mun class

Position Paper Worksheet

Prof. Carolyn Shaw

This worksheet is designed to help you gather in and reflect on information on your topics areas before actually writing your formal position paper.

TOPIC A:

Understanding the Issues / Defining the Problem(s)

• What are some of the different aspects of this topic area?

• What are some of the different problems that arise in this topic area that need to be dealt with? What are the potential negative consequences to not addressing the issue?

• What is the scope of the problem? How do you measure its negative impacts?

• Who should care about this problem? Who does it impact the most? Does it impact some states/indivs negatively and some in a more positive way?

International Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• What work has been done already to address this issue? What UN agencies deal with it? (What conventions, conferences, meetings, etc have been held? What documents have come out of these meetings? Resolutions, treaties, conventions?)

• How would you assess the work that has been done? (ex: UNDP has been “effective”, “successful”, “overburdened” etc.) Presumably the issue would not be on the UN's agenda if the problem were solved, so there must be more work to be done. Figure out what is lacking/not working well.

Domestic Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• Has your country taken notable steps domestically to address this issue?

• Has your country signed treates? Contributed funds? Sponsored/attended conferences?

Solutions to the Problem(s) (Link this to the problem identified above)

Focus can be on multilateral steps, or on regional organizations, or on pursuing domestic/national legislation that will address the problem. One step might be getting more ratifications for a treaty, but that is a legal solution only, what practical steps can be taken beyond this? Imposing sanctions is rarely an effective option, especially within the General Assembly. Shaming is possible, but also not totally effective. The focus should be on promoting cooperation so that everyone believes it is in their interest to comply, and has the capacity (resources and expertise) to do so.

• Is the problem best addressed at the global, national, or local level? (Not everything needs a global solution, sometimes local actors simply need more support to make effective changes.)

• Does everyone need to change their behavior, or only certain actors?

• Why have these actors not changed their behaviors already? (What conditions are in place that are a disincentive for them to change their behaviors?)

• How can the international community change the motivations of the necessary actors? (Provide incentives or disincentives)

TOPIC B

Understanding the Issues / Defining the Problem(s)

• What are some of the different aspects of this topic area?

• What are some of the different problems that arise in this topic area that need to be dealt with? What are the potential negative consequences to not addressing the issue?

• What is the scope of the problem? How do you measure its negative impacts?

• Who should care about this problem? Who does it impact the most? Does it impact some states/indivs negatively and some in a more positive way?

International Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• What work has been done already to address this issue? What UN agencies deal with it? (What conventions, conferences, meetings, etc have been held? What documents have come out of these meetings? Resolutions, treaties, conventions?)

• How would you assess the work that has been done? (ex: UNDP has been “effective”, “successful”, “overburdened” etc.) Presumably the issue would not be on the UN's agenda if the problem were solved, so there must be more work to be done. Figure out what is lacking/not working well.

Domestic Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• Has your country taken notable steps domestically to address this issue?

• Has your country signed treates? Contributed funds? Sponsored/attended conferences?

Solutions to the Problem(s) (Link this to the problem identified above)

Focus can be on multilateral steps, or on regional organizations, or on pursuing domestic/national legislation that will address the problem. One step might be getting more ratifications for a treaty, but that is a legal solution only, what practical steps can be taken beyond this? Imposing sanctions is rarely an effective option, especially within the General Assembly. Shaming is possible, but also not totally effective. The focus should be on promoting cooperation so that everyone believes it is in their interest to comply, and has the capacity (resources and expertise) to do so.

• Is the problem best addressed at the global, national, or local level? (Not everything needs a global solution, sometimes local actors simply need more support to make effective changes.)

• Does everyone need to change their behavior, or only certain actors?

• Why have these actors not changed their behaviors already? (What conditions are in place that are a disincentive for them to change their behaviors?)

• How can the international community change the motivations of the necessary actors? (Provide incentives or disincentives)

EXAMPLE

TOPIC A: Biodiversity

Understanding the Issues / Defining the Problem(s)

• What are some of the different aspects of this topic area?

• loss of plants and animals due to climate change

• loss of plants and animals due to loss of habitat (human settlements, environmental degradation)

• loss of varieties of sea life

• whales due to whaling;

• fish species - overfishing

• all sea life - water pollution (chemicals and/or trash)

• loss of plant and insect life in rainforests (due to clear cutting)

• overharvesting of resources (hunting rhinos, elephants, etc.)

• Loss of one species effects another (food chain linkages)

• Invasive species

• What are some of the different problems that arise in this topic area that need to be dealt with? What are the potential negative consequences to not addressing the issue?

• Loss of resources that sustain life (fish stocks > food for locals; rich agricultural soil depleted by clear cutting;)

• Rainforest > loss of carbon filters for earth

• Loss of plant life that might have pharmaseudical uses

• Spill over effects into other specifies (if predators are eliminated, their prey become over populated).

• Risk of ecological imbalance with increased disease or other epidemics.

• What is the scope of the problem? How do you measure its negative impacts?

· At threat of extinction are

· 1 out of 8 birds; 1 out of 4 mammals; 1 out of 4 conifers; 1 out of 3 amphibians; 6 out of 7 marine turtles

· 75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost

· 75% of the world’s fisheries are fully or over exploited.  90 percent of all large fishes have disappeared from the world’s oceans in the past half century, the devastating result of industrial fishing.

· Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C. over a million species will be lost in the coming 50 years. The most important cause was found to be climate change.

· Freshwater turtles alone are at a 50% risk of extinction, as they are also affected by national and international trade.

· A demand for shark-fin soup in places like China and Taiwan is decimating shark populations. An estimated 100 million sharks are being killed each year

• Who should care about this problem? Who does it impact the most? Does it impact some states/indivs negatively and some in a more positive way?

• Everyone is impacted by the loss of biodiversity. "Each form of life works together with the surrounding environment to help recycle waste, maintain the ecosystem, and provide services that others—including humans—use and benefit from."

• Rainforests are only in a few countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc), protecting them requires that they stop using cut timber - this is a big source of income for them, they need some other form of development to modernize their countries. If the Developed countries want the developing countries to protect their resources, they need to be willing to help pay the cost of environmental preservation.

International Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• What work has been done already to address this issue? What UN agencies deal with it? (What conventions, conferences, meetings, etc have been held? What documents have come out of these meetings? Resolutions, treaties, conventions?)

• UN Environmental Program (UNEP)

• Convention on Biodiversity (1992) Rio Conference

• Cartegena Protocol

• Nagoya Protocol

• COP Conference of the Parties (1-11)

• Strategic Plan 2011-16

• national reports

• Intenrational whaling Convention (1946) and Commission

• Northeast Atlantic fishery commission

• How would you assess the work that has been done? (ex: UNDP has been “effective”, “successful”, “overburdened” etc.) Presumably the issue would not be on the UN's agenda if the problem were solved, so there must be more work to be done. Figure out what is lacking/not working well.

• Ongoing - complex - some progress, some losses.

Domestic Efforts to Address the Problem(s)

• Has your country taken notable steps domestically to address this issue?

• Has your country signed treates? Contributed funds? Sponsored/attended conferences?

Solutions to the Problem(s) (Link this to the problem identified above)

• Is the problem best addressed at the global, national, or local level? (Not everything needs a global solution, sometimes local actors simply need more support to make effective changes.)

• People have to take steps at all levels.

• Need to understand the big picture, but actions by individuals make a difference.

• Does everyone need to change their behavior, or only certain actors?

• Indivs need to change their behaviors; MNCs do too.

• Some states that have the most resources need to put national protections in place

• Why have these actors not changed their behaviors already? (What conditions are in place that are a disincentive for them to change their behaviors?)

• MNCs and profit drive unsustainable use of resources. Consumerism is also guilty of over consumption of resources.

• largest challenge is the economic benefits to using resources in an unsustainable way. We benefit now, why should we do with less for future generations?

• Fishing fleets must generate a profit today, timber companies must cut trees to turn a profit,

• Not everyone is aware of the importance of sustainable use of resources, not everyone knows that extinction rates are so high.

• How can the international community change the motivations of the necessary actors? (Provide incentives or disincentives)

• Education of Public / More research about causes and consequences

• Development assistance / substitutions for some products that are coming from rainforests.

• Sustainable harvesting / fishing practices

• Sharing of profits from pharmaseudical companies for preserving resources with healing properties.