united nations environment programme - bankground guide

ROME MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2013 EDITION

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UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME-

BACKGROUND GUIDE

PREPARED BY:

Ms. CIGLIANO Agnese

Chair, United Nations Environment

Programme

Rome Model UN 2013;

AND

Mr. GAMAL EL-DIN Moustafa

Director, United Nations Environment Programme

Rome Model UN 2013


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CONTENTS

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME- BACKGROUND GUIDE .......................................................................... 1

PRESENTATION, CHAIRPERSON AND DIRECTOR UNEP- ROMEMUN 2013 ......................................................................... 4

Chair - AGNESE CIGLIANO ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Director - MUSTAFA GAMAL EL-DIN ............................................................................................................................... 4

History and characteristics of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ........................................................ 7

The timely role of the UNEP ........................................................................................................................................... 8

TOPIC A: Target 7.a ........................................................................................................................................................... 10

Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of

environmental resources .............................................................................................................................................. 10

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 10

Key terms and important principles ......................................................................................................................... 14

Biological Diversity .................................................................................................................................................... 14

Biosafety ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Natural Ecosystems ...................................................................................................................................................... 16

Natural Resources ......................................................................................................................................................... 17

Human Rights ................................................................................................................................................................ 18

UN Actions in this field ................................................................................................................................................. 19

Current situation ........................................................................................................................................................... 20

Topic 2: MDG 7.C .............................................................................................................................................................. 22

Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic

sanitation. ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22

Where do we stand? ..................................................................................................................................................... 24

Facts and statistics about the current situation ........................................................................................................... 25

Progress and past UN actions towards achieving target 7.C ........................................................................................ 26

Challenges and concerns regarding target 7.C ............................................................................................................. 29

Growing population: ................................................................................................................................................. 29


3

Poverty: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29

Water scarcity: .......................................................................................................................................................... 30

BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................................................. 33


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PRESENTATION, CHAIRPERSON AND DIRECTOR UNEP-

ROMEMUN 2013

CHAIR - AGNESE CIGLIANO- [email protected]

Hello everyone, I’m Agnese Cigliano, I’m Italian and I’m currently completing a five years bachelor

degree in Law at the Federico II University in Naples. During the fall semester I studied at the

Palacký University of Olomouc in Czech Republic where I studied Comparative Tax and Financial

Law, Legal Theory and Czech Language. I’ve already completed a master degree in Euro Project

Manager and I’m registered in the European Register of Euro-Projects Designers & Managers, too.

From October 2011 I’m also involved in the activities of Challenge Future, a youth think thank on

environment responsible for the publication of the Future Book every two years. For the Future

Book 2 (2012), I wrote the article “All the things we can reuse” on industrial archeology and reuse

of infrastructures and buildings. I’m also working as UN Online Volunteer for two different

organizations in Africa, the PAAJAF Foundation in Ghana and the Association for Sustainable

Development Livelihoods Initiatives of Cameroon, also known as SUSTAIN Cameroon. My passion

for muns started in 2010 just at the first edition of the RomeMUN: after 8 different MUNs

experience be the chair of the UNEP committee at the new edition of the most fascinating MUN I

know, is one of the greatest satisfaction of my life!

DIRECTOR - MUSTAFA GAMAL EL-DIN- [email protected]

I’m Mustafa Gamal el-din, a senior university student at Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. I currently

work with MUN in Egypt on preparing delegates for the annual conference through academic and

practical workshops. I was always interested in international affairs, diplomacy, human rights and

politics in general. Ever since my first MUN experience, I knew that is what I wanted to build a

career in. I was a chairperson in the JuniorMUN 2011 conference in Cairo, Egypt. In the same year,


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I was also a Director in MUN at Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. My commitment to MUN grows

further by time, and now I just can’t get enough of it. I strongly believe that MUN gives you more

than what it takes from you; from time and effort. My enthusiasm and passion led me to the

decision of applying for a chairperson position this year to be able to deliver my experience, vision,

academics and skills to new MUNers.

VERY IMPORTANT: PLEASE REMIND THAT EACH COUNTRY HAS TO

PRESENT A COPY OF THE POSITION PAPER ABOUT THE TWO AGENDA

TOPICS OF THIS COMMITTEE BY MARCH 1ST

, EMAILING IT AS

ATTACHMENT IN WORD FORMAT TO [email protected]

ALL THE INDICATIONS ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE A POSITION PAPER IS

NOT IN THIS GUIDE BUT IN THE DELEGATE GUIDE (AVAILABLE ON

ROMEMUN FORUM)


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COUNTRIES REPRESENTED AT UNEP ROMEMUN 2013 EDITION

Albania

Argentina

Australia

Bangladesh

Central African Republic

Chile

China

Colombia

Czech Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

France

Germany

India

Italy

Malaysia

Mexico

Netherlands

Pakistan

Republic of Korea

Russian Federation

Togo

United Kingdom

United States

Zambia


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HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT

PROGRAMME (UNEP)

The United Nations Environment Programme, also known as UNEP, is a governing council and an

anchor institution in the system of the Global Environmental Governance (GEG), that coordinates

all the United Nations activities related to the environment. The UNEP was founded in June 1972

in the field of the Stockholm United Nations Conference on Human Environment. The chapter

“Institutional and Financial Arrangements for International Environmental Co-operation” of the

Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment1, includes the

recommendation for the creation of a Governing Council for Environmental Programmes, just the

governing council that today is the United Nations Environment Programme. The paragraph

entitled “Governing Council for United Nations Environment Programme” specifies in three

operative clauses the composition of the future UNEP, its functions and responsibilities and

regulates the sharing of comments and report with the General Assembly through the Economic

and Social Council.

The UNEP, with headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya), is structured in six different divisions:

- Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA),

- Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI),

- Division of Technology, industry and Economics (DTIE),

- Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC),

- Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (DELC), and

- Division of Communications and Public Information (DCPI).

The Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme2

specifies that the role of the UNEP is to be “The leading environmental authority that sets the

1 (XXV11). Institutional and Financial Arrangements for International Environmental Co-operation, Report of the

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm 1972,

http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=97&ArticleID=1493&l=en

2 Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme,

http://www.unep.org/newyork/Portals/129/docs/nd.pdf


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global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the Environmental

dimension of sustainable development within the UN system, and serves as an authoritative

advocate for the global environment”. Moreover, the UNEP Medium-term Strategy 2010-20133

specifies in the 25th clause that “The work of UNEP will also continue to focus on contributing to

the achievement of the relevant Millennium Development Goals and enhancing the understanding

of agreed international environmental goals and targets.”

The central role of the UNEP in our time led many countries, and especially all the member

countries of the European Union, to call for a significant strengthening of the UNEP. There are

many reasons for this reform: the budget of the Programme is insufficient to carry out its

mandate, there’s a lack of voluntary funding, a lack of authority, the headquarters in Nairobi are

far from the centres of political power and the fact that it is structured as a programme and not as

a specialised agency creates confusion on the precise role of the UNEP in the UN system.4

Considering all these aspects, at the moment the United Nations and the Global Environmental

Governance (GEG) are considering the proposal to transform the UNEP in a new United Nations

Environment Organization (UNEO) on the model of the World Health Organization (WHO)5.

THE TIMELY ROLE OF THE UNEP

The 2nd clause of the paragraph “Governing Council for United Nations Environment Programme”

describes and specifies all the functions and responsibilities of the UNEP.6

After reading and analyzing the clause, it’s easy to understand that the UNEP plays a key role in

our time, a time in which the main challenges are to face the loss of natural resources and to

3 UNEP Medium-term Strategy 2010-2013, Environment for Development, http://www.unep.org/PDF/FinalMTSGCSS-

X-8.pdf

4 Richard G. Tarasofsky, International Environmental Governance: Strengthening the UNEP, February 2002,

http://archive.unu.edu/inter-linkages/docs/IEG/Tarasofsky.pdf

5 Paris Call for Action, Appendix III in “Global Environmental Governance, Perspectives on the Current Debate”,

available at http://marukuwato.multiply.com/journal/item/144?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Fjournal%2Fitem

6 (XXV11). Institutional and Financial Arrangements for International Environmental Co-operation, Report of the

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm 1972,

http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=97&ArticleID=1493&l=en


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rethink global lifestyles in a sustainable way. The Six Priority Areas7 of the United Nations

Environment Programme for the Mid-term Strategy 2010-2013 give us an idea of the main

problems to be faced. The areas identified by the UNEP are: (i) environmental governance, (ii)

harmful substances and hazardous waste, (iii) resource efficiency, (iv) disasters and conflicts, (v)

ecosystem management, and (vi) climate change.

The role of the UNEP is even more important if we consider that sustainable development is not

merely related to environment, but also to poverty eradication, inequality reduction and inclusive

growth. As the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon once said, “We need to dramatically change

the way we value and measure progress. Thinking solely in terms of quantitative growth, as

measured by gross domestic product, is not adequate”8.

7 UNEP Six Priority Areas Factsheets,

http://www.unep.org/publications/contents/title_search.asp?search=priority+areas&image.x=0&image.y=0

8 Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Remarks at Informal General Assembly Plenary on Global Sustainability Panel

Report, 16th march 2012,

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1481#.ULJGkK7P3YQ


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TOPIC A: TARGET 7.A

INTEGRATE THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTO COUNTRY POLICIES AND

PROGRAMMES AND REVERSE THE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

The chief moral obligation of the 21st Century is to build a green economy that is strong

enough to lift people out of poverty. Those communities that were locked out of the last

century's pollution-based economy must be locked into the new, clean and renewable

economy. Our youth need green-collar jobs.9

Van Jones, environmental advocate

INTRODUCTION

The dissemination of sustainable development in world economies is one of the major points in

the current policy of the United Nations. Indeed the Target 7.A of the Millennium Development

Goals states: “Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and

programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources”.

Following the definition of the Our Common Future document published by the United Nations

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987, sustainable development is

“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs”. 10

The concept of sustainable development includes the three policy areas of economy, environment

and society. One of the model used to explain this concept is the “Three Pillar Basic Model”11

, also

9 Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy, How one solution can fix our two biggest problems

10 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, Annex to the document

A/42/427 - Development and International Co-operation: Environment, http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm

11 To study in deep the topic of “Three Pillar Basic Model” (the three dimensions of sustainability) you could read the

article “Envisioning sustainability three-dimensionally” by Rodrigo Lozano, 2008,

http://cms.unige.ch/isdd/IMG/pdf/SchemasDDtexte8-1.pdf


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known as the “Three Circles Model”. The model

shows sustainable development as a result of

environment in terms of conservation, economy in

terms of growth and society in terms of equity.

As matter of fact, development is related to

continuous growth and human and environmental

well-being, but is this valid for sustainable

development as well? One of the greatest challenge of sustainable development is to maintain a

constant balance between human lifestyle and well-being and the preservation of natural

resources and ecosystems. This is why we can’t talk about sustainable growth: the concept of

growth include also the idea of the continuous growth of natural resources, but on the other hand

we know that natural resources are unable to grow. Sustainable growth, in other terms, is a

paradox of our time.

A second model that we could take into consideration in understanding sustainable development

is the “Egg of Sustainability”12

, designed in 1994 by the International Union for the Conservation of

Nature (IUCN). The model has the same blemish of the “Three Pillar Basic Model” not showing the

12

Marco Keiner, History, Definition(s) and Models of “Sustainable Development”, fig.5, http://e-

collection.library.ethz.ch/eserv/eth:27943/eth-27943-01.pdf

Three Pillar Basic Model of Sustainable Development


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role of the human quality of life in the system of sustainable development, but has the merit to

draw people/communities as part of the ecosystem. The aim of the “Egg of Sustainability” is to

demonstrate the interdependency of people/communities and ecosystem: the well-being of the

society is possible only is both communities and ecosystem are well. On one hand social and

economic development is possible only if the environment offers the necessary resources, on the

other hand the ecosystem could be able to offer its benefits only if the society respects it and

ensure its outliving. The third model that we have to take into consideration to understand the

sustainable development is the “Prism of Sustainability”13

, developed in 1997 by the

German Wuppertal Institute. Even if many researchers criticized the model because of its

confusion in terms of descriptions and analysis, the “Prism of Sustainability” usefully shows all the

aspects related to sustainability and what could influence policies in the field of sustainable

development.

Moving from theory to practice, we could consider the key policy tools recommended by the

UNEP in the “Enabling Conditions. Supporting the transition to a global green economy”14

chapter

in the Report entitled “Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and

13

Anke Valentin, Joachim H. Spangenberg, A guide to community sustainability indicators, 2000,

http://www.academia.edu/339495/Indicators_for_Sustainable_Communities

14 UNEP Green Economy Report, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty

Eradication, http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/greeneconomyreport/tabid/29846/default.aspx


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Poverty Eradication”. Following the definition of the first key massage of the “Enabling Conditions”

chapter, “Enabling a green economy means creating a context in which economic activities

increases human well-being and social equity, and significantly reduces environmental risks and

ecological scarcities”. The proposed policy tools for the promotion of sustainability are:

- promoting investment and spending in areas that stimulate a green economy;

- addressing environmental externalities and market failures;

- limiting government spending in areas that deplete natural capital;

- establishing sound regulatory frameworks.

The 1st

Annex of the report also analyses scenarios and possible policy solutions in different

context helping Governments in implementing sustainable development.15

In addition to all the proposals and suggestions, the UNEP firmly recommends the strengthening

of international governance in this field. International co-operation is a necessary starting point in

the field of sustainable development more than in others: the involvement of few countries is not

enough considering that we don’t have boundaries for pollution and we all have to go in the same

direction do achieve a relevant change. Moreover, a partial application of sustainable

development, with all its effects on economy, is unfair for the stability and the order of countries

that apply these measures. For many years countries discussed who should be responsible for

environmental problems and climate change and at the end of colonialism many undeveloped

countries claimed the “right” to pollute as well as developed ones. The Millennium Declaration has

finally solved this matter clearly stating that every country must engage all its efforts in achieving

the first 7 MDGs through global partnerships for development (recalled in the MDG 8). But we

could easily understand that the problem still exist. This is why sustainability and green economy

are the greatest challenges of our time. The sustainable development is the only instrument we

have to guarantee the well-being of humanity and to preserve the planet for future generations16

.

15

Annex 1 - Enabling Conditions: A sector overview, “Enabling Conditions. Supporting the transition to a global green

economy”, UNEP Green Economy Report, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and

Poverty Eradication, http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/greeneconomyreport/tabid/29846/default.aspx

16 Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Remarks at Informal General Assembly Plenary on Global Sustainability Panel

Report, 16th march 2012,

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1481#.ULJGkK7P3YQ


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Actually we have to figure out that we cannot imagine a development that is not sustainable:

development without sustainability is not development at all, it is only a common path to

destruction.

KEY TERMS AND IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES

Taking the mindset of sustainable development and green economy we have to remind some

basic principles and we couldn’t get relevant changes without look at these. For a comprehensive

application of green economy we have to take

into consideration biological diversity,

biosafety, natural ecosystems, natural

resources and human rights, too17

.

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Biological diversity is composed by all the

varieties of life on Earth. In the field of

sustainable development and green economy,

respect biological diversity means interact

with the environment and use natural

resources conserving and sustainably using

biological diversity through an ecosystem-

based approach. In 1992 United Nations

Member States adopted the Convention on Biological Diversity18

during the first Earth Summit

(United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro with the

main target of promote sustainable economic development. The protection of biodiversity has to

be a common objective not only at international and national level, but also at the level of the civil

society. The loss of biodiversity interferes with essential ecological functions and also with the

simplest activities of our life being related with everything we take and use from the nature.

17

UNEP Training Manual on International Environmental Law,

http://www.unep.org/environmentalgovernance/Portals/8/documents/training_Manual.pdf

18 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, http://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf


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Unfortunately, all the data about biological diversity and conservations are very alarming:

- based on current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species – including one in

eight of the world’s bird species – face extinction,

- some 65 million hectares of forest were lost in the developing world between 1990 and 1995

because of over-harvesting,

- more than half the world’s coral reefs are currently at risk.

This situation is made even more alarming by the missing of the 2010 target for biodiversity

conservation (Target 7.B of the MDGs). On the other hand we have also to consider that every

year there are much more countries involved in the international co-operation for the protection

of biological diversity and, as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noticed in the introduction of

the Global Biodiversity Outlook 319

, “More land and sea areas are being protected, more countries

are fighting the serious threat of invasive alien species, and more money is being set aside for

implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity”.

As the former Prime Minister Of Japan Naoto Kan wrote in his article “Biodiversity’s benefits”20

published in September 2010 in “Our Planet”, “It is now time for us to recognize the benefits

derived from biodiversity, halt its further loss, and take concrete actions to recover it”.

BIOSAFETY

The main function of biosafety is to ensure safety in the use of biotechnologies and this topic is

strictly related to genetic engineering and the use of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs). The

main problem in this ambit is to find a safe way to don’t transfer the modified genes to natural

species, both plants and animal, with unknown and uncontrollable effects. The concept of

biosafety includes all the measures, policies and procedures aimed at “minimizing potential risks

that biotechnology may pose to the environment and human health”21

. Strictly related to

19

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 (GBO-3), 2010,

http://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/gbo/gbo3-final-en.pdf

20 “Our Planet” The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme, September 2010,

http://www.unep.org/pdf/OP_sept/2010/EN/OP-2010-09-EN-FULLVERSION.pdf

21 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNEP, Biosafety and the environment, An introduction to the

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, 2003, http://www.unep.org/dgef/Portals/43/cpbs-unep-cbd-en.pdf


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biological diversity, biosafety is taken into consideration in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety22

within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. For the implementation of these

principles at national level it is crucial that countries establish and strengthen laws and standards

to reduce the potential risks of GMOs.

NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS

Is not sufficient to respect plants and animals species singularly, we have also to respect their

habitat without compromising the natural state of things and preventing any change of their

physical and ecological characteristic. Factors as population increasing, agricultural activities or

tourism have to be re-thought in a conscious and sustainable way.

They wide range of benefits that Earth’s ecosystems actually provide to people are know as

“ecosystem goods and services” and these are strictly connected to human well-being. Following

the aim of evaluate all the aspects of ecosystem health and ecosystem goods and services, the

United Nations promoted the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment initiative (MA) in 2000 and its

report was completed in 200523

. The MA was also aimed at helping the World Summit on

Sustainable Development (WSSD) in choosing among present options and new approaches and at

making the achieving of the MDGs easier. Societies have the possibility to amplify the benefits

reached form ecosystem goods and services, but during last years the human impact has produced

only damages. Human bad impact on natural ecosystem has as final result a direct impact on

human well-being, indeed ecosystem changes could affect it in the following ways:

- destabilization of society’s security in terms of possible catastrophes and weakening of social

relations within the community,

- harder access to basic material for a good life including water purification,

- weakness of common levels of health including a weakness of cultural services related to

recreational and spiritual benefits,

- cracking of of social relations and worsening of the quality of the human experience,

22

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/text/

23 European Commission, Ecosystem Goods and Services, September 2009,

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/ecosystem.pdf


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- influencing of freedoms and choices.

It’s now clear that natural ecosystems have a crucial role in all our lives even if they seem so far

from our daily experiences.

Ecosystem Services and Their Links to Human Well-being24

NATURAL RESOURCES

We could define natural resources as “stocks of materials that exist in the natural environment

that are both scarce and economically useful in production or consumption, either in their raw

state or after a minimal amount of processing”25

.

24

Ecosystems and Human Well-being, A report of the Conceptual Framework Working Group of the Millennium

Ecosystems Assessment, Island Press, 2003, http://pdf.wri.org/ecosystems_human_wellbeing.pdf


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In the field of natural resources we have to consider two main aspects: the first aspect is the loss

of natural resources and the second one is the use of renewable resources. Both concepts are

related to the economic theory of exhaustibility and it’s clear that non-renewable resources are all

that resources unable to grow or renew themselves over time, while renewable resources are all

that resources able to periodically reproduce themselves. The two aspects are strictly related and

are central to this issue because energy is the starting point of economy and development. We

have also to remind the role of natural resources in conflicts and gender gap. For what regards the

relation between natural resources and conflicts, it is very important to promote responsible

resource management in post-conflict countries and to recommend strict measures against the

illegal exploitation of natural resources26

. In the field of women’s access to natural resources we

could mention the proposals of the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO):

- promote gender review process to make women’s organizations able to advocate and finalize

progresses,

- elaborate national toolkits on gender indicators to measure women’s access to and control of

natural resources,

- promote gender-responsive budget initiatives, that are already ongoing in over 50 countries.

It’s very important to remind that progress on gender equality, recalled also by the MDG 3,

accelerate the achievement of all 8 MDGs.

HUMAN RIGHTS

In the last years International lawyers and environmentalists have worked to develop a relation

between human rights and environment and introduce the environmental right worldwide. This

could have an important impact on indigenous people that are always subjected to International

treaties and decisions on environment without having the possibility to take part in negotiations,

25

World Trade Report 2010, II - Trade in Natural Resources, B. Natural Resources: Definitions, trade patterns and

globalization, http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/wtr10-2b_e.pdf

26 United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa, Transforming a Peace Liability

into a Peace Asset, Conference Report, 2006


19

but it’s also very important for everyone considering that every year more than 2 million people

die due to pollutions27

.

An important example of environmental right is given by the European Law: the European

Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950 ECHR)28

doesn’t

include the environmental right, but the European Court of Human Rights has elaborated this

combining different dispositions of the 1950 ECHR. The European Court has drawn this new right

piecing together the right to life (Article 2, 1950 ECHR), the prohibition of torture and degrading

treatment (Article 3), the rights to liberty and security as a person (Article 5), the right of tribunal

(Article 6), the right to privacy (Article 8), the right to freedom and peaceful assembly (Article 11)

and the peaceful enjoyment of possessions principle (Article 1 of the First Protocol). Taking into

consideration this best practice on the theme, also other Regional Organizations are developing

their human rights instruments to ensure the environmental right.

UN ACTIONS IN THIS FIELD

The first step of the United Nations in the field of sustainability has been the UN Conference on

the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972 that produced its Declaration aimed at “inspire and

guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and the enhancement of the human

environment”. The principles of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human

Environment are actually the environmental manifesto of our times.

In 1980 the International Union for the Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCN) published the

World Conservation Strategy (WCS) that include a precursor concept of sustainable development.

Then in 1982 the WCS initiatives produced the World Charter of Nature, approved during the 48th

session of the General Assembly.

27



28 European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950 ECHR),

http://www.echr.coe.int/NR/rdonlyres/D5CC24A7-DC13-4318-B457-5C9014916D7A/0/CONVENTION_ENG_WEB.pdf


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The 1983 sees the creation of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)

then constituted as independent body one year later and 1987 the WCED produced the report Our

Common Future that includes the definition of sustainable development that we still follow today.

1992 is a very important year in the field of environmental sustainability. Indeed in June the first

UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro and

adopted an agenda for environment and development in the 21st Century: the Agenda 21. In

1993, UNCED instituted the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to follow-up on the

implementation of Agenda 21.

In 1997 the GA 19th Special Session (UNGASS-19) took place and designed a "Programme for the

Further Implementation of Agenda 21"

2002 is the year of the first follow-up of the UNCED, also know as Rio+10.

With the Resolution A/RES/64/236, in 2009 the GA decided to organize the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in 2012, just the conference that we now call

Rio+20.

The International Community has recently renewed its commitment to this issue in the United

Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 that took place from the 20th to the

22nd June of this year.

CURRENT SITUATION

Following the data of the MDG Monitor29

powered by the UN, “Nine planet Earths would be

required to absorb the world’s carbon if every person had the same energy-rich lifestyle as people

in developed countries”: this may give an idea of the problem’s scale and of the need for an

effective solution.

The Humanity’s Ecological Footprint first exceeded global biocapacity in the 1980s, in 2003 the

demand was exceeding the supply by about 25%30

.

29

MDG Monitor, http://www.mdgmonitor.org/

30 WWF and Global Footprint Network, Africa, Ecological footprint and human well-being, 2008


21

Actually, to achieve sustainable development, all countries have to meet on average basis the

minimum of two criteria:

- a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0,8 at least,

- an Ecological Footprint lower than 1,8 global hectares per person.

The situation is alarming since in 2003 only a number of people between 10 and 30 million in Latin

America and the Caribbean was able to meet the minimum criteria for sustainability31

.

One of the effects of the economic crisis has been that the trend of emissions of carbon dioxide

(CO2) has been reversed due to the slowdown of economic activities, and so emissions decreased

from 14.1 billion of metric tones in 2008 to 13.2 in 2009 in developed regions32

. Unfortunately

emissions increased in developing countries but, on the other hand, they increased at a lower rate

compared to the past as further evidencing of the new trend.

In this time of reforms and re-evaluation, we finally have the possibility to create a new

economical order following the principles of green economy and sustainable development. We

will have the possibility to build a new and more equal system in our society and this is actually

the main challenge that we have to face.

31

WWF and Global Footprint Network, Africa, Ecological footprint and human well-being, 2008

32 The Millennium Development Goal Report 2012,

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2012/English2012.pdf


22

TOPIC 2: MDG 7.C

HALVE, BY 2015, THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO

SAFE DRINKING WATER AND BASIC SANITATION.

“If an economy is to sustain progress, it must satisfy the basic principles of ecology. If it

does not, it will decline and eventually collapse. There is no middle ground.” –

Lester Brown33

Since the industrial revolution, humankind being concerned with industrial development and

evolution of life, and disregarding the effect of developmental projects on the environment, the

global community realized the importance of establishing an international organization that could

act as the environmental conscience of the United Nations. In June of 1972, the United Nations

Environmental Programme came into existence with concerns about all issues affecting the

environment directly or indirectly due to wrongful human practices during the development

process. From that perspective, the idea of sustainable development was brought up, and

manifested as years got closer to the new millennium, until the launching of the broadest time-

bound global project in the history of the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals

(MDG’s)34

. The project that debuted with the new millennium aims at ensuring a sustainable

future for the next generations, with specific targets that tackle global issues such as: poverty,

health, individual and collective rights, and partnership for development. With all the dramatic

33

Lester Russel Brown (born March 28, 1934) is an American environmental analyst, founder of the Worldwatch

Institute. In the mid-1970s, Brown helped pioneer the concept of sustainable development. Since then, he received

many prizes and awards, including, the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his

"contributions to solving global environmental problems."

34 Millennium Development Goals: in 2000, right after the Millennium Summit, 189 world leaders adopted the United

Nations Millennium Declaration that resulted in the establishment of these eight international development goals,

each targeting certain areas affecting our world. The MDGs are considered one of the most agreed-upon project in the

history of the United Nations.


23

changes our environment is encountering, the project had to include goals that address the

protection and the preservation of our resources, while simultaneously maintaining the essential

development process across the globe, and that is typically what sustainable development

promotes: advancement and prosperity of humankind while preserving our environment and

resources for the following generations.

“Without environmental sustainability, economic stability and social cohesion cannot be

achieved” - Phil Harding35

In both liquid and frozen forms, water covers about 75% of our planet's surface and it is what

distinguishes Earth from any other planet in our solar system. However, only 1% of them are

available for human consumption. Therefore, concerns on water availability keep rising, leading to

what is now known as “water scarcity”. Moreover, as mentioned in the 2006 Human Development

Report, water is considered the backbone for all socio-economic developmental ventures and for

the nourishment of our lives and that it is undoubtedly one of nature's most valuable gifts to

mankind36

. Essential to life as water is, the survival of a human being depends on it and it is

necessary for maintaining proper health conditions. According to Sabina Alkire Author of the

Human Development Research Paper 2011, human development is about creating a convenient

environment for people to realize their potentials, discovering what they can do or become and

the freedom to make their own choices in life.

Surprisingly enough, water pervades all aforementioned human development aspects. When

people are deprived access to clean sanitized water at home, their freedom of choice, their right

to live a decent life and their right to maintain proper health conditions all are disaffiliated by

illness, and poverty. Recently, Water has become a determinant of the quality of life and people

are now more concerned about the quality of water they drink realizing that drinking healthy well-

35

Philip (Phil) Harding (born 25 January 1950) is a British field archaeologist. He has become a familiar face on the

Channel 4 television series Time Team. Trained on excavations with the Bristol University Extra Mural Department and

other bodies from 1966, he has been a professional archaeologist since 1971

36Chapter 2: water for human consumption, Human Development Report (HDR) 2006:Power, poverty and the global

water crisis.


24

treated water is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. Water scarcity is both a natural and a man-

made phenomenon. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)37

, reports state that

there is enough freshwater on the planet for seven billion people but is the distribution thereof is

uneven and too much of this scarce resource is wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed.

Hence, water scarcity does not mean the shrinkage of the amount of available water, but it is a

matter of management and distribution. Sustainable management of water resources is an

essential step towards the eradication of poverty, hence addressing such mismanagement

requires inter-sectoral actions to manage water resources, meaning all sectors contributing to the

economy using water for industrial or domestic uses are to be held accountable for bridging the

gap between the increasing rate of demand and shortage in supply of adequate sanitized water

resources.

WHERE DO WE STAND?

Most of the international conventions and declarations on human rights include the right to safe

drinking water and sanitation amongst them. However, this basic human right has not been

recognized or acknowledged as a universal individual right until July 2010, when the General

Assembly adopted resolution A/64/292 in which 122 countries officially acknowledged the right to

safe drinking water and basic sanitation, following intense on-the-ground work and negotiations

on a global scale which lead to the realization that the right to water and sanitation doesn’t only

fulfill one of the basic individual rights, but it is also a prerequisite to the full enjoyment of all

other human rights. In September 2010, the UN Human Rights Council took it further when it

adopted a new resolution A/HRC/RES/18/1 in its 18th

session in which it has taken the recognition

of the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as legally binding in international law. This

decision was the result of great collaborative efforts exerted by several UN bodies such as: UNDP,

WHO, FAO and the UNEP in taking our world one step closer to the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

37

FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization, was founded in October 1945 with a mandate to reduce poverty, raise

levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural

populations. Today, FAO is the largest autonomous agency within the United Nations system with 180 Member

Nations plus the European Community (Member Organization) and more than 3 700 staff members


25

Population growth, Urbanization, industrial development, and needs of enhancing agriculture are

all terms that appeared while the world was overwhelmed with human development.

Consequently, the demand on water increased exponentially, while simultaneously the realization

of the environment’s needs of such resource in the future kept growing. As a result, two obvious

dangers emerged. First, as competition on water intensifies people with less power, money and

rights are overstepped by people who are said to be more powerful. Second, for shared cross

border water resources, potential for tensions and disputes in water-stressed regions arise. The

international community now realizes that for the achievement of environment sustainability and

the MDG target 7.C in specific, massive efforts and negotiations should take place on a national

and global level.

FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION

According to the Rio+20 final declaration, nowadays, approximately one billion people lack access

to clean, safe drinking water, with disastrous variations by region. Only 61 percent of people in

sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean water, while in the Caribbean and Latin America, North

Africa and parts of Asia, 90 percent of people have access to safe water. This in return causes

inflation in the number of people who die each year, 4 million people on the average, due to

water related diseases like Cholera, Malaria and Hepatitis. More than 80 percent of them are

children under five. In Africa, lack of access to clean water has killed more people through diseases

than any war through weapons. Also women have to walk 16 hours, on the average, per week to

collect drinkable water. On the other hand, a typical individual in North America consumes about

500 liters of clean water each day; however the appropriate water requirement for consumption is

approximately 50 liters per day. Moreover, 2.5 billion people, which is equivalent to almost 35

percent of the world’s population, still lack basic sanitation, which subsequently increases deaths

rates due to hygienic diseases year after year. 5,000 children die every day from hygienic diseases

that are easy preventable by proper sanitation and improved hygiene. 80 percent of people

without basic sanitation live in rural areas.


26

Fig. emphasizes on adequate water supply in urban and rural areas38

Among the major problems that are responsible for putting the world, especially the developing

world, in this situation is the absence of prioritization. Insufficient attention is given from

governments to this sector due to several reasons such as: lack of financial resources, lack of

sustainability in supplying clean water and sanitation services and lack of awareness in regards to

the dangers of water and sanitation problems.

PROGRESS AND PAST UN ACTIONS TOWARDS ACHIEVING TARGET 7.C

The Millennium Development Goals framework includes, but not restricted to: translating the

global development agenda to eight goals that depend on each other, each goal is to be declined

into actionable targets that are measurable, while maintaining synergy between the goals and

targets. The 7th

MDG is subdivided into four inter-related global targets, each serving the

achievement of environmental sustainability by the designated deadline in 2015. this year in Rome

MUN, we are shedding the light on two of the most critical targets of MDG7 that UNEP is highly

38

Source: Millennium Development Goals Report, 2012


27

involved in attaining them, believing in their importance for achieving a state of sustainable, eco-

friendly, development.

Since the debut of the MDGs project in 2000, UNEP, along with all designated UN organs and

bodies, has been highly concerned with the achievement of all the eight MDGs, believing that they

are co-dependent and as important. Regarding MDG7, UNEP has carried out various projects,

missions and activities in several parts of the globe, with intense focus on developing countries

that lack clean water and sanitation the most. In Africa, UNEP, along with several UN organs and

national organizations, have carried out numerous projects, missions, and activities for providing

water deprived people with clean, safe drinking water facilities and sanitation services that are

sustainable in Gambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Gabon and its work is expanding to cover the whole

African Continent. In South Asia, the second lagging region in progress towards providing the MDG

targeted population with basic sanitation and adequate water supply. With roughly 65 percent of

the region’s population lack access to water and the huge gap between rural and urban areas

regarding water availability, UNEP managed to progress as it initiated projects and missions in the

region to promote importance of clean water and sanitation along with governments, and

establish sustainable water supply, serving large mass of people lacking water access. In the last

20 years, over 1 billion people gained access to safe drinking water and now, 88 percent of the

global population has access to safe drinking water and this percentage is expected to rise to 90 by

the MDGs deadline in 2015. About the same number, out of the 2.5 billion targeted people, were

provided with adequate sanitation services. Yet, the target is to halve the proportion of targeted

population, which if the trend persists, might not be attainable according to experts.


28

Fig. Shows progressing and lagging countries in regards to MDG739

One of the most important published reports to track progress on global environmental issues is

the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) report. Using the integrated environmental assessment

(IEA) methodology, UNEP has published four GEO reports thus far, which have analyzed

environmental state and trends at the global and regional levels. It also includes successes and

failures of projects serving the achievement of the MDGs. One of the reports that recently

summed up the progress towards reaching a state of sustainable development across the world is

the Rio+20 final declaration. The Rio+20 is also known as the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development which was held in Rio De Janiero, Brazil in June 2012, aiming at

compiling and tracking the progress of the economic and environmental goals, including the

MDGs, of the international community. Under the umbrella of the UNEP, another ambitious

39

Source: UNICEF media files.


29

initiative called “Decade for action: water for life 2005-2015”40

was set off after the General

Assembly in December 2003 has decided, after extensive negotiations about the water crisis and

its implications on several life aspects, to proclaim the period 2005 to 2015 “international decade

for action: water for life”. The main purpose of the initiative is to promote efforts to meet

international commitments made for solving the water and sanitation crises, especially the MDGs.

CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS REGARDING TARGET 7.C

Although great efforts have been exerted by the UN and other international organizations in

serving the targeted population of target 7.C, the current progress rate fall much below

expectations leaving the international community several challenges that if, not properly faced,

might lead to failure to meet the 2015 deadline. According to UNICEF and WHO, at the current

rate 605 million people will be without an improved drinking water source and 2.4 billion people

will lack access to improved sanitation facilities in 2015. Factors that acts as challenges and threats

to MDG 7.C include, and not restricted to:

GROWING POPULATION41

:

While the world’s population tripled in the 20th

century, the use of water has grown six times.

Within the next fifty years, the world population is said to increase by 40 percent. This huge

growth, along with urbanization and industrial development, will greatly increase the demand on

water, which will subsequently cause more tension and complications in serving the targeted MDG

7.C population.

POVERTY:

More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; two out of

three of them survive on less than USD 2 a day. It is clear that water crisis and poverty are

interrelated. In order to eliminate poverty, providing people with access to water is an essential

step to start with, and vice versa. The lack of basic public services as sanitation and clean water

40

Wate for life decade background guide, official water for life website, www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/background

41 Water crisis section, www.worldwatercouncil.org/watercrisis


30

supply is a primary measure of poverty and poverty, in the same time, is the primary obstacle to

fulfillment of basic public services.

WATER SCARCITY:

Along with poverty and population growth, water scarcity may hinder the achievement of the

desired result. Several regions in the world are now facing a state of water stress or shortage. In

Africa, 14 countries are said to be under water stress due to vigorous growth in population and

industrial development. It is stated by the Global Environment Outlook-3 that by 2025, 25

countries in Africa alone will suffer water scarcity, increasing the challenges to meeting the 2015

deadline.42

WATER MANAGEMENT:

Policies, regulations and legislations serving the achievement of target 7.C and all other targets are

key factors that contribute to the success or failure in meeting the MDGs deadline. According to

an assessment conducted by the African Development Bank in 2005, only 14 out of 34 countries in

Africa have policies and strategies regarding water resources, and only 16 out of 34 countries set

water as a priority for poverty reduction. Regulation mechanisms and management systems rarely

exists in developing countries, which are the most needy of it.43

SUSTAINABILITY:

Another important challenge several regions face is sustainability in providing access to safe water

and sanitation. Lots of successful projects in Africa and South Asia were carried out to provide

people with safe drinking water and basic sanitation services. Few years afterwards, water supply

was reduced and sanitation levels deteriorated again. Nowadays, providing people with clean

water and sanitation doesn’t seem to be the biggest problem, maintaining the same level of

42

“Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental sustainability, MDG7 background paper, UNEP and UN

Habitat compiled paper, September 2006.

43 Water supply and sanitation assessment, African Development Bank, September 2005.


31

services and water supply is the real challenge developing countries is facing to meet the 2015

deadline.

There is no doubt our world has encountered great positive transformation in the past 20 years.

People are now more aware of their rights, and they ask for it. Governments are also more aware

of their responsibilities towards their people, and are exerting massive efforts for fulfilling such

responsibilities. The international community is now concerned with the water crisis more than

ever, believing in the impacts it could imply on our world if it’s not strongly faced. However, tons

of work still needs to be done. Specific long term strategies need to be integrated within all UN

and national projects, policies and legislations that protect and preserve the right of the less

privileged in gaining sustainable access to clean, safe water and basic level of sanitation services

should also be incorporated within all UN activities, especially in developing countries.

Performance fell slightly short of the promise. Although several countries are strongly progressing

such as China, India and Brazil, several countries are on the verge of losing track of meeting the

2015 deadline, with only two regions (East Asia and Latin America) progressing on the water

supply and sanitation target. With current performance, Sub-Saharan Africa is to reach the water

target by 2040 and the sanitation target by 2076. South Asia is also 4 years off track, while Arab

states are 27 years off track of the target. With 55 countries off track of meeting the 2015 MDGs

deadline, the water target will be missed by 234 million people, while the sanitation target will be

missed by 430 million people with 76 countries off track44

. As shocking as the results might seem,

governments, national and international organizations should not turn a blind eye on such critical

statistics. Getting lagging countries back on track is not impossible; however it requires tighter

commitment and international collaboration from member states and all involved entities.

For people to pull themselves out of poverty, contribute positively and be productive in their

societies, granting their basic human rights is a prerequisite, two of which are adequate access to

water and basic level of sanitation.

44

Overview, Human Development Report (HDR) 2006:Power, poverty and the global water crisis.


32

“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious

diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe

drinking water, sanitation and basic health care.” Kofi Annan, Former United Nations

Secretary-General


33

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