Antarctic

• Antarctica is the world’s largest wild life sanctuary and has the fastest ocean food chain. Home to 100 million birds and other species of animals the Antarctic provides us with warnings for global warming through air caught within the ice. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 made Antarctica the world’s first nuclear-free zone and has maintained a nonmilitarized status since. Canada is the nonconsultative party in the Antarctic Treaty system which also involves other regimes that are set up to protect the fragile ecosystem. The Protocol on the Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed to protect Antarctic from being mined for resources.  The UN disregarded the Antarctic as a part of the global commons in 1983. Antarctica is a symbol of peace and cooperation because it is not a military advantage, resource wealthy or with anything.

Climate Change and Global Warming

• heavy reliance on the burning of fossil fuels releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into atmosphere
• ozone layer affected by industrial chemicials
• global warming can bring catastrophic resultions such as: melting ice caps, rising sea levels, flooding, less productive agriculture, uninhabitable tropics, rising ocean temperatures, changed ecosystems, vector-borne diseases and unusual warming
• increased level of political awareness
• internal talks in Geneva in July 1996 - 57 European insurance firms urged politicians to hold conference to reduce carbon emissions; however, by 1996, little progress was made as signatory states of Framework Convention were unwilling to establish domestic laws
• Kyoto- December 199- stricter treaties regarding emission controls- different for each state
• failed proposals at UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in fall 2000 for system of emissions trading (ie. "surplus credits", "carbon sink credits") - credits would be "rewards" for countries so that they would not have to reduce as much carbon dioxide
• competitive nature of the world economy will limit states' willingness to sacrifice economic growth for future = prisoner's dilemma
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)- instrumental in getting climate change on global agenda
• UN Environmental Programme and World Meteorological Organization continue to measure climate change while IPCC produces reports
• unless major emitters are willing to make a change, we will find ourselves reacting and adapting to the warming process and changes rather than trying to prevent it
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)- damage statospheric ozone layer used to block UV rays = increased rates of skin cancer and eye problems, ruined ecosystems and immune systems; however, most industrial states already ban CFC use
• FACTS AND NUMBERS: CO2 concentration in 2001 = 370 parts per million, increase between 1997-2010= from 6175 million metric tonnes to 10009 million metric tonnes per year
• Antarctic ozone hole in 2000 was more than 28 million sqaure kilometres in size

Deforestation and Land Degradation

• Impact of human activity on world’s land surface – removal of the world’s forests and decreasing amount of arable land
• Not only tropical rain forests but also temperate rain forests (forests that grow in regions with moderate temperatures) are being largely affected
• Developing countries feel exploiting these forests is vital to their economic development and believe industrialized countries that have already exploited their own forests are not allowing them to do so
• Rain forest depletion is a particularly large problem – in the 1980s alone the world lost 8% of its rain forests
• Rain forest depletion happens for many reasons including desire for pastureland, cropland, fuel, and foreign markets for hardwood
• Another problem is the fact that full regeneration of a rainforest ecosystem is impossible, mainly because the biodiversity and other aspects have been developed over thousands of years
• Deforestation causes a reduction in the earth’s ability to produce and absorb carbon dioxide as well as inconsistent rainfall patterns resulting in deadly floods
• Soil degradation is caused by deforestation, overgrazing, and agricultural mismanagement
• Soil degradation can have severe implications on the world’s food supply due to the thousands of years that it takes to produce topsoil
• Causes introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) which may lower food security in the long run and harm poor farmers by forcing them to purchase biotech products

Species Impoverishment

• 20th century has seen more extinctions than ever (i.e. whales) due to human misunderstand and possibly greed
• whatever caused the Cretaceous extinction of dinosaurs (65 million years ago) did not kill off all the species on the earth at the time, yet was not preventable with human effort (no humans lived at the time)
• the development of agriculture changed the human-nature relationship so that we have been able to affect ecosystems, and even the biosphere with economic activity
• principal threat to biodiversity: overhunting (overfishing species such as cod, turbot, and Pacific salmon)
• reduction of species populations have a severe impact on their reproductive health
• the chances for survival for the group as a whole decreases (the “gene pool” must be diverse for healthy populations to thrive)
• The World Conservation Union (IUCN): originally formed in 1948, it covers intergovernmental and transnational conservation activity
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) resulted in the itnernational ivory trade ban of 1989; this multilateral accord is torn between Northern states demanding complete protection of species and Southern states demanding trade in animal parts
• The Biodiversity Treaty (1992) has three central aims: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biological resources, and equitable sharing of benefits from such use
• Another broader problem to be addressed is the preservation of habita

Protecting the Global Environment: From Stockholm to Rio to Johannesburg

• 1972 the UN sponsored the conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) in Stockholm.
• The Governing council had 58 nations elected by the General Assembly for a 3 year term.
  Agenda 21 is really the core of the UNCED achievement.
• In the late summer of 2002 Agenda 21 was put into place.
• Agenda 21 represents focusing the world’s attention towards emergent challenges including people’s lives.

Transborder Environmental Issues

• Trans border pollution flows from one country to another. Through rivers, streams, lakes, air, and even underground.
• Have resulted from industrialization.
• Acid rain and the circulation of pesticides are examples of Trans border pollution.
• Another issue is water.
• Only about 3% of the earth’s water is fresh. And most of it is frozen in ice caps.
• About 1.1 billion people or 18% of the world’s population lack access to safe drinking water.
• Global water use doubles every 21 years.
• There is a demand for fresh water for agriculture 66%, industry 25%, and human conception 9%.
• Hydro politics: conflict over water.
• Water may become as much as a conflict in the future as oil is now.
• Wars have occurred between Britain and Island over fishing in 1960, and 1970.
• 1994 Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) set a limit on the amount of Greenland Halibut you can catch.
• People have tried to use illegal nets to catch more fish, however they were caught.  

Environmental Degradation and Military Conflict: An Ongoing Circle  

• environment is increasingly being considered as a security issue, but sceptics say it’s not because environment cannot be addressed through military means
• environment can be harmed by military:
              - incidentally: strategic necessity
              - deliberately: as a strategy (ecocide)
              - in the course of military preparation (weapons testing, chem. Spills)
• burning 500million barrels of oil in Kuwait after Gulf War caused concern over how conventional warfare has harmed ecosystems
• Vietnam War- largest single assault on ecosystem
• long term consequences:
              -1916 Allies used phosgene in Battle of Somme
              - liquid polluted water
              - froze in winter and stayed in soil
              - landmines destroy ppl and land long after they are planted
• scarcity of resources:
              - human activity increase
              - population increase
              - unequal distribution of resources
• wars will start over resources because:
              - loss of arable land
              - destruction of forests and forest related jobs
              - loss of fresh water supplies
              - loss of strategic materials (oil)
              - loss of fishery resources
• states must take ENMOD convention seriously
• Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques

NGO Actors and the Environment in Global Politics

Despite governmental actors and intergovernmental organizations active environment issues would be impossible to approach if it weren’t for Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

• NGOs have seen recent success in stemming the tide of large-scale infrastructure development that is the International Rivers Network, leading to successful coalition that lobbied against World Bank’s financing of a Nepalese hydropower project and minimized the World Bank’s funding of large dams, an average of 18 a year between 1980-1985 to only 6 a year between 1986-1993
• NGOs influence the operations of multilateral forums, contributing to CITES  and World Conservation Union
• NGOs are criticized for insisting on a western environmentalist ethic

The Role of Science in Global Ecopolitics

Genetic Engineering: a variety of techniques aimed at deliberately changing the genetic makeup of a cell or organism

• Scientists have been able to modify the genes of many crops like tobacco, tomatoes, corn, squash, potatoes and cotton
• Many of these crops are openly sold in the US and Canada, often without labels
• Critics argue that the long-term effects on health care are unknown as well that the cross-pollination effect from farms using genetically modified seeds is unknown
• Some plants have been modified to be resistant to weed killers, insects, viruses, or fungi
• Research scientists can also genetically engineer many food animals, including fish, cows, goats, sheep, chicken and pigs
• By combining genetic engineering with cloning scientists can produce many identical genetically modified animals
• Critics concerned about the ethical implications of modifying nature and about possible accidents
• It is inevitable that cloning is a concern because of the potential possibility of cloning humans or organs
• Most of the powerful biotechnology industry is located in US and Japan , they want the EU to open their markets to GMOs too though they are reluctant to do so
• Greenpeace maintains an anti-GMO stance  

Glossary

Antarctic Treaty System: regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native population. Antarctica is a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation and banned military activity on that continent.

Biodiversity: greatly varied Flora (plant life) and Fauna (animal life) in a habitat

Biosphere: life and living processes at or near the earth’s surface, extending from the oceans’ floors and the lithosphere to about 75 kilometres into the atmosphere

Climate Change: any long-term significant change in the weather patterns of an area

Cross-pollination: the transfer of pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of a plant having a different genetic constitution

Deforestation: t he process by which forests are human-removed for various reasons including grazing land, growing crops, and using wood for furniture (i.e. hardwood)

Environmentalism: a concern for the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and certain land use actions

Exclusive Economic Zone: a seazone over which a state has special right over the exploration and use of marine resources

Genetically Modified Organisms: plants and animals genetically altered by adding, subtracting, or changing the genetic code

Global Commons: is that which no one person or state may own or control and which is central to life e.g. forests, oceans, land mass and cultural identity and hence requires absolute protection.

Inordinate: not within proper or reasonable limits; immoderate; excessive

Sustainability: is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely

Technocratic: of, pertaining to, or designating a technocracy or technocrat: a technical expert, especially one in a managerial or administrative position

Treaty Obligations: agreements within a treat that a state is obliged to follow

UNCED: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development ; also known as the Rio Summit, Earth Summit was a major conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. 178 governments participated, with 118 sending their heads of state or government

UNEP: United Nations Environmental Programme; coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and encourages sustainable development through sound environmental practices.