Topic: Resolving Environmental Issues
Region: Asia Pacific
Delegates: Raku Iizuka, Riko Iwamura, Zoe Lin
With environmental issues being one of the most immediate problems in the
world, urgent efforts must be made in the spirit of minimizing further damage caused
by environmental issues. According to the UNPAN (The United Nation Online
Network in Public Administration and Finance) rapid economic and population
growth throughout the Asia Pacific region has created serious social consequences
including urban excess, lack of clean water supplies, deforestation/ desertification,
landmines and unexploded ordnance, global warming, overfishing, air pollution, and
implied taxes. All countries in the Asia Pacific region have interests in reducing the
currently high levels of greenhouse gases and are all parties to the Kyoto Protocol to
the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change. According to the
UNFCC the Kyoto Protocol recognizes that developed countries are principally
responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result
of more than 150 years of industrial activity, and places a heavier burden on
developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”.
Due to mass migrations of labor to urban industries Asia Pacific has faced urban
excess, according to the UNPAN Asia’s urban profile has increased from 27% (0.7
Billion) in 1980 to 38% (1.4 Billion) in 2000 and will rise to 50% in 2020. As the
population grows throughout the Asia Pacific Region, the demand for water grows
with it. Water supplies have been increasingly polluted by untreated sewage,
salt-water intrusions and industrial discharges. In Jakarta, it costs 20 to 30 million
annually to boil water for home use. Although more than 80% of water consumed in
Asia is used for agricultural purposes, 60 to 75% of the water is lost to evaporation
before reaching the crops. Due to the exploitation of forests and agricultural land for
profit, the food security of the Asia Pacific region is threatened by deforestation and
desertification. According to the UNPAN nearly 75% of Southeast Asia’s original
forest cover has been destroyed at an annual loss rate that is the size of Switzerland.
Large amounts of mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) litter the landscape of
the Asia Pacific Region and maim thousands of people annually. In Cambodia, 1 out
of every 245 people is an amputee and 100 people are either maimed or killed every
month by landmines or UXO. Although other countries have provided aid to solve this
problem, the progress of removing landmines and UXO is slow and can be impossible
due to technical difficulties in identifying mines and UXO. Environmental problems
in the Asia Pacific region cost the society significantly. China has world’s most
polluted cities and its environmental problems cost its people up to 10% of its GDP. In
many parts of Asia, fishing is a significant part of the economic base, providing food,
employment, revenue and foreign exchange earnings. Marine catches have increase
from 17 million metric tons in 1950 to 87.1 million metric tons in 1996. There have
been frequent incidents caused by fish trawlers invading exclusive economic zones
and territorial seas which cause problems in international relations. Global warming
is one of the major concerns in the world. According to the UNPAN, for the past
century, temperatures have increased by an average of 4c to 6c. Scientist believes that
the temperature will continue to rise from 2000 to 2100. Due to global warming,
many concerns have been raised in the Asia Pacific region, countries like the
Maldives and Tuvalu will be disappearing in the next 50 years because of rising sea
levels caused by global warming. These 2 countries have only produce an average of
0.05% of global emissions for the last few years. 4000 citizens of Tuvalu have chosen
to immigrate to New Zealand and although most have chosen to remain in Tuvalu this
may change in the future due to the continuously rising sea levels and this may result
in worsening the case of urban excess in the Asia Pacific region. Air pollution from
industrial companies, power plants, is a major concern in Asia. Air pollution in China
has caused more than 175,000 premature deaths in 1995. Air pollution also forms
acidic rain which degrades the environment and reduces crop yields. Having
agriculture being a large economic base in the Asia Pacific region, if the air pollution
worsens it may result in economic crisis or other environmental problems.
The Asia Pacific Region recognizes that the environmental issues that are
currently occurring need to be tended to urgently, however the Asia Pacific region
believes that without proper funding and technology which is difficult for the least
developed countries in the Asia Pacific region these environmental issues may not be
easily tended to. In the spirit of creating electricity and fuels with a smaller
environmental footprint and minimize pollution, the Asia Pacific region encourages
the use of renewable energy such as photovoltaic cells, wind power, hydroelectricity,
geothermal energy and ocean energy. In China, the government has announced the
“Golden Sun” program which involves the Ministry of Finance paying 70% of the
costs of developing independent photovoltaic power generating systems in remote
regions. Targets to increase use of renewable energy have been set by governments
throughout the countries in the Asia Pacific Region. As the countries in the Asia
Pacific region are all parties of the Kyoto Protocol, certain countries in the region
have binding targets for the reduction of the amount of emissions.
The Asia Pacific region supports the conservation, improvement and protection
of the environment. The Asia Pacific region believes environmental issues can be
tended to under the cooperation with other regions. The delegates of the Asia Pacific
region look forward to finding powerful and efficient solutions to regional solutions
and global agreements.