Hdmun Unfccc 3kv30

Heidelberg Model United Nations Conference

Redefining Order May 30th – June 02nd 2019

Study Guide United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Diletta Muccilli Dor Gvishi

Table of Contents Letter of Welcome .................................................................................................................3 The Committee ......................................................................................................................5 Topic A: Setting an Agenda for Smart and Green Cities ...........................................................6 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 6 HISTORY OF THE TOPIC ...................................................................................................................... 9 DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................................................... 10 PREVIOUS UN INVOLVEMENT........................................................................................................... 14 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 16 BLOC POSITIONS............................................................................................................................. 19 RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................ 22 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 23 Topic B: Fighting Deforestation ............................................................................................ 26 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 26 HISTORY OF THE TOPIC .................................................................................................................... 28 DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................................... 30 PREVIOUS UN INVOLVEMENT........................................................................................................... 33 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 37 BLOC POSITIONS............................................................................................................................. 39 RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................ 42 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 43

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Letter of Welcome To our beloved HDMUN delegates, Welcome to HDMUN 2019! We would like to congratulate you on being chosen to participate in this Conference and we are looking forward to meeting you in the coming weeks. The Secretariat has planned a fantastic Conference in Heidelberg, which will truly stand out as an MUN conference to . We, as your chairs, are glad to present you this study guide with the hope it will serve as a vital tool for you as delegates, and please use it to familiarize yourself with the committee’s debate. Ultimately, this guide should act as a foundation for your future research on the topic. The guide will also ask you to reflect on potential discussion points, as well as possible solutions to the issue at hand. We the chairs are familiar with beginners committee, so we are sure that you will make your best efforts in bringing to us a fruitful debate while having the time of your life at this Conference! Now, we would like to introduce ourselves as your chairs, and officially welcome you to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – or in short, UNFCCC: Diletta is a third year B.A. student in International Studies for Development and Cooperation at the University of Turin, Italy, and is now an intern at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. After having attended several national and international conferences both as delegate, chair and press, she currently serves as a Member of the Executive Board of M.S.O.I. Torino, her local society, and is in the organizing team of TLVMUN 2019 as Director of External Relations. She is very excited to be your chair for the UNFCCC at HDMUN, and she is looking forward to working with Dor, one of the best people she has ever meet through MUNs, as well as the rest of this committee!

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Dor is a Master student in two programmes, Diplomacy and European Union studies at the Tel-Aviv University, and lives in the beautiful city of Tel-Aviv. Dor ed the TAUMUN society last year and since then it gave him prespective on worldwide politics and diplomacy. Consequently, he managed to delegate and chair in many conferences around Europe and Israel. Dor sees the TAUMUN as his socond family and likes to share his skills with other MUNers. On the same time Dor is a bartender at a Diner resturant in Tel-Aviv and knows how to party, dance, drink and have a good time. He is really excited to work with one of his best friends in the MUN family and to share his HDMUN memories with you delegates – looking forward for a fruitful and effective debate!

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The Committee The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 1 is an international environmental treaty ratified at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. The Convention was then implemented by countries all around the world in 1994 to address the issue of climate change. Having entered into force on 21 March 1994, today it has near-universal hip. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. The UNFCCC states that its objectives are to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” and prevent human damage and interference with the climate system. The UNFCCC meets yearly to take stock of progress in implementing their obligations under the treaty, and to consider further actions to address the climate change threat. The Kyoto Protocol and more recent Paris Agreement are other landmark treaties that have emerged from these annual meetings. The Convention acknowledges the vulnerability of all countries to the effects of climate change and calls for special efforts to ease the consequences, especially in developing countries which lack the resources to do so on their own. Under the treaty, industrialized countries are expected to be in the forefront of reducing emissions. Industrialized nations also agree under the Convention to climate change activities in developing countries by providing financial for action on climate change. The Global Environment Facility oversees a systems of grants and loans to channel assistance to emerging economies. Industrialized countries also agree to share technology with less-advanced nations.

1United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, https://unfccc.int/.

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Topic A: Setting an Agenda for Smart and Green Cities Introduction 1. Definition The concept of “green city” is related to different key-words: “environmental quality”, “human well-being”, “political action”, “social life”. Currently, a “green city” is commonly defined as “an extension of sustainable development in the urban context” (Lewis, 2015).

Typically, a green city aims at having a low ecological impact, being resilient in the face of natural disasters, reducing chemical and physical hazards, developing high quality urban environments for all, and ensuring progress towards sustainable consumption2. As you may have already noticed, human responsibility is essential in green cities: political and social behaviours are of course one of the main influences in the performance of a city, as well as for the choices or urban planning designers. Therefore, citizens have to act responsibly if they want to achieve high environmental quality in their cities, which by itself will then contribute to human well-being.

2. Facts and Figures

IASS Working Paper, “How Green is a „Green City“?“, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, https://www.iass-potsdam.de/sites/default/files/files/wp_dec_2016_en_green_city.pdf. 2

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For the implementation of new efforts to create an innovative framework on sustainable urban development, it is essential to understand the key trends in urbanization itself, especially the ones that are likely to happen in the coming years. Today, the most urbanized regions include Northern America (with 82% of its population living in urban areas in 2018), Latin America and the Caribbean (81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%). The level of urbanization in Asia is now approximating 50%. In contrast, Africa remains mostly rural, with 43% of its population living in urban areas. However, as the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects3 produced by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs affirms, this trend is likely to change very soon. Urbanization (considered as the “gradual shift in residence of the human population from rural to urban area”), combined with the overall growth of the world’s population, could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050.

Close to 90% of this increase will take place in Asia and Africa, especially in India, China and Nigeria. By 2050, 68% of the overall world’s population will live in urban areas, and predictions forecast that it will still grow in the following years. In addition to this, the world is projected to have 43 megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants, most of them in developing regions, by 2030.

UN DESA, “World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision”, Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-KeyFacts.pdf. 3

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3. Why are cities so important to us? For centuries, cities have been centres of commerce, culture, scientific research and innovation, and the birthplace for some of humankind’s greatest ideas. Living in a city may include having to deal everyday with public transports, different energy systems, new infrastructures, work opportunities, health care, education, and so on. However, we must not forget that cities are vulnerable as they are powerful. In fact, urban growth comes together with new challenges, both for the environment and the human-beings who live in there. For this reason, it is essential to understand that integrated policies on the “human” side of the problem are needed: access to housing, education, health care, decent work and a safe environment have to be ensured, focusing on the needs of the urban poor and other vulnerable groups. Moving on to the “ecological” side of the issue, new policies have to deal with all the effects related to climate change, i.e. risk of flooding from rising sea levels or tropical storms. As our environment is changing, we must bear in mind that something effective to face this issue has to be done as soon as we can.

4. Sustainable urbanization as key in addressing climate change As Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Assistant Secretary-General for UN-Habitat, has wrote in an article she published back in 2012, “without appropriate planning, design, and investment in the development of sustainable cities, a growing number of people will continue to face unprecedented negative impacts, not only of climate change but also of reduced economic growth, quality of life, and increased social instability”4. Moving from this statement and from previous considerations, we can understand why we should believe that sustainable urbanization is key to address climate change. Rethinking urbanization in a more sustainable way, indeed, may offer unlimited opportunities to tackle the risks associated with climate change. Specifically, it is important to reduce root causes of climate change in cities, taking into consideration how transport, industrial production, electricity A. Kirabo Kacyira, “Addressing the Sustainable Urbanization Challenge”, United Nations Chronicle, https://unchronicle.un.org/article/addressing-sustainable-urbanization-challenge. 4

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generation, as well as waste disposal and land use could be reorganised in a way they could lessen their impact on the environment. Therefore, since cities can provide a unique opportunity to positively mitigate the impacts of climate change, a global framework for sustainable urban development has to be adopted, including equally integrated environmental, economic, and culturally sensitive measures. How we plan, build, and manage our cities now will determine the outcome of our efforts to achieve a sustainable and harmonious development tomorrow.

History of the Topic 1. A new problem Rapid urban growth is a phenomenon that increased so fast only during the last century, mainly as a result of poor living conditions in rural areas, such as lack of basic services. Governments have tried to discourage this migration into the cities, but they have largely failed in doing so. For this reason, urban centres have become larger and larger with the time ing, but this has led at the same time to new problems: congested traffic, worsened air quality, loud noise, environmental pollution, and so on. All of these new issues were not expected by policy makers and urban planners in the first place, so there was an evident lack of actions to solve the problem until the 1970s. But even then, only a few conferences on the topic were organized, and people were still very misinformed about the real damages created by the rapid urban growth that was happening in front of their eyes.

2. Habitat I The very first step taken towards the analysis of our problem has been the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements. This Conference, also known as Habitat I, took place in Vancouver, Canada, 31 May – 11 June 1976, and was organised by the United Nations as governments began to recognize the magnitude and consequences of rapid urbanization. One of the main outcomes of Habitat I was the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, which recognized for the first time that “the improvement of the 9

quality of life of human beings is the first and most important objective of every human settlement policy”5. Taking this General Principle into consideration, some actions to facilitate policies that ensure rapid and continuous improvement in the quality of life of all people in urban settlements were finally developed in the following years.

3. The Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit6, was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. It is essential to our understanding of the topic since it was a crucial step towards making sustainability matters present in the ordinary life of the international arena. Earth Summit was created as a way for Member States to cooperate together internationally on sustainability issues which were too big for individual member states to handle alone. Some of ideas debated in this Conference belonged to themes that for the first time ever were included in the UN agenda, such as the importance of public transportation systems to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion and health problems in cities. Two of the documents resulting from the Earth Summit are the Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration.

Discussion of the Problem 1. Why are green cities so relevant today? The most urgent challenge in this area of study scientists and experts have to face nowadays is the timely calling for integral solutions to the urban environment, public well-being and most importantly, the health of the planet and its citizens. Indeed, it is a fact by now that the pattern of urbanization needs to change in

A/CONF.70/15, “Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements”, United Nations, http://www.un-documents.net/van-dec.htm. 6 Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Earth Summit”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milestones/unced. 5

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order to better respond to issues such as climate change, urban expansion and sprawl, and unsustainable lifestyles. Therefore, the question here is how we can steer urbanization away from this unsustainable path. The answer is easy: through sustainable urban planning. Thus, the reasons why green cities are so relevant today are deeply rooted in their essential role in re-thinking and re-shaping the discussion around the importance of urban ecology, health and resilience combined together. They can in fact contribute not only in driving up the economic engine, but also in improving the environmental conscience of all stakeholders and empowering national or local governments to make their citizens to think sustainably.

2. Can a green city also be smart? Sam Musa7 defines the smart city as “one that engages its citizens and connects with its infrastructure electronically, in a process whereby the city becomes part of the Internet of Things (IoT)”. Thus, the aim of a green and smart city should be building a livable space from the ground up using innovations in construction techniques, climate friendly energy systems and more to shape a community that is affordable and accessible with a focus on connected tech. As for now, a city that is completely smart and green has not been built yet. However, multiple projects and initiatives that try to incorporate elements of efficiency and sustainability with technological development have been presented all over the world, especially in the European Union and in North America. Most of the efforts to develop smart and green cities have involved the monitoring of transportation networks and power and water supplies, waste management, crime, educational establishments, and hospitals, in order to reduce costs and resource consumption in a more ecological framework.

S. Musa, “Smart City Roap”, Academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/21181336/Smart_City_Roap. 7

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3. Challenges in building green cities Building a green city is very complicated, since achieving sustainability involves many different aspects. First of all, some actions have to be taken to reduce the ecological footprint of cities. Indeed, urbanization can be a significant contributor to high resource use, waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions production, with ecological effects at the local, regional and global levels that all have an influence on climate change. Secondly, resilience against the adverse impact of natural hazards has to be built. In fact, effects of climate change increase the vulnerabilities of cities in poor nations and threaten the adaptation capacities of cities in richer nations. As for now, the attention of policymakers has been seized only by those countries that have long coastlines, and are therefore likely to experience floods, and by those areas at risk from earthquakes. However, urban planners should take this issue into wherever they are operating. Thirdly, the challenge of financing sustainable infrastructures has to be addressed. As the WWF’s Report “Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities” has shown, central governments, as well as provincial and municipal bodies, are unlikely to fund the required infrastructure developments by themselves given budgetary deficits and levels of debt8. On the other hand, it is a fact that millions of dollars are invested every year in urban infrastructures, but actions have to be taken to ensure that city planners around the world invest this money in sustainable solutions. Lastly, a special focus should be addressed to urbanization in developing countries, since they are struggling more than the others to achieve basic human needs. In these areas, the main challenge is to provide underserved urban residents with affordable access to adequate public services and job opportunities, as well as to clean water, electricity and good schools.

World Wide Fund for Nature, “Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities”, World Wide Fund for Nature, http://awsassets.panda.org/s/summary_financing_the_transition_sustainable_ifrastruct ure_in_cities_1.pdf. 8

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4. Opportunities in building green cities Building new green cities could be a great investment, especially for poor countries, in industrial transformation, improved infrastructure, social development and environmental management. In poor countries, particularly, sustainable development could imply transforming the entire area through a massive investment in infrastructures such as roads, waters, electricity, as well as in services such as schools, public transportation and health care. All of these, of course, could create new jobs and could eventually lead to a general growth in the economy of the country. Urban planners of cities of middle- and high-income countries, on the other hand, need to continue investing in improving the quality of life in urban centres and in creating incentives to produce and consume clean energy sources. Furthermore, they should highlight the importance of such investments in the long-term, so that people know that they are actually helping to improve situations regarding the environmental protection.

5. The necessity of setting an agenda As Mr. Clos, who served as the Secretary-General of the Habitat III Conference, has previously stated, it is more than necessary to set an agenda on sustainable and green cities so that “everyone can benefit from urbanization”9. Main areas of focus of this agenda should be: • • •

protection of the environment (climate change, resilience to natural hazards, etc.); financial opportunities; how to face increasing and uncontrolled urbanization, especially in developing countries and towards vulnerable groups.

Sustainable Development Goals, “UN conference agrees new urban development agenda creating sustainable, equitable cities for all”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/10/un-conference-agrees-new-urbandevelopment-agenda-creating-sustainable-equitable-cities-for-all/. 9

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Previous UN Involvement 1. The Agenda 21 The Agenda 2110 is a non-binding action plan approved by the United Nations during the Earth Summit that deals with sustainable development from four different areas of study. The one of our main interest here is the first, which handles with “Social and Economic Dimensions” of the problem. Specifically, Section 1.5 is entitled to “Demographic dynamics and sustainability”, and at its Programme Area #A, dedicated to “Developing and disseminating knowledge concerning the links between demographic trends and factors and sustainable development”, states the following: “Rapidly growing cities, unless well-managed, face major environmental problems. The increase in both the number and size of cities calls for greater attention to issues of local government and municipal management. The human dimensions are key elements to consider in this intricate set of relationships and they should be adequately taken into consideration in comprehensive policies for sustainable development. Such policies should address the linkages of demographic trends and factors, resource use, appropriate technology dissemination, and development”.

2. Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11 Although not legally binding, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be taken into as well. Goal #11 (“Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”)11 is here particularly relevant, since it is recognized by the Agenda itself that efficient urban planning and management practices have to deal with the challenges brought by urbanization.

United Nations, “Agenda 21”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf. 11 Sustainable Development Goals, “11: Sustainable Cities and Communities”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/. 10

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Precisely, Target 11.3 is most relevant to our topic, since it is aimed to “enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries” 12 by 2030. The other targets also recall the matter of using local materials to build sustainable houses, especially in least developed countries, as well as increasing policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

3. Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, took place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016, and its main goal was “to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanization”13. The primary outcome of the conference was agreement by UN member states on the New Urban Agenda14, which will serve as a global guideline for urban development for the next twenty years. The main scope of the New Urban Agenda is to make national governments and local authorities rethink how they plan and manage cities, so that they can be turned into centres of cultural and social well-being while protecting the environment. The Agenda also provides direction for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and provides ing actions to address climate change.

4. The Greener Cities Partnership The United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme have mutually developed the Greener Cities Partnership to environmental sustainability in urban development, and to introduce environmental considerations into urban policy making. Among the top priorities of the Greener Cities Partnership there are: resource flows, efficiency and resilience; waste and wastewater management; transport

Ibid. Habitat III, “The Conference”, United Nations, http://habitat3.org/the-conference/. 14 A/RES/71/256*, “New Urban Agenda”, United Nations, http://habitat3.org/wpcontent/s/NUA-English.pdf. 12 13

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and mobility; and the monitoring and reporting on urban environmental SDG indicators15. The types of activities depend on the cooperating partner, as long as they emphasize areas that help to build greener, more inclusive, and more resilient cities. This includes working on a model shift to non-motorized and public transport to reduce gas emission produced by private cars, developing adaptation strategies to deal with climate change, reducing waste and wasted water.

5. The United Smart Cities project The United Smart Cities (USC) program is “a global initiative, established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in cooperation with the Organization for International Economic Relations and other international organizations, cities, industry and finance sector”16. The goal of this initiative is to bring together different international decision-makers to “generate and realize more smart and sustainable city projects”17. This can be achieved through the promotion of sustainable urban development, especially in countries with transition economies and in developing countries, the creation of new and smart financing mechanisms, and the to innovative strategies in of urban planning and urban progress. The USC project also promotes cooperation between participating actors through exchange of expertise ad best practices, networking and capacity building. One core point of this program is also the establishment of solid relations and partnerships between the public and the private network, i.e. creating an exchange platform for smart cities worldwide.

Possible Solutions 1. Raising awareness on the value of Green cities

UN Habitat, “The Greener Cities Partnership – Objective”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiatives-programmes/greener-cities-partnership/. 16 United Smart Cities, “Who we are”, United Smart Cities, http://www.unitedsmartcities.org/. 17 Ibid. 15

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Sustainable urban planning is still not as popular as it should be both at the national and international level, and some people do not even know what a “green city” is because of this widespread lack of information. One way to raise awareness on the matter could be hosting educational events. Inviting people to attend events where they can learn something useful and meet new individuals at the same time is an easy way for involved actors to facilitate their sharing and networking. Another way to raise awareness on the issue could be publishing research, case studies, and trend data that actually demonstrates the effectiveness of this new type of urban planning, so people could trust what is being told to them by having a more tangible evidence of it . Another example of raising awareness on the topic is brought to our attention by the World Urban Campaign’s partners, formed by a global network of actors that share ideas on urban systems18. In March 2014, they launched The City We Need 1.0, a manifesto of nine principles suggesting concrete ways on how to achieve sustainable urban development. Every actor willing to engage with the project can now discuss his idea on the social media using the hashtag #TheCityWeNeed.

2. Focusing on the local level Local actors cannot simply implement projects to reduce typical vulnerabilities faced by a city, but they have to mainstream this concern into local public policies if they really want to protect their citizens from the impacts of climate change. To achieve this, a different set of institutional measures has to be carried out rapidly. It is a fact well-known by now that many local authorities are lacking financial resources for sustainable urban planning. Indeed, the little money that a government destines to this problem is often allocated at either a national or regional level, and as a consequence the municipal level cannot get a piece of that money most of the times. Subsequently, as Ms. Sabrina Archambault, Project Manager at the Agence Française de Développement, suggests, it is fundamental to increase municipal World Urban Campaign, “The City We Need”, World Urban Campaign, http://www.worldurbancampaign.org/city-we-need. 18

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resources, for example by raising the dedicated transfers, but it is also necessary to build local authorities’ capacities to manage their resources19. Furthermore, at a local level also initiatives led by residents may be very effective, since they can be run out by people who feel closer to the problem, i.e. because they live in an area interested by high pollution.

3. Establishing and strengthening partnerships Partnerships are an effective way to effectively improve sustainability internally and in the community of a city. Partnerships can indeed lead to achieving economic stewardship, a better environmental quality of life, and social equity for future generations that will have to live in those cities. Some partnerships, as the Greener Cities Partnership between UN-Habitat and UN Environment, have also highlighted the fact that urban environment issues have implications on various spatial scales, and “therefore should be tackled on all levels of governance: municipal, metropolitan, national, sub-regional, regional or international levels, overcoming many institutional boundaries”20. As for now, partnerships have been proved to be an effective tool for the growth in the number of sustainable cities because they have to provide the public with some figures, that of course is showing measurable progress. That is the case, for example, of the funding the World Bank is giving to some projects for sustainable urbanization in East Asia and the Pacific, that are carefully ed by exact documentation on the dedicated website21.

4. Promoting the use of technology Some hi-tech companies are now working on how to integrate the use of technology into sustainable cities planning.

S. Archambault, “Climate Change Adaptation in Cities: What Conditions for Success?”, Ideas4Development, https://ideas4development.org/en/climate-change-adaptation-in-citieswhat-conditions-for-success/. 20 UN Habitat, “Greener Cities Partnership (UN-Habitat and UN Environment)”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiatives-programmes/greener-cities-partnership/. 21 The World Bank, “East Asia and Pacific Cities: Expanding Opportunities for the Urban Poor”, The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap/publication/east-asia-and-pacific-citiesexpanding-opportunities-for-the-urban-poor. 19

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It is a fact that new, green technologies reduce emissions. For example, in the field of transports, relying on renewable energy and thus electromobility, instead of normal vehicles, will significantly reduce environmental impacts. Another area in which new technologies could be implemented is the use of energy in buildings. As for now, most of this energy gets wasted. Nevertheless, intelligent building automation controlling heating, air conditioning, lighting and any other resource of power in the house has considerable potential for saving energy, thus protecting the climate. To have an example of a company that is working on this, please refer to Siemens’ white paper on Technology Pathways for Creating Smarter, More Prosperous and Greener Cities22.

Bloc positions 1. The European Union At the end of 2007, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Minister of State attached to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and responsible for European Affairs, asked the European Economic and Social Committee to draw up the exploratory opinion Towards balanced development of the urban environment: challenges and opportunities. The Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted this opinion on 14 July 2008. The essential part to our discussion states as follows: “further deepening and broadening of the European debate is desirable with respect to resilient and sustainable cities, and city-regions or metropolitan areas across Europe”23. In this regard, in the same period the European Commission has launched the European Green Capital Award24 to recognize and rewards the efforts made by Siemens, “Technology Pathways for Creating Smarter, More Prosperous and Greener Cities”, Siemens, https://assets.new.siemens.com/siemens/assets/public.1551137070.16acf802-36d24699-8d25-32d09779c3c9.cypt-wp-f2.pdf. 23ECO/218, “Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Towards balanced development of the urban environment: challenges and opportunities”, European Economic and Social Committee, https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-informationreports/opinions/urban-environment. 24 European Commission, “European Green Capital Award”, European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/. 22

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European cities in achieving high environmental standards. The main goal of this initiative is indeed to inspire other cities to follow the same path, so that a larger network of green cities can be created throughout all Europe.

2. Asia As the region with the highest percentage increase in urban population over the last two decades, Asia faces fundamental economic, social and environmental challenges to its continued development. Over 40 per cent of Asia’s urban dwellers, for example, live in substandard housing and overcrowded slums (Asia Development Bank, 2010). Generally, according to the UN Habitat’s Sourcebook on Sustainable Urbanization in Asia25, providing basic urban services such as water and sanitation, solid waste collection and disposal, and transportation remains a challenge in most Asian sub-regions. Therefore it is necessary to understand how principles of urban sustainability may be applied to existing Asian cities with minimum disruption. To do so, UN reports have proved that is necessary to collaborate with the locals in order to fully understand the concept of urban planning the Asian culture has, so that it can be respected and at the same time used to create sustainable cities.

3. South America A research project conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Siemens26 has assessed the environmental performance of Latin America’s major cities.

UN Habitat, “Sustainable Urbanization in Asia”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/books/sustainable-urbanization-in-asia/. 26 Siemens, “Latin America Green Cities Index”, Siemens, https://www.siemens.com/entry/cc/features/greencityindex_international/all/en/pdf/report_lat am_en.pdf. 25

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The overall key-findings have demonstrated that Curitiba, also known as the “greenest” city in the world, is surely a leader in sustainability in the region. Since the 1960s, city officials have implemented proposals to reduce urban sprawl, create pedestrian areas, and provide low-cost rapid transports. The city has then become a model for a number of Latin American cities, most of all in Brasil, but some work still needs to be done to overcome the increasing urban sprawl in the region.

4. Africa According to UN-Habitat, Africa is urbanizing at a rate of 4% per year, and is mostly interested by phenomena of overcrowding in cities and environmental pollution. However, African governments have to learn how to take advantage of this rapid urban growth for the development of their countries, especially as regards the economic growth of such. Of course, cities in Africa should be planned accordingly to the specific needs of the local people, most of all to ensure that the poor are not marginalized in of accessing all the services a city has to offer. In this regard, the Africities 8 Summit27 has been organized in 2018 to mobilize communities and local authorities in African countries, as well as financial institutions, civil society groups and development partners, “in order to improve the living conditions of people at the local level”.

Africities 8 Summit, “Creating a Vision for the Africa that we want to see”, Africities 8 Summit, https://www.africities.org/the-summit/about-africities/. 27

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Relevant international documents 1. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development28 was adopted following the success of Millennium Development Goals in September 2015. The Agenda calls for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet, taking into the issues posed by climate change and environment protection.

2. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013: Sustainable Development Challenges The World Economic and Social Survey29 focuses on the major issue of our time: sustainable development. It is a valuable resource that moves from the consideration that environmental sustainability is under threat, especially because of the accelerating growth in global greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.

3. The New Urban Agenda The New Urban Agenda30 was adopted during Habitat III, on 20 October 2016. It promotes the idea that urban systems can be the source of solutions to the challenges that our world is facing today, starting from the fact that cities can be a powerful tool for sustainable development for both developing and developed countries.

A/RES/70/1, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sus tainable%20Development%20web.pdf. 29 E/2013/50/Rev. 1 ST/ESA/344, “World Economic and Social Survey 2013: Sustainable Development Challenges”, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf. 30 A/RES/71/256*, “New Urban Agenda”, United Nations, http://habitat3.org/wpcontent/s/NUA-English.pdf. 28

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4. The Environment Action Programme to 2020 On 20 November 2013, the European Union approved a Decision to create a General Union Environment Action Programme to 202031. One of the top priorities of the Programme is to make the Union's cities more sustainable, so that the Union will be able to better address international environmental and climate challenges.

References A/CONF.70/15, “Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements”, United Nations, http://www.un-documents.net/van-dec.htm. A/RES/70/1, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agen da%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf. A/RES/71/256*, “New Urban Agenda”, United Nations, http://habitat3.org/wp-content/s/NUA-English.pdf. Africities 8 Summit, “Creating a Vision for the Africa that we want to see”, Africities 8 Summit, https://www.africities.org/the-summit/about-africities/. S. Archambault, “Climate Change Adaptation in Cities: What Conditions for Success?”, Ideas4Development, https://ideas4development.org/en/climatechange-adaptation-in-cities-what-conditions-for-success/. E/2013/50/Rev. 1 ST/ESA/344, “World Economic and Social Survey 2013: Sustainable Development Challenges”, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf.

L 354/171, “DECISION No 1386/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’”, Official Journal of the European Union, https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013D1386&from=EN. 31

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ECO/218, “Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Towards balanced development of the urban environment: challenges and opportunities”, European Economic and Social Committee, https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-informationreports/opinions/urban-environment. European Commission, “European Green Capital Award”, European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/. Habitat III, “The Conference”, United Nations, http://habitat3.org/theconference/. IASS Working Paper, “How Green is a „Green City“?“, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, https://www.iasspotsdam.de/sites/default/files/files/wp_dec_2016_en_green_city.pdf. A. Kirabo Kacyira, “Addressing the Sustainable Urbanization Challenge”, United Nations Chronicle, https://unchronicle.un.org/article/addressingsustainable-urbanization-challenge. L 354/171, “DECISION No 1386/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’”, Official Journal of the European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013D1386&from=ENS. S. Musa, “Smart City Roap”, Academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/21181336/Smart_City_Roap. Siemens, “Latin America Green Cities Index”, Siemens, https://www.siemens.com/entry/cc/features/greencityindex_international/all/e n/pdf/report_latam_en.pdf. Siemens, “Technology Pathways for Creating Smarter, More Prosperous and Greener Cities”, Siemens, https://assets.new.siemens.com/siemens/assets/public.1551137070.16acf80236d2-4699-8d25-32d09779c3c9.cypt-wp-f2.pdf. Sustainable Development Goals, “11: Sustainable Cities and Communities”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/. Sustainable Development Goals, “UN conference agrees new urban development agenda creating sustainable, equitable cities for all”, United 24

Nations, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/10/unconference-agrees-new-urban-development-agenda-creating-sustainableequitable-cities-for-all/. Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Earth Summit”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milestones/unced. The World Bank, “East Asia and Pacific Cities: Expanding Opportunities for the Urban Poor”, The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap/publication/east-asia-and-pacificcities-expanding-opportunities-for-the-urban-poor. UN DESA, “World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision”, Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2018-KeyFacts.pdf. UN Habitat, “Greener Cities Partnership (UN-Habitat and UN Environment)”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiativesprogrammes/greener-cities-partnership/. UN Habitat, “The Greener Cities Partnership – Objective”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiatives-programmes/greener-citiespartnership/. UN Habitat, “Sustainable Urbanization in Asia”, UN Habitat, https://unhabitat.org/books/sustainable-urbanization-in-asia/. United Nations, “Agenda 21”, United Nations, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf. United Smart Cities, “Who we are”, United Smart Cities, http://www.unitedsmartcities.org/. World Urban Campaign, “The City We Need”, World Urban Campaign, http://www.worldurbancampaign.org/city-we-need. World Wide Fund for Nature, “Financing the Transition: Sustainable Infrastructure in Cities”, World Wide Fund for Nature, http://awsassets.panda.org/s/summary_financing_the_transition_susta inable_ifrastructure_in_cities_1.pdf.

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Topic B: Fighting Deforestation Introduction 1. A definition of “deforestation” Forests are covering a land area of about 31% on our planet alone. They have a big impact in our lives such in purifying water and air, supply jobs and place for animals’ habitat. However, forests are being under threats which manifest themselves in the form of deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation can be seen as a concern in tropical forests such as the Amazon. Deforestation is a phenomenon that can be happen quickly due to some reasons such as agriculture in poor planned infrastructure and fires which can sweep fast and occur naturally32. More reasons for deforestation can be traced in farming, grazing of livestock, mining, drilling and of course logging operation (wood and paper’s products)33.

2. Distinction between deforestation and degradation Deforestation involves a decrease in the area covered by forest and also its’ maintenance. Deforestation also connects to the clearcutting case of areas where forest will generate itself or be generated. This means that the forest being cut also to be reproduce more trees and to be cut for using those trees. On the other hand, degradation involves a quality decrease in its conditions. Those conditions can be related to one or more numbers of different forest ecosystem components such as vegetation layer, fauna, soil etc., and also the interaction between these components34.

WWF, “Deforestation and Forest Degradation”, World Wide Fund for Nature, https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation. 33 C. Nunez, “Deforestation explained”, National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/. 34 J.P. Lanly, “Deforestation and Degradation Factors”, Congress Proceeding B, XII World Foresty Congress: 75-83, http://www.fao.org/3/xii/ms12a-e.htm. 32

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3. Facts and Figures Forests still cover about 30-31% of the land area, however they are disappearing at a high rate. Only between 1990-2016, according to the World Bank, the world lost an amount of about 1.3 million square kilometres of forest (an area which is larger than South Africa). In addition, about 17% of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and still is being destroyed35. The forests are a vital part of our lives, since we need trees for several reasons: they absorb the carbon dioxide that human exhale and they heat-trap greenhouse gases that human activities emit. When those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases – in other words for scientists, climate change. As set in the Paris Agreement in 2015, tropical trees can cover and provide alone a 23% of the necessary amount of carbon dioxide to meet the goals of climate mitigation needed over the next decade36. In the last century it was expected that over 3 billion cubic metres of wood would have been needed. Tropical forests only comprise 55% of the global forest stocks and contribute only 15% of the world trade in forest products. In addition, industrial wood s for about 20% of the total wood removal in the tropical forests. Although, only a third of it is being exported and logging is may not be the core reason for deforestation but in some region, it is. Another high consumption of wood comes in paper products, with a high increase from 40 to 130 million tons 37.

4. List of areas affected Although some parts of the world as the Middle East and North America had the largest percentage increase in forest area between 1990 and 2015, Latin America and Caribbean, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa, are the regions that lost the most.

C. Nunez, “Deforestation explained”, National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/. 36 Ibid. 37 Cultural Survival, “Deforestation: the Human Costs”, Cultural Survival, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/deforestation-humancosts. 35

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Latin America and Caribbean saw in fact the largest total decrease in forest area, which stand on losing about 970,000 square kilometres between this period of time. Nevertheless, by 2012 more than 14% of the world’s land had been nationally protected, and in Latin America and Caribbean hold a total of 21.2% of its region alone38.

History of the topic 1. Historical roots and causes Since humans have started with the development of agriculture and settlements, they have converted forests into agroecosystems of various sort into urban land39. Moreover, trees were once, and in some point still, used for shelter and fuel for warmth and cooking. Also, they provided food, as well medicine and dyes. Since humans started to use stones or flint axes they have started to cut trees40. It is estimated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the annual rate of deforestation is about 1/3 million square kilometres per decade. Although, since the beginning of the 21st century the pace has been slowed down due to enhanced forest management practices and much more41.

A. Kirk, “Deforestation: Where is the World Losing the Most Trees?”, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/23/deforestation-where-is-the-world-losing-the-mosttrees/. 39 Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Historical Deforestation”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1971/Deforestation-Historical-deforestation.html. 40 S.L. Cohen, “The History of Deforestation”, Bizfluent. https://bizfluent.com/about-5389808history-deforestation.html. 41 Britannica, “Deforestation”, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/deforestation. 38

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2. Damages brought by industrialization With the introduction of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800’s, humans started to seek the power and ability to clear land. Thus, forests have been exploited worldwide. In numbers, an approximately 460,000 square kilometres of forests have been felled by 1850, and moreover about nearly 300 million square miles by 191042. As the Industrial Age arrived so does the rapid increase in human population, thus the need for more space for new people. Forests were an easy target due to the fact that they were not owned by anyone. Furthermore, industries also needed space, and this brought to large-scale deforestation. In those times, people really ed the industries for the opportunities for employment, while governments encouraged industries to pursue those steps in the name of economy until now (the 20th century was the worst phase for deforestation). Forests were deforested worldwide in these times43. Another example of major contributor to tropical deforestation is the process of slash-and-burn agriculture. This technique allows the farmers to clear forests by burning them and then grow crops in the soils that is fertilized by the ashes. The problem is that this technique only applies for several years and then the land must be abandoned, and farmers leave to find new places44.

3. The situation today In wealthier countries of high latitudes as Europe, the Unites States and Canada, there has been an increase in the forest covered area due to poor-quality agricultural land that has been regenerated to forest. In contrast, in tropical regions like Latin America, Africa and Asia, deforestation has increased rapidly in recent decades. This could be influenced by the rapid growth in size of the human population of these regions, as well as due to the

S.L. Cohen, “The History of Deforestation”, Bizfluent, https://bizfluent.com/about-5389808history-deforestation.html. 43 Environment Insider, “Impact of Industrialization on the Environment”, Environment Insider, http://environmentinsider.com/impact-industrialization-environment/. 44 Britannica, “Deforestation”, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/deforestation. 42

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increasing globalization of the trading economy that turns tropical forest into agricultural land for crops that is exported into wealthier countries45.

Discussion of the problem 1. Loss of a renewable resource It is understandable that forests are considered as a renewable resource that can be sustainably harvested to gain several economically vital products as lumber, paper and fuelwood to produce energy. As already mentioned, they also sustain an important role in ecological service related to clean air and water, and the control of erosion. Therefore, any kind of loss of a forest region detracts from these vital benefits and represents the depletion of an important natural resource. When a forest is not treated in such a way that it can be managed correctly and allow to encourage the regeneration of another trees and plants, it can be considered as if the forest is being used for negative reasons rather than treated as a renewable natural resource – and its area can be diminished for commercial reasons46.

Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Deforestation Today”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1972/Deforestation-Deforestation-today.html. 46 Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Loss of a Renewable Resource”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1973/Deforestation-Loss-renewableresource.html. 45

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2. Environmental issues It is no secret that trees are part of the photosynthesis cycle. A single tree can absorb an amount of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. When there are no trees the carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere or is absorbed by the oceans, which makes them more acid. It is worth to note that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which contributes to create the “ceiling” in the atmosphere that prevents ground heat from dissipating into space. It can be therefore said that deforestation leads to, straight forward, global warming47: with a smaller number of trees, there will be a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Deforestation can also lead to loss of habitat, which means that animals and plant species lose their natural habitat. The trees provide in fact home and shelter to many species of animals, and when being diminished they can make a drastic removal of the animals’ habitat48. It is estimated by scientist that by the middle of the 21st century 30 to 50 percent of all species could be extinct49, and deforestation could be among one of the main causes for that. Furthermore, the trees control and regulate the water cycle in the atmosphere. Therefore, with fewer trees there is less water in the air to be later returned to the soil. With that, the soil will be more dryer and thus make it more difficult to grow crops. Deforestation can also lead to soil erosion and flooding. Trees are also functioning to retain water and topsoil who is the resource for the rich nutrients to sustain any additional forest life. Without trees, the soil erodes and washed away which later cause the farmers to move on and retain the cycle in a different region.

C. Deziel, “Environmental Problems Caused by Deforestation of Tropical Rain Forests”, Sciencing, https://sciencing.com/environmental-problems-caused-deforestation-tropical-rainforests-22487.html. 48 Pachamama Alliance, “Effects of Deforestation”, Pachamama Alliance, https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation. 49 C. Deziel,“Environmental Problems Caused by Deforestation of Tropical Rain Forests”, Sciencing, https://sciencing.com/environmental-problems-caused-deforestation-tropical-rainforests-22487.html. 47

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In addition, the abandoned land is not good anymore for agriculture practice and is then more susceptible to flooding, especially in coastal regions 50.

3. The humans’ perspective With deforestation also comes the destruction or the loss of indigenous people’s habitat. The reason for that is that forests are the home for these people and when they are being destroyed so does their food and shelter to survive. The lifestyle of these indigenous people is thus damaged and cannot be restore. These damages in their lifestyle could also lead them to move between or outside regions of forests, provoking even more damages. Not to mention the fact that those tribes are familiar with the forests region and have an extreme knowledge of it – which give them the ability to use correctly the resources. But this is completely ignored by the governments, which are not consulting them regarding the policies they are adopting. As it seems forests are crucial for the humans’ existence in the tropics, providing shelter for hundreds of indigenous groups around the world, but this is still not taken properly into consideration by policy makers.

4. Climate change Humans can make up a whopping 90% of the total number of burned biomass whereas natural fires make up only around 10%.

Pachamama Alliance, “Effects of Deforestation”, Pachamama Alliance, https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation. 50

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Making burning organic materials on a large scale can cause to emit greenhouse gases which are the main contributor to global climate change. With that, it is estimated that 25% of the world’s total greenhouse gas production arrives from deforestation alone51.

According to the World Carfree Network (WCN), cars and trucks are ed for approximately 14% of global carbon emission whereas deforestation stand on 15%. When trees are felled they release all the carbon they restore back into the atmosphere. Then, the carbon mixes with greenhouse gases from other sources and contribute to the ongoing global warming52.

Previous UN Involvement 1. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development There have been some works and progress on the matter of this topic in the United Nations’ framework. For example, a resolution was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development on December 22, 1989 by the General Assembly. This conference brought up four important issues and dealt with the situation in the world on an international level. First, it was stated in article 7 that: “States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their environmental

L. Bennet, “Deforestation and Climate Change”, Climate Institute, http://climate.org/deforestation-and-climate-change/. 52 R. Scheer and D. Moss, “Deforestation and Its Extreme Effect on Global Warming”, Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deforestation-and-global-warming/. 51

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policies, and also reaffirms their responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and to play their due role in preserving and protecting the global and regional environment in accordance with their capacities and specific responsibilities”53. This part of the resolution made some groundwork for the process on international level. The second part stated that the developed countries are the main source of the pollution and “have the main responsibility for combating such pollution”54. The third part of the resolution dealt with the environment issues which should the committee deal with and stated them in article 12: ozone layer, freshwater, all kind of other bodies of water, land and more. Finally, the last part of the resolution stated that the UN decided to establish the Preparatory Committee which will deal with all the above mentioned: “Draft the provisional agenda of the Conference, in accordance with the provisions of the present resolution; Adopt guidelines to enable States to take a harmonized approach in their preparations and reporting; Prepare draft decisions for the Conference and submit them to the Conference for consideration and adoption until March 1990”55.

2. The UN-REDD Programme The UN-REDD Programme, the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), was launched in 2008 and is based on the work and the knowledge of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This programme promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of the parties such as indigenous people and other forest communities. Moreover, there are efforts in 65 partner countries spanning from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America56. A/RES/44/228, “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/ares44-228.htm. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 56 UN-REDD, “UN-REDD Programme”, UN-REDD, https://www.un-redd.org/. 53

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3. The UNEP Carbon Calculator App On December 13, 2011, the United Nations mobile telephone application released a calculator app that can count the s’ carbon footprint, visualize its equivalent in a particular ecosystem and learn new ways on how they can reduce their emissions. This app allows the to trace his carbon during his trip and to input via which transport he/she travelled by. Also, the app provides efficient suggestions and guidelines on environmental issues regarding deforestation and degradation. The app was produced by the UNEP and is considered an educational app. The application is available online in some languages such as English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and Russian57.

UN News, “UN mobile app lets s calculate size of carbon footprint”, United Nations, https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/12/398132-un-mobile-app-lets-s-calculate-size-carbonfootprint. 57

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4. The United Nations Forum on Forests The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) is considered as a high intergovernmental policy forum. All the UN Member States and other Permanent Observers are included in the forum. This forum was established on October 18, 2000, after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development planned to establish a “nonlegally binding authoritative”, and after that the UN established the Intergovernmental on Forests (IPF) and its Successor the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) which both lasted from 1995 until 200058. The principles of this forum are the following: facilitate implementation of forestrelated agreements and forest management; provide a common ground for a dialog between governments and other bodies on policy development; enhance cooperation and policy programme coordination on forest-related issues; foster international cooperation; monitor the progress and objectives; strengthen political commitment to management, conservation and sustainable development for all kind of forests59.

5. Sustainable Developments Goals: Goal 15 Goal 15 is part of the UN Environment 2030 Agenda “Sustainable Developments Goals”, which was launched in 2015. The main targets of this goal, whose title is “Life on Land”, are to maintain the ecosystems around the world and generally protect the environment60.

United Nations, “United Nations Forum on Forests”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/esa/forests/. 59 Ibid. 60 UN Environment, “Goal 15: Life on Land”, United Nations Environment Programme, https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/sustainable-development-goals/why-dosustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-15. 58

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Possible Solutions 1. The Zero Deforestation status According to the UN’s Sustainable Developments Goals, there is a pledge to halt deforestation by 2020. About 447 companies had made 760 commitments to curb forest destruction in their supply chains which linked to palm oil, soy, timber, pulp and cattle. There has being a growing number of companies from McDonald’s to Unilever that are voluntarily committing themselves to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. Those companies want to achieve “zero deforestation” by 2020, and if not to halt it by 2020 so to end it by 2030.61. In addition, there has been a debate between the two “deforestation free” and “zero deforestation” which are not the same thing. More even, some countries like China and India who are less engaged in the deforestation debate are still not contributing to this movement62. The following are some of the most prominent zero deforestation pledges: World Wide Fund for Nature, Consumer Goods Forum, Tropical Forest Alliance, Banking Environment Initiative, New York Declaration on Forests. With the 2010 resolution of Consumer Goods Forum regarding deforestation under zero deforestation pledge, there are more strategies and corporate social responsibility, thus this lead to produce important impacts on global and local governance for reducing deforestation. In addition, those actions under the resolution helped to establish

T. Riley, “Companies’ ‘Zero Deforestation’ Pledges: Everything You Need to Know”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/29/companies-zerodeforestation-pledges-agriculture-palm-oil-environment. 62 ibid. 61

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more coherent thinking regarding reducing deforestation within the private and public sector63.

2. Greenpeace’s solutions to fight deforestation Greenpeace made some key points to provide their own solution and agenda for the topic. They are working in collaboration with First Nations, governments, forest product companies and more. Also, they believe in good marketing like “zero deforestation” and that companies should set ambitious targets to maximize the usage of wood products and recycle. Moreover, Greenpeace stands with the indigenous people and promotes sustainable choices like eating sustainable food, choosing recycled sustainable wood product etc. Greenpeace believes that there is a change and a way to change the politics regarding deforestation and climate change. They think that laws concerning wildlife and forests are contributing to the effectiveness to lower deforestation and. Greenpeace encourage people to act and sign up for making a change regarding the climate change. They sum up with some action that an everyday human can do, and moreover with the action of people to educate their surroundings about how their actions can impact forests around the world64.

3. Earth-eclipse (plants trees, recycle, etc.) Earth Eclipse is a website source containing all the information that are related to environment, global warming, climate change etc. This website s plenty materials as a community website. As part of the website goals, there was a plan or some ways that suggest halting and/or reducing deforestation and degradation. The eight ways that have been mention are: (1) green business who will use recycled products and green methods ; (2) eco-foresty plan which allows to cut

FAO. 2018. “Zero-deforestation Commitments: A New Avenue Towards Enhanced Forest Governance?”. http://www.fao.org/3/i9927en/I9927EN.pdf 64 Greenpeace, “Solutions to Deforestation”, Greenpeace, https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/solutions-to-deforestation/. 63

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only selected trees to minor the damage in some areas ; (3) law and regulation on deforestation can make a more straight forward approach to humans ; (4) community foresty is a programme to collaborate communities with other bodies to plant trees and management their local forest ; (5) replanting or reforestation is to plant trees and or to restore damaged areas of forests ; (6) sensitization and educative campains on deforestation and degradation ; (7) t organization for the same goals ; (8) land use planning in a more efficient and proper way65.

Bloc positions 1. The European Union On a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on April 4, 2017, it was stated that the European Union will follow the UN Environment 2030 Agenda “Sustainable Developments Goals” and thus make this its practice in its Member States. Also, the EU agreed to “help meet the private-sector goal of eliminating deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, soy, paper and beef product by no later than 2020”. The EU also “calls on the Commission and all Member States who have not yet so, to demonstrate their commitment to working towards the establishment of an EU-wide national commitment of sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2020 toward eliminating deforestation”. The Commission will also make studies on deforestation. In addition, European companies have embraced the spirit of “zero deforestation”. In addition to this, the EU seek to examine the connection and the impact between consumption in the EU to deforestation 66. Furthermore, the EU has provided an “Action Plan to Tackle Upon Deforestation and Degradation” in 2017. There are 5 main key points which are presented in the action plan: (1) provide more financial and technical assistance to producer

Earth Eclipse, “8 Fantastic Solutions to Deforestation”, Earth Eclipse, https://www.eartheclipse.com/environment/fantastic-solutions-to-deforestation.html. 66 2018/C 298/01, “European Parliament resolution of 4 April 2017 on palm oil and deforestation of rainforests (2016/2222(INI))”, European Parliament, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017IP0098&rid=7. 65

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countries; (2) establish a regulatory framework to ensure that all supply chains linked to the EU market are sustainable; (3) introduce forest-specific provisions in EU trade and investment and require agreements and require due diligence measure; (4)tackle the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation; (5) strengthen implementation of policies and legislation such as the FLEGT Action Plan, the EU Timber Regulation and EU Wildlife Trade Regulation67.

2. South-East Asia South-East Asia is a region with a big vast rainforest and rich biodiversity but on the other side this region is also known for its alarming rate of deforestation. It is assumed that until 2022 about 50% of the forest’s regions will be lost. Deforestation is one of the leading problems in this region with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand considered as hotspots for deforestation68. ASEAN nations have their own forest department and try to work individually on this matter. In addition, there is an ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, however it was never formally agreed upon or even enforced – only to be overtaken by the CBD, the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was ratified by all ASEAN countries.

3. Africa Until the end of the 1980’s, Africa had an estimated of 528 million hectares, or 30% of the world’s tropical forests. From this period and onward the rate of deforestation in Sub-Saharan African countries exceeded on an annual average rate of about 0.8%. Most African countries are considered developing countries, which means those countries rely heavily on wood fuel for energy sources such as cooking, heating and more. It was estimated that almost 90% of the continent use fuelwood for these usages.

Fern, “NGO Statement. Tackling Deforestation and Forest Degradation: A Case for EU Action in 2017”, Fern, http://awsassets.panda.org/s/EUAPDD_final_15062017.pdf. 68 P. Victor, “Deforestation – A Modern-Day Plague in Southeast Asia”, The ASEAN Post, https://theaseanpost.com/article/deforestation-modern-day-plague-southeast-asia. 67

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Furthermore, in Africa, governments invest substantially more in cash crops than in food crops – this can be reflected in the pricing and marketing policies. Nevertheless, deforestation is not necessarily a political issue, whereas primarily caused by activities of the general population69.

4. Latin America In 2015, eight countries of the Latin America region pledged to replant about 20 million hectares of forest by the year 2020 on the side-lines of the UN climate conference in Lima. These countries were: Mexico, Guatemala, EL Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. In this pledge Mexico made the largest promise to restore about 8.5 million hectares followed by Peru with 3.2 and Guatemala with 1.2 million. The Peruvian’s agriculture minister has stated that: “In Peru, we are losing forests… due to illegal mining… the region needs to work on replanting the forests and moving toward ‘carbon-neutral’ agriculture”. Moreover, the Colombian Environment Minister has stated that: “the restoration of land in the region is also essential to promoting equity and reducing poverty, promoting development in poor rural communities, and achieving a low carbon future”70.

5. The United States In the United States, 56% of its forest lands are in private ownership. But the U.S. Forest Service can give technical and financial assistance to the private forest landowners. Although it is stated that the forest estate is seen as stable in the U.S., the country faces other natural challenges that are affected by climate change. From 2001-2010, the department of the Forest Service in the U.S. has treated an average of around 1 million hectare per year, and by 2014 they increased that African Technology Forum, “Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, African Technology Forum, http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/Deforestation.htm. 70 DTE Stuff, “Latin America Countries Agree to Stop Deforestation at Lima Summit”, DownToEarth, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/latin-american-countries-agree-tostop-deforestation-at-lima-summit-47749. 69

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by 9%. Currently, the U.S. is looking for other product-material and researchers at the Forest Products Lab have helped to find ways to use small-diameter materials in cross-laminated timber. Unfortunately, it is all comes down to money and many citizens in the U.S. do not appreciate the many benefits they get from forests71.

Relevant international documents 1. The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 During the UN Forum on Forests on January 20, 2017, 197 Member States reached an agreement on the first UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) that will apply for a vision for global forests in 2030. This plan has 6 core goals that are the main pillars of how the plan will apply and thus set a framework for action to safeguard the world’s most productive landbased ecosystems. With that, the plan’s mission is also to highlight the contribution of sustainably managed forests to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite all challenges and hurdles the plan seek to overcome and arrive to the requirements and beyond the UN system. http://aims.fao.org/activity/blog/first-un-strategic-plan-2017-2030-forests

2. The United Nations Forest Instrument The United Nations Forest Instrument is a body that provides countries with a framework for promoting forest management. The main goal of this instrument is to maintain and to strengthen forest governance, technical and institutional capacity, policy and legal frameworks, forest sector investment and stakeholder participation at the international and national level for all countries. This instrument was established under the adopted resolution by the UN on February 16, 2016 and is still active. https://static.un.org/esa/forests/documents/un-forest-instrument/index.html T. Tidwell, “State of Forests and Forestry in the United States”, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.fed.us/speeches/state-forests-and-forestry-united-states-1. 71

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3. The Global Forest Watch In 1997, the World Resources Institute (WRI) established the Global Forest Watch (GFW) in order to be a part of the Forest Frontiers Initiative. The GFW has started as an NGO to produce up-to-date reports on the status of forests in four pilot countries: Cameroon, Canada, Gabon and Indonesia. Since then, by 2005 the GFW expanded to 21 countries, and by 2014 the WRI launched the GFW 2.0. https://www.globalforestwatch.org/about

References 2018/C 298/01, “European Parliament resolution of 4 April 2017 on palm oil and deforestation of rainforests (2016/2222(INI))”, European Parliament, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017IP0098&rid=7. A/RES/44/228, “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/44/ares44-228.htm. African Technology Forum, “Deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, African Technology Forum, http://web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/Deforestation.htm. L. Bennet, “Deforestation and Climate Change”, Climate Institute, http://climate.org/deforestation-and-climate-change/. Britannica, “Deforestation”, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/deforestation. S.L. Cohen, “The History of Deforestation”, Bizfluent. https://bizfluent.com/about-5389808-history-deforestation.html. Cultural Survival, “Deforestation: the Human Costs”, Cultural Survival, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survivalquarterly/deforestation-human-costs.

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C. Deziel, “Environmental Problems Caused by Deforestation of Tropical Rain Forests”, Sciencing, https://sciencing.com/environmental-problemscaused-deforestation-tropical-rain-forests-22487.html. DTE Stuff, “Latin America Countries Agree to Stop Deforestation at Lima Summit”, DownToEarth, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/latinamerican-countries-agree-to-stop-deforestation-at-lima-summit-47749. Earth Eclipse, “8 Fantastic Solutions to Deforestation”, Earth Eclipse, https://www.eartheclipse.com/environment/fantastic-solutions-todeforestation.html. Environment Insider, “Impact of Industrialization on the Environment”, Environment Insider, http://environmentinsider.com/impact-industrializationenvironment/. Fern, “NGO Statement. Tackling Deforestation and Forest Degradation: A Case for EU Action in 2017”, Fern, http://awsassets.panda.org/s/EUAPDD_final_15062017.pdf. FAO. 2018. “Zero-deforestation Commitments: A New Avenue Towards Enhanced Forest Governance?”. http://www.fao.org/3/i9927en/I9927EN.pdf Greenpeace, “Solutions to Deforestation”, Greenpeace, https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forests/solutions-to-deforestation/. A. Kirk, “Deforestation: Where is the World Losing the Most Trees?”, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/23/deforestation-whereis-the-world-losing-the-most-trees/. J.P. Lanly, “Deforestation and Degradation Factors”, Congress Proceeding B, XII World Foresty Congress: 75-83, http://www.fao.org/3/xii/ms12a-e.htm. C. Nunez, “Deforestation explained”, National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/deforestation/. Pachamama Alliance, “Effects of Deforestation”, Pachamama Alliance, https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation. Riley, “Companies’ ‘Zero Deforestation’ Pledges: Everything You Need to Know”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/2017/sep/29/companies-zero-deforestation-pledges-agriculture-palmoil-environment 44

R. Scheer and D. Moss, “Deforestation and Its Extreme Effect on Global Warming”, Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deforestation-and-globalwarming/. Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Deforestation Today”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1972/DeforestationDeforestation-today.html. Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Historical Deforestation”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1971/Deforestation-Historicaldeforestation.html. Science Encyclopedia, “Deforestation – Loss of a Renewable Resource”, Science Encyclopedia, https://science.jrank.org/pages/1973/DeforestationLoss-renewable-resource.html. T. Tidwell, “State of Forests and Forestry in the United States”, U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.fed.us/speeches/state-forests-and-forestry-united-states1. UN Environment, “Goal 15: Life on Land”, United Nations Environment Programme, https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/sustainabledevelopment-goals/why-do-sustainable-development-goals-matter/goal-15. UN News, “UN mobile app lets s calculate size of carbon footprint”, United Nations, https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/12/398132-un-mobile-applets-s-calculate-size-carbon-footprint. UN-REDD, “UN-REDD Programme”, UN-REDD, https://www.un-redd.org/. United Nations, “United Nations Forum on Forests”, United Nations, https://www.un.org/esa/forests/. P. Victor, “Deforestation – A Modern-Day Plague in Southeast Asia”, The ASEAN Post, https://theaseanpost.com/article/deforestation-modern-dayplague-southeast-asia. WWF, “Deforestation and Forest Degradation”, World Wide Fund for Nature, https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forestdegradation.

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