Climate change isn’t a problem that is as far away as we think.
People all around the globe are already starting to feel the effects of climate change in their
everyday lives. As temperatures rise, glaciers melt, and natural resources are depleted, it’s
pivotal to begin to think of solutions to the ever growing problem of climate change.
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) founded in 1972 with its
headquarters located in Nairobi, Kenya, is a committee that works to find solutions and
address environmental challenges that people around the world face.
The work done by the UNEP helps people live more in harmony with the environment
around them and helps to avoid unsustainable consumption and other practices that are
harming the Earth and making global issues like climate change worse.
The Amazon Rainforest
One global issue that negatively impacts both humans and nature is deforestation. Forests are
crucial to supporting biodiversity and providing important resources like food, fuel and
shelter as well as absorbing and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it and
then releasing oxygen.
Unfortunately, the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest, is getting deforested.
Home to millions of diverse species and key to providing resources to the people and helping
the environment, the impact of deforestation of the Amazon will impact millions of people
and animals if it worsens.
According to an article published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2022: “47 million
people live in the Amazon region and depend upon it for their livelihoods... The Amazon is
home to a [diverse range] of the world’s species [and] many of these species are found
nowhere else in the world... The Amazon is [also] a major carbon sink that regulates and
helps stabilise the planet’s climate. Any loss or degradation of its forests means an increase in
carbon emissions... [Not only that] the Amazon is [also] the largest free-flowing river in the
world.”
Despite its beauty and abundance of natural resources, the Amazon is experiencing
deforestation severely.
According to the same article by the WWF: “17% of Amazon forests have been wholly lost,
and an additional 17% are degraded. And data from the first half of 2022 show the loss
continuing to grow... The Amazon is in crisis as forests are threatened by deforestation, fires,
and degradation... rivers are [also] increasingly disconnected and polluted.”
As the Amazon rainforest is getting deforested and its future impacts could be detrimental,
the UNEP had to step in.
UNEP Blocs
After many heated debates and conversations about the impacts of deforestation of the
Amazon, the delegates of the UNEP ultimately split into two separate blocs: the STA bloc
consisting of countries such as France and the United Kingdom and the FTPA bloc consisting
of countries such as Brazil and China. Both blocs wanted the same goal, to protect the
Amazon rainforest and reduce deforestation but they had majorly different approaches to
solving the problem.
“[The STA bloc] believes in strengthening current environmental laws and creating new
ones... [The bloc also] wants to give Indigenous communities living in and around the
Amazon more voices so they are able to promote sustainability and have more opportunities
[to speak up],” says the delegation of France, “[The STA bloc] also wants to reduce carbon
emissions by de-incentivising big companies from polluting.”
On the other hand, the FTPA bloc has a different approach.
“[The FTPA bloc] does not want deforestation to happen either. Unfortunately, [many
countries in our bloc] don’t have enough resources. The good thing is that China is joining
our bloc and [they] will give us money to help fund projects. [The bloc] will use funding
from China to develop surveillance technologies like satellites and drones to catch illegal
deforestation. [With the resources], we will also work on reforestation within the Amazon,”
says the delegation of Brazil.
In the end, while both blocs have different solutions and the end resolution hasn’t been
confirmed yet, it is evident that both blocs are working hard to find possible solutions to the
major problem of deforestation.
UPDATE
After many more conversations between the delegations of each bloc, many countries have
changed their opinions and new blocs have formed.
Some of the former countries that were a part of the STA bloc split up and created their own
bloc: the AEI bloc consisting of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, France, Australia,
Canada.
“[The STA block] is unrealistic in their solutions. [One of their ideas] was to stop cattle
ranching as a whole but that [could] cause a major global economic crisis. They also want to
reforestation and expand on surveillance technology,” says the delegation of Austria, “[Our
new bloc, the AEI bloc] is much more realistic. We want to strengthen environmental laws to
[deter] illegal deforestation and plan long term projects step by step.”
Nevertheless, the STA block doesn’t agree with the AEI block.
“[The STA bloc] believes that it is best to stop cattle ranching as it is a major cause of
deforestation and we must act before it is too late,” says the delegation of Ukraine.
Another bloc has also appeared during the dramatic splitting of the STA bloc: the EEB bloc
consisting of Iran, Russia and Ecuador. They mainly focus on reforestation attempts within
the communities that live in and around the Amazon.
UPDATE
After more complications and debates between the blocs, Mexico, a former member of the
STA bloc has decided to join the AEI bloc in supporting their reinforcement of new
environmental laws.
Members of the AEI bloc, Austria and Belgium, have also invited Brazil to join in their
efforts. Brazil, who makes money from the deforestation of the Amazon, requires the export
of cattle and soy to ensure their economy survives. Their original plan was to encourage
ecotourism to raise awareness about problems the Amazon is facing.
Austria has pushed to enforce cooperation with Brazil, giving them resources like drones and
satellites to monitor illegal deforestation, sustain new environmental laws and cooperate
globally and internationally to protect the overall wellbeing of the Amazon.
Soon, the blocs will go into the planning of resolution papers and presentations. No matter
which solution is adopted, all the blocs have a shared, common goal of preserving the
Amazon, a rainforest full of biodiversity, beauty and life.
Citations:
WWF. “The Amazon in crisis: Forest loss threatens the region and the planet.”
World Wildlife Fund, 8 November 2022,
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-amazon-in-crisis-forest-loss-threatens-the-r
egion-and-the-planet. Accessed 25 October 2024.
United Nations Environment Programme. “About the United Nations Environment
Programme.” UNEP, 2024, https://www.unep.org/who-we-are/about-us. Accessed 25
October 2024.
United Nations Environment Programme. “Frequently Asked Questions.” UNEP, 2024,
https://www.unep.org/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions. Accessed 25 October
2024.
Fun Facts About the Amazon Rainforest. 2024,
The BBC
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