United Nations Environment Programme, 2012

Committee Blogs
Topic 1

The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment in Conflict and Peacebuilding

Unlike the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Program was not founded in response to world conflict. However, with the evolving nature of violent international conflict and findings that an increasing percentage of these conflicts are linked to natural resources, the committee has responded to the undeniable link between natural resources, the environment, conflict and peace-building. Natural resources are not often the sole cause of armed conflict. However, they can be implicated in all phases of the conflict cycle by contributing to the beginning of conflict, supporting and sustaining conflict, and weakening peacemaking.

Fortunately, the environment also has a hand in peacebuilding. It is a perfect promoter of economic recovery, sustainable development, and confidence building between differing nations. Ironically, areas of conflict are fertile opportunities for sustainable development. Often times, these violent conflicts are fueled by a social, economic, and ecological imbalance. Strategic sustainable development would not only address the underlying problem, but also unify the conflicted parties.

While armed conflict can be seen as a symptom of a hostile environment, the environment is also a victim of armed conflict. The environment is often used as a weapon during conflict; there are numerous historical examples of destroying ecosystems to harm the opposing party. And while the political and infrastructural aspects of a country can be mended after peace agreements have been signed, environmental degradation caused by armed conflict threatens a people’s livelihood for years to come. As a result, UNEP has analyzed the legal framework protecting environment during times of conflict and maintains that there needs to be a reform of sorts that will better protect the environment, and consequently those who rely on the environment, during and after times of armed conflict.

With a rapidly increasing population and demand for natural resources, there is a significant possibility that armed conflict will increase as well. Delegates will be challenged to address the role of natural resources in promoting and ending armed conflict while also considering how to best protect the environment.
 

Topic 2

Urban Environmental Planning

The United Nations Environment Program is charged with ensuring that the world attains sustainable development, especially as the world moves towards rapid urbanization. Cities and urban areas have come to define the future. With half of the world living in urban settlements, they have become major players in UNEP’s goal to protect the environment. 

Cities have large ecological footprints. The use of agricultural or forest land for urban development, deforestation to meet fuel demands, air pollution caused by industrial greenhouse gas emissions, and poor waste management all impact the environment beyond the city’s physical borders. The rapid growth of urban areas puts an overwhelming pressure on the environment. For example, the intense demand for water often causes cities and urban areas to tap into its natural resource in unsustainable ways.

However, the environment also dictates how a city’s population lives. Deteriorating environmental conditions have a negative effect on human health and welfare, especially for the urban poor. The mismanagement of waste that affects the quality of water and the air pollution caused by industrialization pose serious health risks for the city’s residents. Particularly for the urban poor, the lack of environmental planning leads to unsanitary lifestyles, inadequate access to safe drinking water, and increased health risks. 

With cities and urban areas becoming the norm for the future, governments need to take environmental planning into consideration. While cities have large ecological footprints, they are also the perfect mediums of change; as much as urbanization impacts the environment, the breadth of environmental planning is just as vast. Delegates will be challenged to apply UNEP’s mandate at the city and local level in addressing urban environmental planning as a viable and necessary policy change.
 

Resources
Downloads: 
application/pdf iconUNEP.pdf
Email: 
unep.nhsmun@imuna.org

 

Director: Elaine Song

University of Pennsylvania

 

Assistant Director, Glenn Cantave

University of Michigan
 

National High School Model United Nations | New York City, NY

2012 Committees