Environmental Committee

Transcription

1 Forum: Environmental Committee Issue: The effects of South American industrial deforestation on the inhabitant population Student Officer: Position: Estel Anahmias Deputy President Introduction Deforestation remains as one of the most impactful environmental concerns, with the world losing around 350 square kilometers of forest daily, which amounts to the loss of a forest the size of New York City every two days. Forests have crucial effects on the world besides their obvious importance for the ecosystem, such as their role in decreasing the threatening greenhouse emissions. The population growth and the increasing straying towards industrializing rural areas are to blame. Brazil has been topping the list of this forest degradation and deforestation for years now, due to South America s attempt at agricultural expansion. Although Brazil along with the neighboring countries with major areas of forests has made great accomplishments in the name of decreasing the rate of deforestation, they have been having a difficult time maintaining forests and the steady population growth simultaneously. South America s population is in dire need of support, as are its forests. Definition of Key Terms Deforestation: The act of clearing the Earth s trees and forests on a massive scale, usually through ways such as burning or cutting. It severely damages the quality of land, causes soil erosion, loss of species and contributes to climate change. Slash and Burn Agriculture: A widely used method for growing food by cutting plants and trees on wild or forested lands and burning any vegetation left to create fields for agriculture. Timber: Wood prepared for use in building and carpentry. Before timber is felled, foresters assess it in order to determine how valuable it is. A harvest plan must me filed with a government agency in order to cut trees in most areas of the world. Flora and Fauna: The term used to refer to plants and wildlife of a specific geographical region or a particular time period. The term flora, named after the goddess of flowers, refers to the plants where the term fauna refers to the animal life in the particular region. Deforestation has many negative effects on flora and fauna.

2 Commercial Logging: Cutting trees to sell as timber or pulp. Selective Logging: Cutting trees selectively depending on the value of wood. Certain trees are selected and cut in order to get highly valued wood. Clear Cutting: Unlike selective logging, clear cutting is not selective. Loggers are interested in all kinds of wood so all trees are cut down and the land is cleared. A stump: The bottom part of a tree with the roots still in the ground, the remaining part after most of the trump is cut off or fallen. Inhabitant: The resident of a certain habitat or environment. Financial Incentive: A payment done for the sake of an investment that has a beneficial outcome for both sides in most cases. General Overview Forests are the positive economic, environmental and social treasure of the world. They are the homes to hundreds of plant and animal species, the world s most threatened and endangered ones among them. They provide oxygen, regulate climate, control water runoff, protect soil, filter water and basically regulate vital occurrences for the survival of species on Earth. Mankind is almost entirely dependent on forests and therefore should do all that is possible to end deforestation, which is has become one of the biggest environmental problems of the day. Forests cover 31% of the world s land surface, which is approximately 4 billion hectares. However, forests all around the world are under threat of destruction due to deforestation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that deforestation was at its peak during the 1990 s, causing around 16 hectares of forests getting lost each year. Deforestation happens through many methods of destruction such as; fires, cleancutting for agriculture using ways such as slash and burn method, unsustainable logging for timber, etc. It also occurs due to several different causes. The competitive global economy is the most impactful cause, since countries with weaker economies turn their only resources into money to sustain their increasing population, nature. Thus, it could be said that it is the efforts exerted towards sustaining the population growth that are causing such levels of deforestation. The reduction in the habitats of indigenous people, deforestation, is directly related with the damage they receive that goes as far as extinction in some cases. The coexistence of all living beings is only possible when there s mutual respect. Deforestation is a serious matter in numerous parts of the world, yet South America hosts a high percentage of the world s rainforests and ecosystem, making it prone to severe cases of deforestation given mankind s reckless treatment of its seemingly never-ending resources. Unfortunately, the continent has lost around 40 million hectares of forests in 10 years. In South America, the main reason for deforestation is usually the need for agricultural land. Due to their unstable and limited economical conditions, people turn to farming, therefore decimating forests, to maintain their

3 survival. Poor farmers have to resettle in areas with higher agricultural opportunities and they clear up some land to use for farming. They use the method named Slash and Burn Agriculture which causes severe damage to the quality of land, amongst its many other negative effects for the ecosystem. The continuous destruction of the Amazon is a pressing threat to the future of the South Americans as well as its natural resources, and basic necessities ranging from water supply, energy production are all receiving their fair share of impairment. Most of us are too blind to see that the exploitation of nature will inevitably result in the extinction of our own kind. Major Parties Involved and Their Views Brazil Brazil is home to the world s largest tropical forest, the Amazon Rainforest. Amazon Rainforest has been facing an accelerating amount of deforestation since 1991 and it has been slowing down only since 2004, when activities to reduce deforestation were implemented. These efforts are a reflection of the growth of the environmental and social movements in Brazil in the last two decades. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva s election as the President was one of the factors that established such improving measures. Ecuador Ecuador has experienced major changes in its forest ground mostly due to agricultural expansion and illegal logging. It has one of the world s highest rates of deforestation estimated at over %3 of its forest grounds per 2 years. This problem is recognized and reducing deforestation is considered to be a national priority. These actions are mainly taken as part of UN REDD program projects, which Ecuador has been participating in since Paraguay The South American Atlantic Forest that runs through Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay has been cut down to 7 percent of its original size in three decades. The region in Paraguay is the part that has been decimated the most severely due to the industrialization and uncontrolled migration in the country. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an organization that is taking progressive steps towards ending deforestation. It publishes Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) every 5 years in order to provide a consistent approach to describing the world s forests and how they are changing.

4 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) In the fight against deforestation, the role of WWF is crucial. The organization funds many projects such as Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ZNDD) and they are to be fulfilled until Timeline of Events 1 December February 2011 May November November January February 2016 Deforestation destroys 70% of the Amazon US oil giant Chevron is fined for polluting the Amazon Major oil spill from Ecuador that severely affects and concerns Brazil Brazil states that Amazon deforestation rose 28% in only a year A year later, deforestation drops by 18% in the light of effective measures taken A chemical explosion at a cargo warehouse in Brazil occurs, unleashing a mass of toxic gas. Over 3000 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the Amazonian region, as courtesy of Peru. UN Involvement The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the agency of UN that has been working on the issue of deforestation very closely. FAO frequently states that deforestation has fortunately decreased in the past few years but this decline is not even nearly enough and new solutions must be generated and successfully implemented. The report published by FAO in 2015 states that deforestation has decreased by 50 percent and many countries are implementing policies for better forest management using legislation. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is United Nations collaborative initiative to implement what the name of the program suggests explicitly. It was established in 2008 by the cooperation of FAO, UNDP and UNEP. The program offers financial incentives that the MEDCs generously provide to LEDCs in order for them to be able to decrease their amount of industrialization done by deforestation. Notably, the REDD continues to have an increasingly positive impact on Brazil and its decrease of deforestation since 2002.

5 Relevant UN Documents 44/228 UN Conference on Environment and Development, 22 December UN Environment Programme. Agenda 21. Combating Deforestation. UNEP. Resolution 2.1 on the topic of Deforestation. Treaties and Events United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN REDD) Programme The program is implemented through the collective contributions of the FAO, UNDP and UNEP. It was initiated after the decisions of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regarding the Bali Action Plan and REDD at COP-13. The REDD+ Decision in Cancun, December 2010 The Cancun REDD Text differs from previous drafts of REDD+ texts in two major ways: The agreement states that REDD+ is about eliminating and reversing deforestation as much as it is concerned with reducing emissions. Secondly, the text encourages every single country to seek new methods through which we can extinguish the problem of deforestation. New York Declaration on Forests, September 2014 The declaration was spurred by the United Nations Secretary-General s Climate Summit. It is non-legally binding and is predominantly about actions taken against deforestation thus, Brazil, among the most closely related countries; not signing the treaty is quite incomprehensible. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (informally known as Earth Summit), Rio de Janeiro, June 1992 The conference was hosted by the Brazilian government and saw a participation of as many as 172 governments. Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was the resulting document of the conference. Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue Policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, set forth by the UN REDD+ Programme, a program developing with the collective cooperation of many NGOs and member states, have been implemented around the world.

6 Compared to the deforestation rate of 16 million hectares of forests being consumed in the 1990s, the deforestation rate has definitely slowed down due to the success of REDD. Also, in areas such as Central Africa and Brazil, one of the focal points of South American deforestation, imposing enforcement mechanisms on limiting deforestation and strengthening governance have definitely proven to be effective. Furthermore, providing payments for ecosystem services, also known as PES programs, have been working in several countries, Costa Rica, Mexico and Vietnam among them. These programs provide financial compensation for the protection of the environment and have even gone beyond preventing deforestation to promoting reforestation. Nonetheless, the world, especially the South American region has a long way to go in order to eradicate the extreme risks deforestation currently presents. Possible Solutions Utilizing financial incentives is always a plausible idea. Governmental or funded money could be used to award landlords that are conserving forests as the Brazilian State of Acre is doing in order to raise awareness and present a new way for owners to gain money without cutting any trees and help the population to live safer. A carbon market, is a market formed by the trade of carbon dioxide and by relating this market to the issue at hand, the importance of forests could be proven. Stricter laws regarding the consequences of deforestation could be implemented as one of the obvious solutions, also, increasing government inspections on the sustainment of forests would impact the problem in a progressive manner. Since industrial corporations rely on consumers all around the World, if consumers show that they are not happy, then corporations will always make changes. In the issue deforestation, if we make small changes in our lives the effects of these changes would be severe. As Greenpeace has offered, if we go to changes like buying recycled wood products or only supporting brands with zero-deforestation policies, we would send a message to all corporations. Bibliography "Deforestation Timeline." Code REDD. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar Jordan, Leilani. "Deforestation in South America." Gap Year. N.p., n.d. Web. 44/228. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 22 December 1989 United Nations Environment Programme. Agenda 21. Combating Deforestation. United Nations Environment Programme. Resolution 2.1 on the topic of Deforestation.

7 "Deforestation Success Stories (2014)." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., June Web. 07 Mar "Report Finds Successful Efforts to Reduce Deforestation." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar "UN-REDD Programme -- About UN-REDD." UN-REDD Programme -- About UN- REDD. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar "WWF - Help Fight against Deforestation." Deforestation. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar "Population Growth and Deforestation: A Critical and Complex Relationship." Population Growth and Deforestation: A Critical and Complex Relationship. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar "Slash and Burn Agriculture." EcoLogic Development Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar "Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar Austin, Kemen. "The REDD+ Decision in Cancun." The REDD+ Decision in Cancun. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar Bradford, By Alina. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 04 Mar Web. 07 Mar