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FORUM: ENVIRONMENT COMMISION (2nd Committee)
QUESTION OF: Measures to prevent the loss of marine biodiversity as a result of human
exploitation
SUBMITTED BY: United States of America
THE ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION 2,
Recalling the United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 67/78, paragraphs 183, 184 on the
issue of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national
jurisdiction, including by taking a decision on the development of an international instrument
under UNCLOS, and decide to establish a process within the Working Group to prepare for such
action,
Recognizing resolution A/RES/69/292, adopted in the General Assembly on 19th June 2015,
which calls for the development of an international legally binding instrument under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of
biologically diverse marine areas beyond national jurisdiction,
Alarmed by the fact that 60% of the world’s major marine ecosystems that underpin livelihoods
have been degraded or are being used unsustainably, and that 25% of all the world’s fish stocks
are either overexploited or depleted and 52% are fully exploited,
Approving the previous and existing projects and initiatives of the UNESCO Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice (SBSTTA), the World Heritage Marine Programme, the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the United Nation Environmental Programme
(UNEP),
1. Encourages member states to independently pursue and implement elements of previously
adopted UN documents, notably the World Heritage Convention and the International Law of
the Sea, in preservation of biodiversity by means such as but not limited to:
a) recognizing the duty of ensuring the “identification, protection, conservation,
presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural
heritage,” as stated by Article 4
b) establishing or designating a certain governmental organization/functionary team to
act as liaison between the government and the UN on matters relevant to the
preservation of marine biodiversity in its waters
c) taking “appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial
measures,” as stated in Article 5 Clause d, to better protect and conserve marine life,
by means such as but not limited to:
i. adopting legislative measures to criminalize and address Destructive Fishing
Practices (DFP), such as use of poison and explosives
ii. extending the role of the coast guard, police, and other national security
branches to the surveillance of fishing waters to enforce non-destructive
fishing practices
iii. subsidizing fishing communities for abstinence from DFP and purchase of
better equipment, and farming communities for controlled use of organic
fertilizers by developing or revising Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT)
d) establishing national or regional centres for training in marine protection and
conservation, as stated by Article 5 Clause e
e) refraining from taking deliberate measures that may directly or indirectly impact
regional biodiversity, as stated by Article 6 Clause 3;
2. Requests the regional sub-commissions of the IOC-UNESCO to assume a greater active and
autonomous role in their assigned regions by means such as not limited to:
a) establishing branch offices in every member state, preferably near marine sites
determined to deserve priority in the IOC-UNESCO’s attention
b) overseeing flow of relevant aid into the region from other nations and NGOs such as
the UNEP, International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank, and
UNESCO, and determining and managing its transfer to the governments and/or
local communities
c) serving as the designated region’s primary rally point of relevant data and research,
and providing them to the central UNESCO and other NGOs
d) regularly consulting the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary
Questions (ACABQ), World Heritage Committee, SBSTTA, UNEP, and Global
Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
e) holding a biannual conference for regional member states to discuss new research
results and developed conservation methods, and determine how effective monetary
and technological aid has been and how much aid each nation may require in the
future
f) regularly dispatching observers (according to an “anytime, anywhere” structure) to
inspect the role of governments and NGOs in preserving biodiversity in her waters,
whose mission is stated as but not limited to:
i. fostering transparency and progress, and ensure that any IOC-UNESCO aid
is used appropriately
ii. examining education of all level on environmental conservation
iii. monitoring the pollution status of MPA,WHMS and other key sites that are
home to considerable biodiversity and deserve environmental protection
iv. surveying the financial status of centres of population located near such sites
v. reviewing the government’s legislative and administrative measures, as well
as facilities for research and training
g) publishing a biannual report on the region’s status and future aims of preservation of
marine biodiversity, based on the discussions in the biannual conference and data
provided by observers
h) analyzing past accidents and developing regional sets of standards to ensure
sustainability and non-destructiveness in the exploitation of the environment
through the establishment of adequate reactionary or preemptive procedures to
answer to the aggravation of marine pollution, including measures such as but not
limited to:
i. the construction of water purification facilities in or near deeply polluted
bodies of water
ii. the selective provision of welfare (such as but not limited to financial
subsidies and medical treatment) to communities and individuals dwelling in
the proximity of MPA
iii. the establishment of common regional protocols in cleaning up areas
affected by acidification and eutrophication
iv. actively considering societal and cultural diversity into any existing or future
schemes, initiatives or projects;
3. Calls for member states to take financial measures that are appropriate in preventing the loss
of marine biodiversity and its consequences by such as but not limited to:
a) applying for aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other various
foundations for the purpose of providing monetary support to families in need of
assistance in finding jobs due to regulations of limiting the fishing market
b) securing the support and cooperation of other non-governmental organizations and
corporations;
4. Stresses the need for the continuation of existing programmes and actions and the launching
of new projects and initiatives to:
a) achieve greater international emphasis on, respect of, and attention to the status of
Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and World Heritage Marine Sites (WHMS) as
designated by the IOC-UNESCO, by means such as but not limited to:
i. developing a common system of classifying MPAs, considering focus,
permanence and level of conservation, as well as the ecological and
economic scale of protection
ii. encouraging governments to take legislative measures to better enforce the
internal protection of MPA
iii. making regular surveillance of the protected status of such sites
iv. continuously expanding the list of such sites
b) develop a common definition of key terminology foundational to preservation of
marine biodiversity, such as but not limited to:
i. destructive Fishing Practices (DFP), which currently stands as a loose list of
fishing practices that have significant harm on the environment
ii. eutrophication, which in its current definition does not clearly stipulate the
relevant causes by which excess of nutrients in the given body of water
occurs
c) make further progress on the global directory of taxonomic expertise, the Global
Taxonomic Initiative, which is crucial for effective conservation and management of
biodiversity;
5. Encouraging active incorporation of societal and cultural diversity into any existing or future
schemes, initiatives or projects, by means such as but not limited to:
a) raising awareness of the essential role of cultural diversity in sustaining and creating
biological diversity
b) incorporating local and indigenous knowledge in any biodiversity conservation and
management, and
c) extending relevant education and training to indigenous populations.