Download ENV2_1_4

FORUM: Environmental Commission Sub-Commission 2
QUESTION OF: Measures to prevent the loss of marine biodiversity as a result of human
exploitation
SUBMITTED BY: Republic of Chad
THE ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION,
Realizing that the 3% annual increase in the loss of marine biodiversity significantly raises the risk
upon the lives of individuals, especially those of living in the LEDC countries,
Keeping in mind the alarming rate in which certain aquatic animals face depletion is the
unsustainable developmental activities that humans have practiced,
Alarmed by, the species extinction rate per decade which increased from 1 to 11% between 1975 and
2015 according to Environmental Science,
Bearing in mind, the statistics and rates will inevitably continue to increase due to factors that remain
beyond our control such as climate change,
Having studied the operational, deliberate and accidental pollution originating from ships and
offshore installations continues, often with disastrous consequences,
Deeply disturbed by the fact that over the past centuries, 90% of marine species were wasted,
eliminated 65% of sea grass and wetland habitat, and exponentially accelerated species invasion in
12 major coastal seas around the world,
1. Encourages the implementation of establishments for the preservation, protection, and reduction
of harm against marine biodiversity, specifically for almost extinct animals, which would allow
further help for the marine biodiversity in a long run through the practical means of but not
limited to:
a) building reinforcement facilities in locations where marine animals are almost gone
extinct through the means of a clean and safe environment that is away from the cities
facilitated by the specialists mentioned above as well as other organizations such as
WWF (World Wide Funding Organization)
b) establishing relief premises for the purposes such as illness, cartilage fractures, mental
disease due to contamination in the living environment from human exploitation from
organizations such as International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine;
2. Urges relevant member states that are economically stable to abate all forms of pollution to
control industrialization, and other relevant activities that could cause pollution, as well as
collaborating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Conservation International
(CI) through ways such as but not limited to:
a) reducing uses of non-renewable energy with help of NGOs, campaigns, and large
corporations through ways such as but not limited to:
i.
raising awareness of the advantages of using renewable energy as well as all
forms of relevant media
ii.
building more man-made structures that use renewable energy such as
windmills, hydro electrical dams, and solar panels through governmental
funding
setting a new policy to make a clear limit on the use of fossil fuels by setting up
sustainable plans and introducing it to people as well as giving penalties to big
companies that use more than the optimum quantity set by each member states
b) reducing uses of vehicles, such as cars, especially in MEDCs with the help and funds
from relevant NGOs through ways such as but not limited to:
i.
building and upgrading bicycle roads next to the car roads as well as building
fences to make it safe
ii.
making public transportation more attractive to use by lowering the cost of all
types of public transportation and making sure there are more stations,
iii.
allowing people who own cars made before the past ten years to pay more motor
vehicle taxes
c) controlling industrial waste through ways such as but not limited to:
i.
building CCTVs (closed circuit televisions) near rivers where there are
industries
ii.
having stricter penalties for the industries that dump waste such as disabling the
industry for a few years
iii.
having monthly checks for pH and substances in the river near the industry, with
the help of specialists
d) supporting carbon emission trading by setting up more trading platforms and encouraging
voluntary carbon emission reduction;
iii.
3. Calls upon raising awareness of the issue of over-exploitation of marine animals and its effects
upon the global environment as well its societal effects in order to diminish its prolongation
through the initiation of grassroots movements to encourage and spread the message as well as
the issue for more participation in the issue in such ways but not limited to:
a) raising awareness of general citizens through ways such as but not limited to:
i. relating the issue of loss of marine biodiversity with everyday products with the
help of large companies through ways such as but not limited to producing
popular products such as toothpaste with the theme of loss of marine biodiversity
iv.
having events relating to the issue in places such as department stores, cinema
and other leisure or entertainment-use places in a form of sales that could
benefit the customers
v.
having art, music and other entertainment competitions with the theme of loss of
marine biodiversity that allow all citizens to join, which allow them to get prizes,
vi.
getting celebrities to do events relating to the issue of loss of marine biodiversity
such as posting on SNS or creating short clips that anyone can access to
b) raising awareness in primary and secondary educations through ways such as but not
limited to:
i. incentivizing and strengthening campaigns such as Roots & Shoots, which
children can join through various ways such as a school activity
ii. creating new curricula or further improving an available curriculum related to loss
of marine biodiversity for primary and secondary educations
c) using social media services such as but not limited to Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook
through such ways but not limited to:
i. creating videos about the loss of marine species and the damage to the marine
environment as a result of human exploitation with the help of relevant campaigns
and celebrities
ii. post articles, official statistics, and graphs about environmental situations,
collected by specialists who have investigated the area
iii. upload images that highlight the loss of marine species and the impact on human
health
iv. the promotion of the lemon sip challenge, which is a challenge inspired by the
ALS ice bucket challenge that has participants drink a sip of lemon juice through
social media platforms to raise awareness about ocean acidification which is one
of the causes of loss of marine biodiversity;
4. Requests governmental assistance through legislative actions within the respective nations in
most harm in terms of enforcing regulations and restrictions upon the exploitation of the
environment as well as the utilization of the international law to achieve a coherent aid through
laws within areas in most of need of help in such ways but not limited to:
a) implementing regular checkups on the living environment of the oceanic animals in terms
of pH levels, litter, and rate of extinction in such ways but not limited to allowing
specialists to investigate the ocean acidification from organizations such as the German
Advisory Council on Global Change (GACGC) or United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)
b) setting protected areas where animals that are in danger of extinction are heavily
populated;
5. Strongly urges all relevant member state to reduce overexploitation in terms of fishing through
ways such as but not limited to:
a) decreasing the demand for fish or certain body parts of the fish in danger of extinction
such as sharks through ways such as but not limited to:
i. strengthening and improving relevant campaigns such as WildAid, and Roots &
Shoots, in order to get more people involved in stop eating shark fins starting from
an young age
ii. raising awareness of how unethical it is to kill fish that are in danger of extinctions
just for certain body parts, through all relevant media, campaigns and NGOs
b) increasing the movement in the effort to halt human activities that are detrimental to
marine environments through ways such as but not limited to:
i. increasing the security for preventing fishermen from overfishing through ways
such as but not limited to weighing fish caught by all fishing ships, and building
sonars near the coasts and docks to detect ships that haven’t gone through security
checks
ii. setting harsher penalties for fishermen who fish more than the set maximum
amount, such as illegalizing the fisherman from fishing;
6. Further urges member states to promote awareness and tackle eutrophication in bodies of water
connected to the oceans, costal regions and oceans themselves to help support preserving marine
biodiversity by such as but not limited to:
a) creating local organizations in regions that directly combat eutrophication, and educating
and providing farmers with environmentally friendly alternatives to fertilize crops and
manage pests
b) cooperating with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to control the rate of
eutrophication through exercising proper management over wastewater treatment plants,
runoff from farmland, having monthly checks on water purity levels in soil and sing
bioremediation to neutralize pollutants in marine environments
c) managing eutrophication through having the United Nations Environment Program,
international governments and farming companies producing mass volumes of pollution
to cooperate and have biannual meetings regarding appropriate and viable forms of
treating runoff, with the UNEP cooperating regularly with such companies to prevent
corruption.