epa.gov/bioiweb1/aquatic/marine.html
7