Committee:
Committee: 6th Legal
Topic: Water and Food Security in Developing Countries
Position Papers are due January 9th to qualify for a research award
All Position Papers due by January 13th at 11:59pm
Position Papers are due to the committee email
Bring some spare change to donate to 20 Wells!
Introduction
Greetings fellow delegates, I am Kevin Yang, a senior at Mission Viejo High School. As the
President of Key Club, the Vice-President of the California Scholarship Federation, and the VicePresident of the National Honors Society, I am heavily involved in community service. I also enjoy the
math and sciences as President of Science Olympiad and our school’s Math Club. Model United Nations
is meaningful to me because it has highlighted for me the many issues that our world faces. In this
committee, we will be discussing an issue that I find particularly interesting – how to protect water and
food security in developing countries. I am excited to hear the advantages and the drawbacks of
solutions that will be posed in this committee regarding this issue.
I.
Background of Topic
With world population now exceeding 7 billion and projected to increase by a billion around every
two decades, hunger and water scarcity is becoming more and more prevalent, particularly in
developing countries.
Though water scarcity affects all countries in some way, the rural communities of developing
nations are most affected by a lack of water because they lack the proper infrastructure to transport
water and may not be in close proximity to water sources. According to research, 700 million people
worldwide face water scarcity and do not have the proper infrastructure to obtain water. Further,
this number is only increasing as climate change alters the natural distribution of fresh water around
the water. According to current trends, models have shown that over 1.8 billion people could be
affected by absolute water scarcity. Pollution also affects the ability of countries to conserve
freshwater. In addition to being a requirement, of life water is important because it is vital to the
success of agriculture. Hence, this inability to maintain water security leads to difficulties food
security as well.
The right of all to sufficient levels of food suggested by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
becoming increasingly threatened by the malnourishment and starvation that is affecting large
proportions of the populations in developing countries. This problem of hunger that already strikes
925 million people, with the majority living in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, will only become worse
as time continues and the effects of limited water availability become increasingly pronounced. Due
to water shortages and an uneven distribution of water, certain rural communities in developing
countries are having great difficulty in growing food. It has been found that the ability of a
community to access water is directly correlated with the poverty and food security of this
community. Water scarcity has also been found to lead to gender inequality. Additionally, water
scarcity can also lead to desertification, which would cause the permanent destruction of important
arable land. Hence, water security directly affects food security and both must be protected in order
to protect the welfare of communities in developing countries.
II.
United Nations Involvement
On 28 July 2010, the UN General Assembly declared the right for all to clean drinking water. As
previously mentioned, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also affirmed the right of all for
equal access to food. The United Nations has become increasingly concerned with the inability to
maintain these two rights of food and water access as hunger and water scarcity rapidly spread.
Hence, in order to combat this, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
has published a report on the State of Land and Water Resources (SOLAW) every 3 to 5 years in
order to advocate for this cause. Moreover, the International Conference on Freshwater held in
Bohn Germany from December 3rd to December 7th suggested to 118 countries and 47
intergovernmental agencies Recommendations for Action (RFA). The Earth Summit 2002 in
Johannesburg also helped to describe the issue of decreasing water availability, urged the
implementation of National Sustainable Development Strategies, and helped define the roles,
responsibilities, and methods of action of different agencies and governments. The United Nations
has also supported the research of various international agencies on the issue of limited water and
food availability to produce explanations for this trend and ideas for change.
III.
Bloc Positions
Western Block- The Western Bloc, with its more developed countries, will likely help to provide the
financial support for international research on improving the efficiency of water use.
Middle Eastern Block- The Middle Eastern Bloc is also more developed than other parts of the world
and hence, will play more of a role in funding and investing in the water and food security of
underdeveloped countries.
African Bloc- This bloc is severely affected by a lack of water and food security. Hence, this bloc will
support international efforts in research and awareness, but must also act on the local level to
alleviate the issues of water and food scarcity.
Latin American Bloc- Similar to African bloc, the Latin American also is still developing and will seek
the financial support of more developed countries in addition to acting locally to increase water and
food security.
Asian Bloc- Though there are many Asian Bloc countries that are highly developed, this bloc also has
the largest number of people suffering from hunger. For this reason, policies and actions will differ
according to the water and food availability of the respective country.
IV.
Possible Solutions
Though I strongly feel that the delegates of their respective countries should develop new and
creative solutions that align with their countries policies, here are some solutions that have been
previously proposed.
With around 80% of all available freshwater going to irrigation compounded upon the need for
water for the ever-increasing global population, water conservation practices in agriculture must be
employed. Farmers in developing countries must be made aware of the increasing water demand
and limited water supply because they hold the solution to this problem.
In order to reduce the amount of freshwater used in agriculture. Technologies regarding higher
yields of crops with the use of less water must be developed and researched.
More developed countries should invest in the water systems of developing countries to increase
water productivity. International research efforts should also be made to allow for more efficient
methods of water transport and production.
In order to promote international awareness, World Water Days and other ideas that are similar in
nature and identical in cause to World Water Days should be further promoted. Education about
individual water efficiency should also be put in place in both developing and developed countries.
An effective solution will encompass many of the aforementioned methods of attaining both water
security and food security. It is the extent and the specifics of each method that will help develop
the proper response to solve the problems of water scarcity, malnutrition, and starvation in
developing countries.
V.
Guiding Questions
1) To what extent is water available in your country?
2) To what extent does the populace of your country suffer from hunger?
3) If you represent a developing country, what incentives does your country have to offer
developed countries to financially support the growth of food and water security in your country?
4) If you represent a developed country, why would it be beneficial to your country to support a
developing country in attaining water and food security?
5) What solutions has your country posed regarding to increasing water and food security? How
can this be applied on an international level?
VI.
Works Cited
"Bonn Freshwater Conference." The Water Page. Water Policy International, n.d. Web. 03 Nov.
2012. <http://www.africanwater.org/bonn.htm>.
"Managing Systems at Risk." The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and
Agriculture. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.fao.org/nr/solaw/en/>.
"The Urgency of Water Security." Global Water Partnership, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.gwp.org/The-Challenge/The-Urgency-of-Water-Security/>.
"Water and Food Security." UN Water. United Nations, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/food_security.shtml>.
"Water and Food Security." Water and Food Security. United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/ai560e/ai560e00.pdf>.