Contact: ec[at]bermun.de

Environment Committee

We, Maha Olschowsky from the Berlin Brandenburg International School, and Nora Rossberg from the John F. Kenndy School, will have the honor of serving as chairs for the Environment Committee this year. We are already looking forward to the Conference and hope you are too! In order to ensure that our debate is as interesting and exciting as possible, please research the topics thoroughly. This will make your experience at BERMUN much more rewarding and worthwhile. Every delegate is expected to come prepared with at least one resolution on one of the topics and some additional clauses for the other topic. Of course it would be best to write a resolution on both of the two topics so that you are able to participate most actively in debate.

To help you start with your preparation, we have included summaries about the two topics that will be discussed in this year’s Environment Committee. In addition, we have included some research links to provide ideas of where to find more information.

If you have any questions while preparing for the Conference, do not hesitate to contact us at ec(at)bermun.de. We will be glad to help you!

Yours sincerely,
Nora Rossberg and Maha Olschowsky
Chairs of the Environment Committee

Ensuring Ecological Sustainability in Times of Economic Crisis:

Ecological sustainability refers to the maintenance of biological systems at a diverse and productive level over time. The wellbeing of the human population depends on the health of its environment, which is only possible through the responsible use of natural resources. The recent economic crisis has hit the world hard, and priorities have been altered so that the path towards ecological sustainability is threatened. Governments are concerned with the short-term resolution of the crisis at hand and put-off the ever pressing issue of the environment. In the meantime, climate change, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and many other environmental threats continue to escalate. According to the WWF, the world is using 30% more natural resources than can be replenished. By 2050, the world is predicted to use two times as many resources as can be replenished. Especially in these times, the world must take responsibility for the planet and not strike it from its list of priorities.

The slowing of economic growth causes an increase in the number of people living in poverty. This is further connected to impact on the environment. For example, when faced with severe financial hardships, people find it difficult to welcome protected areas on land nearby that they would otherwise use for grazing livestock or agriculture. In addition, proper waste disposal, among other things, loses priority next to the struggle to pay for basic living necessities. Furthermore, the degradation of the environment, in particular natural resources such as water, soil, forests, and fish endanger the health of millions. According to the World Bank, approximately 6 million people die yearly and many more suffer health side-effects in developing countries from causes related to natural resource degradation. These include diseases from contaminated water, pollution, and toxic chemicals. Another threat is the increased vulnerability to natural disasters felt by regions subjected to environmental degradation. Climate change threatens international efforts against inequality and poverty and must be addressed with higher priority. Already effects can be felt in the form of increased exposure to droughts, floods, and storms. The world’s poorest people and most delicate ecosystems have already felt the effects and the need to adapt.

One of the root causes of the financial crises the world is experiencing is the result of environmental degradation. The increase in food and oil prices made it more difficult for households to pay their mortgages, speeding up the real estate market crisis. This real estate market crisis eventually led to the global economic crisis we are experiencing now. Trying to rebuild the economy based on similar consumption habits would not bring the world out of the financial crisis because oil and grain prices would soon soar, just as the economy would start to recover. Instead the answer is environmental sustainability. In order to accomplish this, public investment will need to be put into industries such as green buildings, electrically powered cars, renewable energy, public transport, efficient irrigation systems, etc. Through investment into a new sustainable economy, the world could achieve two things at once: recover from the financial crisis and combat threats to the environment. This new economy would promise greater food, energy, and climate security.

The world must realize the gravity of the situation and act. Although the financial crisis is a great burden, it is also an opportunity for change!

Research Links:

• http://www.un.org
• http://www.unep.org
• http://unep.org/greeneconomy/
• http://new.unep.org/greeneconomy/docs/GEIPavan1DecGeneva.pdf
• http://www.fao.org
• http://www.worldbank.org
• http://www.undp.org
• http://www.unido.org
• http://www.panda.org/
• http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/aboutcc/problems/
• http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/conservation/one_planet_living/
• http://www.adbi.org/
• http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/environ.shtml
• http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/interactive/financialcrisis/outcomedoc80509.pdf
• http://www.adbi.org/research.global.financial.crisis/
• http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/finance09/summary.pdf
• http://www.goethe.de/ges/soz/thm/oew/en4922410.htm
• http://unep.org/ecosystemmanagement/Introduction/tabid/293/language/en-US/Default.aspx http://www.pik-potsdam.de/news
• http://www.pik-potsdam.de/index_html?set_language=en
• http://jmecelabblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/economic-crisis-%E2%80%9Cthe-perfect-excuse%E2%80%9D-to-avoid-environmental-commitments/