When confronted with the question “what is the source of all things?”, Thales of Miletus, commonly cited as “the first philosopher”, provided a simple answer: water. While Thales argued that the world itself emerged out of a massive body of water, the idea that water itself is a source of many things isn’t that far off. It was in the ancient oceans that used to cover the entire surface of planet Earth that primitive forms of life came about. Millions of years after that, the first human settlements began next to fertile farmlands situated next to massive rivers. Water is synonymous with life. Today, many of the world’s most prosperous cities are paired up with the bodies of water they are founded next to, whether it be London and the Thames, Istanbul and the Bosphorus or Shanghai and the Yangtze. The oldest civilization, the Sumerians, flourished in Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers, by virtue of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers.
Water is synonymous with wealth. Unsurprisingly, the downfall of the Sumerians also came with the wars its prosperous lands attracted. Whether it be pirates in the Caribbean or pirates in Somalia, a conflict of interest when it comes to sharing a lake between Israel and Palestine or between Chad and Niger, or even delineating the river borders between Serbia and Croatia or Cambodia and Laos, water has generated quarrels between parties. Water is synonymous with conflict. This year at RCIMUN, we’ll be discussing the multitude of effects posed by the abundance or shortage of water in many regions of the world with the theme “Water: The Fundamental Source of Life, Wealth and Conflict”.
Water is synonymous with expansion. As water levels increase every year, it isn’t surprising how small islands get more valuable by day. Islands, in the South China Sea and the East China Sea for example were not claimed by nations in the region until 20th century despite the islands being habitable and the precedence of settlements in the region. China has a military presence in the region that is progressively getting more controversial with the construction of artificial islands. In fact, it is estimated that China has built 273 thousand meters worth of artificial land ("China's Artificial Islands in South China Sea - Review."). When it is considered that the total surface area of the islands in the South China Sea is around 15 kilometers squared (Pletcher), this expansion is just one of the signs of how valuable the acquisition of extra land is getting. Intimidated by Chinese aggression, smaller nations in the region have appealed to the United States. However the involvement of the United States in the region further provokes an increase in the military buildup by China. The unclear intentions of both sides creates an atmosphere of insecurity that infrequently erupts into minor diplomatic crises with Chinese military patrollers harassing Vietnamese and Filipino fishers who try to take advantage of the underwater resources in the region.
Water is synonymous with resources. Conflicts don’t only arise due to the scarcity of land, it’s the scarcity of resources that fuel it. In this case, water in the South China Sea isn’t a scarce resource so to speak; however it is what lies under the water that is of great value. It is estimated by the World Bank that the South China Sea is home to at least 8 trillion barrels of oil and 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (Xu). In addition to the energy sources, fishing in the region employs more than 3.7 million people in the 10 surrounding countries and is an industry that generates billions of dollars (Bale). Even when these natural resources are disregarded, simply possessing the waterway that connects the Strait of Malacca to the ports of China, provides significant trade benefits. Some 5.3 trillion dollars in international trade passes through the region annually (Bale).
Water is synonymous with expansion. Certainly large nations fighting over smaller parcels of land isn’t a recent historical development. Beginning with the age of colonization, peoples from locations ranging from the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean to Réunion in the Indian Ocean to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean were subjugated by Western powers. Even though the United Nations Trusteeship Council has worked efficiently from 1945 to 1994, to provide the right to self-determination in many of these territories, there are still many territories administered by outside powers. Whether it is the situation of Hong Kong and Macau with regards to the One China Two Systems policy, or the pathway to statehood for Puerto Rico, the autonomy of these overseas territories is a highly contentious issue.
Water is synonymous with transition. Even when the local populations of these islands are given the right to self-determination, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are better off. Missing or weak infrastrastructure and national institutions of these recently decolonized states are serious issues as well. One such region where the effects of decolonization are heavily felt is the Caribbean, this year’s area of interest for the Advisory Panel. During the period of colonization, the plantation-based agricultural economy that was put in place resulted in societies that were highly hierarchical. This societal inequality persisted after the countries in the region were granted independence. The freshly established governmental institutions in the region were prone to corruption, which only furthered the inequity that was prevalent. As exemplified in the nation of Haiti, this countrywide problem of inequality resulted in dissatisfaction against the ruling regime and constant unrest that could only be properly controlled by the deployment of outside forces. Socioeconomic inequality also resulted in the propagation of revolutionary ideals in the region, which culminated with the Cuban revolution. However, even the revolution wasn’t successful in providing the people with sufficient welfare. Now, sixty years after the revolution, the Cuban people seek reintegration with the rest of the world, yet this transition will be one that is rocky given the demographics of Cuba. As economic development is lacking in the region, some locals seek an easy way out of poverty by smuggling illicit drugs into the North American market. This, however, drives cartel violence and furthers exacerbates societal divisions in countries that are already extremely divided.
Water is synonymous with life. Despite the abundance of water in our planet, freshwater scarcity is one of the most important issues the world faces today. The fact that water makes up 70% of our planet might seem reassuring. Yet only 3% of this is freshwater, and two thirds of this 3% either makes up glaciers or is practically unavailable for the use of humanity ("Water Scarcity"). With Sub-Saharan Africa being the region with the greatest amount of water-stress, approximately 1.1 billion people in the developing world don’t have access to water while a total 2.7 billion people face with water scarcity at least one month a year ("Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity"). Even for the people who do have access to water, inadequate sanitation causes cholera and typhoid epidemic as well as exposure to many other diseases. Every year, 2 million people die from diarrheal diseases that result from the lack of sanitation ("Water Scarcity"). Apart from the fact that water is essential for life itself, time lost in searching for and gathering water and struggling with water-borne diseases slows down or even halts development through hindering the education, especially the education of women, as well as economic growth. At the root of this issue lies both natural and manmade causes. Rivers and lakes dry up due to global warming or lose their ability to sustain life due to pollution. Water overuse around the world exhausts the water sources that are already inadequate to provide for the growing population. Conflicts and safety concerns that come with them prevent people from reaching water even if water is physically available nearby.
Water is synonymous with climate change. While the lack of water is an issue in certain parts of the world, in other regions the excess of water is starting to become a problem. According to Arctic scientists, it is possible that the rapid melting of ice caps will trigger 19 environmental tipping points, causing catastrophic consequences around the world (Harvey). Islands in the Pacific Ocean already face the results of climate change and the resulting rise in sea levels. Five islands have disappeared in the past year. The submerged islands, which were a part of the Solomon Islands, were uninhabited. Yet, large portions of land in six other Pacific islands were washed into the sea, destroying villages. One of these was the Nuatambu island which hosts 25 families and whose inhabitants were forced to move to a nearby higher volcanic island (Reuters). Among the islands that are on the verge of getting erased from maps are also nations with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and Vanuatu. These island nations that might be completely wiped out within 50 years have already started to devise plans in order to relocate their entire populations to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, which gets more and more probable as time passes. For example, Kiribati has purchased land in Fiji so that its people will have somewhere to go if the island was submerged in the sea. However, unfortunately, the future of Fiji doesn’t look much brighter (Abadi). With coastal homes constantly getting flooded during high tide, the salty water destroying the sugar crops that are essential to Fiji’s economy, and waterborne diseases spreading amongst the population, Fiji is one of the nations where the rising sea levels is an everyday reality with undeniable negative impacts.
Water is synonymous with natural disasters. Water related natural phenomena can have grave consequences even if they don’t cause whole islands to disappear. Floods are among the most common and the most destructive natural hazards in the world. They occur due to water overflows in previously dry land, mostly when rivers or streams overflow their banks while coastal flooding is often a result of large storms or tsunamis. Most floods take hours or days to develop while some called flash floods occur all of a sudden, without warning. In India, one of the nations that frequently experience floods, hundreds were killed and millions were displaced due to extensive flooding in 2016 ("India Floods Kill More than 150 People"). Considering the tremendous impact of floods, it is a must to identify the possible causes of these natural disasters and search for precautions. Despite the fact that heavy rains or damaged dams are often blamed for floods, there are many contributing factors, both natural and man-made. Greater melting of the ice in the mountains due to global warming, deforestation and the resulting erosion that decreases the water-carrying capacity of rivers, treating wetlands that naturally buffer floods as construction sites are all such factors that aggravate the problem. Thus, it is essential for states to consider the impact of human activity while dealing with floods while also trying to eliminate or minimize the effects of the natural causes.
Because the concept of water comes up in different contexts all around the world, it’s importance is unquestionable. Since the emergence of early civilizations, water has been an irreplaceable resource, and it will continue to be so. This significance of water, which turns it into a matter of political dispute, together with its almost self-contradictory life-giving and destructive nature causes water to be in the background of many of the issues the world faces. The escalating tensions between states with conflicting views, the global climate change and the threats that it poses for the world, and the rapid population growth that goes hand-in-hand with water scarcity make these issues ones that require urgent, collaborative intervention. Whether it comes up as a source of conflict or as the basis of life, it has substantial political, social and economic impacts on many parts of the world and the international community as a whole. RCIMUN 2017 encourages all participants to keep the significance of water and the diversity of water-related issues in mind while investigating the different causes of these problems and coming up with legitimate, feasible and efficient solutions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Abadi, Mark. “These Island Nations Could Be Underwater in as Little as 50 Years.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/these-island- nations-could-be-underwater-in-as-little-as-fifty-years-2015-12. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Bale, Rachael. "One of the World's Biggest Fisheries Is on The Verge of Collapse." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-south-china-sea-overfishing-threatens-collapse/>.
“Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity.” Conserve Energy Future, 24 Dec. 2016, www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-water-scarcity.php. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
"China's Artificial Islands in South China Sea - Review." SouthFront: Crisis News, World Events, Political Survey. N.p., 08 July 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
<https://southfront.org/chinas-artificial-islands-south-china-sea-review/>.
“Global Water Shortage: Water Scarcity & The Importance of Water.” The Water Project, thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Harvey, Fiona. “Arctic Ice Melt Could Trigger Uncontrollable Climate Change at Global Level.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Nov. 2016,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/arctic-ice-melt-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-global-level. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“India Floods Kill More than 150 People.” BBC News, BBC, 2 Aug. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36950206. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Monsoon Flooding In India Reached 'Unprecedented Levels' This Year, Officials Say.” The Weather Channel, 4 Jan. 2016, weather.com/news/news/flooding-india-ganges.
Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Pletcher, Kenneth. "Spratly Islands." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <https://global.britannica.com/place/Spratly-
Islands>.
Reuters. “Five Pacific Islands Lost to Rising Seas as Climate Change Hits.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 May 2016,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/five-pacific-islands-lost-rising-seas-climate-change. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Richardson, Photograph by Jim. “Learn About How Floods Develop and the Impact They Have.” Learn About How Floods Develop and the Impact They Have, 26 Mar. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/floods/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Water for Life.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Water Scarcity.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Xu, Beina. "South China Sea Tensions." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <http://www.cfr.org/china/south-china-sea- tensions/p29790>.
Water is synonymous with wealth. Unsurprisingly, the downfall of the Sumerians also came with the wars its prosperous lands attracted. Whether it be pirates in the Caribbean or pirates in Somalia, a conflict of interest when it comes to sharing a lake between Israel and Palestine or between Chad and Niger, or even delineating the river borders between Serbia and Croatia or Cambodia and Laos, water has generated quarrels between parties. Water is synonymous with conflict. This year at RCIMUN, we’ll be discussing the multitude of effects posed by the abundance or shortage of water in many regions of the world with the theme “Water: The Fundamental Source of Life, Wealth and Conflict”.
Water is synonymous with expansion. As water levels increase every year, it isn’t surprising how small islands get more valuable by day. Islands, in the South China Sea and the East China Sea for example were not claimed by nations in the region until 20th century despite the islands being habitable and the precedence of settlements in the region. China has a military presence in the region that is progressively getting more controversial with the construction of artificial islands. In fact, it is estimated that China has built 273 thousand meters worth of artificial land ("China's Artificial Islands in South China Sea - Review."). When it is considered that the total surface area of the islands in the South China Sea is around 15 kilometers squared (Pletcher), this expansion is just one of the signs of how valuable the acquisition of extra land is getting. Intimidated by Chinese aggression, smaller nations in the region have appealed to the United States. However the involvement of the United States in the region further provokes an increase in the military buildup by China. The unclear intentions of both sides creates an atmosphere of insecurity that infrequently erupts into minor diplomatic crises with Chinese military patrollers harassing Vietnamese and Filipino fishers who try to take advantage of the underwater resources in the region.
Water is synonymous with resources. Conflicts don’t only arise due to the scarcity of land, it’s the scarcity of resources that fuel it. In this case, water in the South China Sea isn’t a scarce resource so to speak; however it is what lies under the water that is of great value. It is estimated by the World Bank that the South China Sea is home to at least 8 trillion barrels of oil and 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (Xu). In addition to the energy sources, fishing in the region employs more than 3.7 million people in the 10 surrounding countries and is an industry that generates billions of dollars (Bale). Even when these natural resources are disregarded, simply possessing the waterway that connects the Strait of Malacca to the ports of China, provides significant trade benefits. Some 5.3 trillion dollars in international trade passes through the region annually (Bale).
Water is synonymous with expansion. Certainly large nations fighting over smaller parcels of land isn’t a recent historical development. Beginning with the age of colonization, peoples from locations ranging from the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean to Réunion in the Indian Ocean to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean were subjugated by Western powers. Even though the United Nations Trusteeship Council has worked efficiently from 1945 to 1994, to provide the right to self-determination in many of these territories, there are still many territories administered by outside powers. Whether it is the situation of Hong Kong and Macau with regards to the One China Two Systems policy, or the pathway to statehood for Puerto Rico, the autonomy of these overseas territories is a highly contentious issue.
Water is synonymous with transition. Even when the local populations of these islands are given the right to self-determination, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are better off. Missing or weak infrastrastructure and national institutions of these recently decolonized states are serious issues as well. One such region where the effects of decolonization are heavily felt is the Caribbean, this year’s area of interest for the Advisory Panel. During the period of colonization, the plantation-based agricultural economy that was put in place resulted in societies that were highly hierarchical. This societal inequality persisted after the countries in the region were granted independence. The freshly established governmental institutions in the region were prone to corruption, which only furthered the inequity that was prevalent. As exemplified in the nation of Haiti, this countrywide problem of inequality resulted in dissatisfaction against the ruling regime and constant unrest that could only be properly controlled by the deployment of outside forces. Socioeconomic inequality also resulted in the propagation of revolutionary ideals in the region, which culminated with the Cuban revolution. However, even the revolution wasn’t successful in providing the people with sufficient welfare. Now, sixty years after the revolution, the Cuban people seek reintegration with the rest of the world, yet this transition will be one that is rocky given the demographics of Cuba. As economic development is lacking in the region, some locals seek an easy way out of poverty by smuggling illicit drugs into the North American market. This, however, drives cartel violence and furthers exacerbates societal divisions in countries that are already extremely divided.
Water is synonymous with life. Despite the abundance of water in our planet, freshwater scarcity is one of the most important issues the world faces today. The fact that water makes up 70% of our planet might seem reassuring. Yet only 3% of this is freshwater, and two thirds of this 3% either makes up glaciers or is practically unavailable for the use of humanity ("Water Scarcity"). With Sub-Saharan Africa being the region with the greatest amount of water-stress, approximately 1.1 billion people in the developing world don’t have access to water while a total 2.7 billion people face with water scarcity at least one month a year ("Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity"). Even for the people who do have access to water, inadequate sanitation causes cholera and typhoid epidemic as well as exposure to many other diseases. Every year, 2 million people die from diarrheal diseases that result from the lack of sanitation ("Water Scarcity"). Apart from the fact that water is essential for life itself, time lost in searching for and gathering water and struggling with water-borne diseases slows down or even halts development through hindering the education, especially the education of women, as well as economic growth. At the root of this issue lies both natural and manmade causes. Rivers and lakes dry up due to global warming or lose their ability to sustain life due to pollution. Water overuse around the world exhausts the water sources that are already inadequate to provide for the growing population. Conflicts and safety concerns that come with them prevent people from reaching water even if water is physically available nearby.
Water is synonymous with climate change. While the lack of water is an issue in certain parts of the world, in other regions the excess of water is starting to become a problem. According to Arctic scientists, it is possible that the rapid melting of ice caps will trigger 19 environmental tipping points, causing catastrophic consequences around the world (Harvey). Islands in the Pacific Ocean already face the results of climate change and the resulting rise in sea levels. Five islands have disappeared in the past year. The submerged islands, which were a part of the Solomon Islands, were uninhabited. Yet, large portions of land in six other Pacific islands were washed into the sea, destroying villages. One of these was the Nuatambu island which hosts 25 families and whose inhabitants were forced to move to a nearby higher volcanic island (Reuters). Among the islands that are on the verge of getting erased from maps are also nations with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and Vanuatu. These island nations that might be completely wiped out within 50 years have already started to devise plans in order to relocate their entire populations to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, which gets more and more probable as time passes. For example, Kiribati has purchased land in Fiji so that its people will have somewhere to go if the island was submerged in the sea. However, unfortunately, the future of Fiji doesn’t look much brighter (Abadi). With coastal homes constantly getting flooded during high tide, the salty water destroying the sugar crops that are essential to Fiji’s economy, and waterborne diseases spreading amongst the population, Fiji is one of the nations where the rising sea levels is an everyday reality with undeniable negative impacts.
Water is synonymous with natural disasters. Water related natural phenomena can have grave consequences even if they don’t cause whole islands to disappear. Floods are among the most common and the most destructive natural hazards in the world. They occur due to water overflows in previously dry land, mostly when rivers or streams overflow their banks while coastal flooding is often a result of large storms or tsunamis. Most floods take hours or days to develop while some called flash floods occur all of a sudden, without warning. In India, one of the nations that frequently experience floods, hundreds were killed and millions were displaced due to extensive flooding in 2016 ("India Floods Kill More than 150 People"). Considering the tremendous impact of floods, it is a must to identify the possible causes of these natural disasters and search for precautions. Despite the fact that heavy rains or damaged dams are often blamed for floods, there are many contributing factors, both natural and man-made. Greater melting of the ice in the mountains due to global warming, deforestation and the resulting erosion that decreases the water-carrying capacity of rivers, treating wetlands that naturally buffer floods as construction sites are all such factors that aggravate the problem. Thus, it is essential for states to consider the impact of human activity while dealing with floods while also trying to eliminate or minimize the effects of the natural causes.
Because the concept of water comes up in different contexts all around the world, it’s importance is unquestionable. Since the emergence of early civilizations, water has been an irreplaceable resource, and it will continue to be so. This significance of water, which turns it into a matter of political dispute, together with its almost self-contradictory life-giving and destructive nature causes water to be in the background of many of the issues the world faces. The escalating tensions between states with conflicting views, the global climate change and the threats that it poses for the world, and the rapid population growth that goes hand-in-hand with water scarcity make these issues ones that require urgent, collaborative intervention. Whether it comes up as a source of conflict or as the basis of life, it has substantial political, social and economic impacts on many parts of the world and the international community as a whole. RCIMUN 2017 encourages all participants to keep the significance of water and the diversity of water-related issues in mind while investigating the different causes of these problems and coming up with legitimate, feasible and efficient solutions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Abadi, Mark. “These Island Nations Could Be Underwater in as Little as 50 Years.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Dec. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/these-island- nations-could-be-underwater-in-as-little-as-fifty-years-2015-12. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Bale, Rachael. "One of the World's Biggest Fisheries Is on The Verge of Collapse." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-south-china-sea-overfishing-threatens-collapse/>.
“Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity.” Conserve Energy Future, 24 Dec. 2016, www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-water-scarcity.php. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
"China's Artificial Islands in South China Sea - Review." SouthFront: Crisis News, World Events, Political Survey. N.p., 08 July 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
<https://southfront.org/chinas-artificial-islands-south-china-sea-review/>.
“Global Water Shortage: Water Scarcity & The Importance of Water.” The Water Project, thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Harvey, Fiona. “Arctic Ice Melt Could Trigger Uncontrollable Climate Change at Global Level.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Nov. 2016,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/25/arctic-ice-melt-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-global-level. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“India Floods Kill More than 150 People.” BBC News, BBC, 2 Aug. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36950206. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Monsoon Flooding In India Reached 'Unprecedented Levels' This Year, Officials Say.” The Weather Channel, 4 Jan. 2016, weather.com/news/news/flooding-india-ganges.
Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Pletcher, Kenneth. "Spratly Islands." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <https://global.britannica.com/place/Spratly-
Islands>.
Reuters. “Five Pacific Islands Lost to Rising Seas as Climate Change Hits.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 May 2016,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/10/five-pacific-islands-lost-rising-seas-climate-change. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Richardson, Photograph by Jim. “Learn About How Floods Develop and the Impact They Have.” Learn About How Floods Develop and the Impact They Have, 26 Mar. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/floods/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Water for Life.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
“Water Scarcity.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Xu, Beina. "South China Sea Tensions." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <http://www.cfr.org/china/south-china-sea- tensions/p29790>.
