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Home , Desertification, Holocene extinction, Langkawi Declaration

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ª¾©åçïëöóùòèéö¨ Topic A: Maintaining in the Face of Economic Opportunity and Exploitation Overview

The preservation of the is essential to the continued survival of the , but the conservation of the environment often collides with the corporate interest of multinational companies. When economic opportunities require the destruction of natural habitats, not only are millions of dollars wasted on prolonged lawsuits, but thousands of species of and are also threatened by . The Commonwealth, an association of 52 sovereign nations, is among the most powerful international entity of the , thus an issue such as balancing economic interests with environmental preservation naturally falls within Commonwealth delegations’ jurisdiction. Although on certain aspects of this topic, the economy and environment could enjoy mutually beneficial relationships, it is almost guaranteed that concessions will need to be made by one of the parties and that sides will need to be taken.

Extinction Phenomena The loss of biodiversity across the globe has been coined by some as the “ Extinction,” a mass comparable to previous occurrences including the fall of the dinosaurs. Due to the artificial of this crisis, the “” is also known as the “ Extinction.” Of course, although it is universal accepted that many and are endangered, the cause and magnitude of the death of these organisms is highly debated. On one hand, scientists who abide by the “Holocene Extinction” concept believe that , , and – results of corporate negligence of the environment in favour of economic interests – threaten a sizeable portion of many ecosystems. Meanwhile, critics of this ideology claim that human activity has little to no effect on the life and death cycle of . Such experts explain that the notion of a mass extinction relies on a hypothesis that a majority of species on Earth are unknown, and that most will be extinct before ever being discovered.1 The dying en masse of undescribed creatures, they argue, accounts for a sizeable proportion of the statistics provided by proponents of the mass extinction theory, and that when proper taxonomic practices are in place, it is entirely possible that have discovered more than half of all living species on .2

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 1 http://e360.yale.edu/features/global_extinction_rates_why_do_estimates_vary_so_wildly 2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23349283 !

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 1 ! Endangered and Extinct Organisms There is no denying that humans have had a noticeable impact on most ecosystems around the globe. The world’s largest , the Amazon, has diminished by 750,000 square kilometres since 1978 –an area roughly the size of Zambia. As of May 2013, 2633 species in the Amazon Rainforest alone are listed as endangered; amongst their rank are the giant otter and tapir. Such a staggering figure, however, does not even come close to the 41,415 species that are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, or the 16,306 species that are facing imminent extinction around the globe.3 While the decline of certain organisms cannot be entirely attributed to human activity, the extinction of the and the has proven that mankind possesses the capability to single- handedly wipe out entire of animals. Many of these events take place as a direct result of economic opportunities in the industry.

Impacts of Contrary to popular belief, the most ecologically devastating act performed by humans is not or any other form of direct exploitation, but rather agriculture. The rapid development of fertilizers, pesticides, and technologies over the past century has allowed for vast plantations of to thrive in previously barren land. While such advancements have drastically reduced and encouraged -greening projects, it is often forests and jungles, not wastelands, which are being converted into farmland. Tens of thousands of hectares of natural habitats are destroyed in Commonwealth nations such as and every year. This pollution is only worsened with the employment of heavy machinery and construction of agricultural infrastructure. In addition to pollution, deforestation in areas like Congo and Namibia –which are already prone to – results in a lack of foliage to mitigate sandstorms, exacerbating the degradation process by tenfold. This results in more infertile land where crops are hard to cultivate.

Worse yet, the extinction of certain keystone species can lead to a complete collapse of the food chain, wiping out countless organisms that inhabit other areas of the ecosystem. On September 30 2016, seven species of yellow-faced bees native to Hawaii were announced to be endangered, and as these bees are part of the ecosystem that sustain local flora, including pollinating crops, their decrease in number could spell disaster for the agricultural sector in Hawaii in the future. While the exploitation of nature could provide substantial economic benefits in the short term, the long term harms suffered by natural industries are immeasurable.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 3 http://thinkjungle.com/amazon-rainforest-life/amazon-rainforest-endangered-animals/

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 2 ! Past Accords and Agreements Currently, the primarily relies on individual members to regulate their own natural environments; this legislation is then affirmed by Commonwealth officials and act as guidelines for all members to follow. A key document that has defined governmental involvement in maintaining biodiversity is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which transferred the responsibility of environmental preservation in to the state government. Nine matters of national environmental significance, including the preservation of nationally threatened species and ecological communities, were addressed by this bill, signifying one of the first times that a Commonwealth nation has approached the maintenance of biodiversity from a legal standpoint.

The ’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), drafted as a multilateral treaty aiming to promote and regulated resource extraction, was ratified by all Commonwealth Nations, as well as all United Nations member states with the exception of the United States of America. This convention brought up issues such as the protection of organisms, the economic impacts of conservation, and the incentivization of environmental protection.

Although the Commonwealth has yet to produce any accords dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity, several environmental protection documents have been signed in the past. The 1989 Langkawi Declaration on the Environment stated that “development which destroyed the natural resource base and jeopardised future development was not really development at all.”4 The 2007 Lake Victoria Climate Change Action Plan carefully weighs the economic impacts of environmental exploitation on Commonwealth member states and addresses the imminent threat posed by climate change. These summits and negotiations prove crucial in unifying the effort that Commonwealth nations exert in protecting global ecology.

Conclusion The ultimate goal is to prevent mass extinction while maintaining fiscal stability. Regardless of the final decision, the Commonwealth will receive backlash from both environmental advocates and multinational corporations alike. However, whichever you may choose, the choice is now in your hands.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 4 http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth-in-action/environmentally-sustainable-development/

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 3 ! Work Cited

“About Us.” The Commonwealth, Commonwealth Secretariat, 2018. Web.

http://thecommonwealth.org/about-us.

Aiton, Katie Scott. “17 Most Biodiverse Places on Earth.” Matador Network, Matador

Network, 08 Jan. 2016. Web. https://matadornetwork.com/trips/17-biodiverse-places-

earth/.

Barras, Colin. “Earth - The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Is Arguably a Nature Reserve.” BBC,

BBC, 22 Apr. 2016. Web.

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a-nature-reserve.

Butler, Rhett. “Amazon Destruction.” Mongabay.com, Mongabay, 26 Jan. 2017. Web.

https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html.

Card, Ash. “Amazon Rainforest Endangered Animals | Photos & Info | Thinkjungle.”

Thinkjungle.com, Thinkjungle.com, 2018. Web. http://thinkjungle.com/amazon-

rainforest-life/amazon-rainforest-endangered-animals/.

“Chapter 2 The Loss of Diversity Cause and Consequences.” Biodiversity, by Paul R. Ehrlich,

National Academy of Sciences, 1988. Print. pp. 21–26.

Costello, M J, et al. “Can We Name Earth's Species before They Go Extinct?” (New

York, N.Y.)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 Jan. 2013. Web.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23349283.

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 4 ! “Deforestation.” World Wildlife Fund, World Wildlife Fund, 2018. Web.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation.

Evon, Dan. “Bees Added to List.” Snopes.com, Snopes.com, 08 Oct. 2016.

Web. https://www.snopes.com/bee-species-endangered/.

Kasnoff, Craig. “Endangered Earth.” Endangered Earth, Rainmaker Digital, n.d. Web.

http://www.endangeredearth.com/.

Mathewson, Samantha. “Biodiversity in the Amazon Is Threatened by Deforestation.” Nature

World News, Nature World News, 24 Aug. 2015. Web.

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threatened-deforestation.htm.

Ochoa-Quintero, Jose Manuel. “Amazon Deforestation 'Threshold' Causes Species Loss to

Accelerate.” University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge, 04 Mar. 2015. Web.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/amazon-deforestation-threshold-causes-species-

loss-to-accelerate.

Pearce , Fred. “Global Extinction Rates: Why Do Estimates Vary So Wildly?” Yale E360, Yale

School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 17 Aug. 2015.

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ly.

“Polar Bear.” World Wildlife Fund, World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear.

Viegas, Jen. “Humans Caused 322 in Past 500 Years.” Seeker, Seeker, 24

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 5 ! July 2014. Web. https://www.seeker.com/humans-caused-322-animal-extinctions-in-

past-500-years-1768850883.html.

“Sustainable Development.” Commonwealth of Nations, Nexus Partnerships, 2018. Web.

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sustainable-development/.

CAHSMUN 2018 Commonwealth Backgrounder A 6 !