Water Article
An article I found:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/11/pharma.waterfish.ap/index.html
“Drugs in water causing troubling to fish, wildlife”
Just another example of water contamination that I didn’t think to include in the topic synopsis. I thought you guys might find it interesting. If only there were a way to not only prevent future water pollution, but also somehow remove all of the existing contaminants from the water. Let’s hope that there are researchers working on that now!
I’m glad to have talked to several of you during my online office hours and that you guys found it helpful. I unfortunately will not be holding any more, but my vice chairs may periodically sign on to field questions, so add bmununep56 to your buddy list and feel free to IM them if you see them online. They are super friendly and knowledgeable - the best vice chairs you and I could ask for.
I’m very excited about this weekend and I can’t wait to see you all!
Best,
Samantha
March 12th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
As an industrializing nation, China fully empathizes with this article in the aspect that water pollution is often an inadvertent byproduct of lax pollution laws. With this, we strongly feel that it is the duty of every country to implement strict pollution regulations that will not only prevent environmental exploitation, but will also maintain a level of efficiency that will not be compromised in the face of economic and industrial expansion.
Accordingly, as one of the most rapidly expanding countries on earth, China has taken into consideration the alarming threats expansion poses to our natural water resources and has made it a forefront of our national agenda. On February 28th, less than two weeks ago, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law.(1) Intended to curb flagrant pollution, this law sets severe penalties for all corporations that discharge their waste in China’s valuable freshwater sources. China hopes that this law will prevent the current diversification of our water market, as well as our welcoming of the private sector in many aspects of our economy, from further poisoning our waters and becoming counterproductive to our ultimate goal of efficient freshwater management. However, China realizes that preventative guidelines are just one of many initiatives that countries need to take in order to protect the environment.
Currently, China is in the process of developing methods for water disinfection in order to treat the water that has already been contaminated by municipal waste. Accordingly, China is currently working on an ultra-violet water disinfection scheme that will be a main topic of the 2008 China Water Congress in May. However, China hopes that we can discuss many more prospective water treatment ideas this weekend, with an ultimate goal of developing the most streamlined solutions that will give the UNEP the best chance of successfully facilitating freshwater scarcity management.
1)http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/dailybriefing/2008_02_29/China_approves_new_tougher_water_pollution_law.html
March 12th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Hi everyone! France is very excited to come into committee this weekend to discuss issues like freshwater management! France agrees that the topic of freshwater is a multifaceted issue and that it is important to address even the subtle issues. With this new update about pollutions in fisheries, France would like to know if we should also focus on fish already prepared for consumption in the market or rather just focus on the water pollution as a whole.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
The nation of Japan is looking forward to working with members of the United Nations Environmental Program during this conference. We hope the committee will be able to find a solution to the problem of freshwater management that is both comprehensive and logical. With this goal in mind, Japan would like to respond to the suggestions posted by the Chinese delegation.
Japan understands that Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law because of China’s dire freshwater situation. To quote from the law, “Enterprise heads directly responsible for causing severe water pollution incidents and others with direct responsibility would be fined up to half of their income in the previous year.” One can argue that this measure was necessary because of a 2006 survey which found that one-third of the 744 samples of freshwater tested across China were classified at the lowest possible rating.
However, the majority of worldwide legislation on freshwater management made until today has been ineffective. In a Report on the Situation of Global Freshwater released on March 7 2008, Japan suggested that this is the result of “the government being unable to cooperate effectively with corporations.” Japan faced this very issue when we attempted to enforce the Rivers Law (1997), which specifically targeted corporations responsible for polluting freshwater sources. This law, highly similar to the law recently enacted by the Chinese legislature, was ineffective because corporations saw few benefits in complying with the rules it laid down.
The nation of Japan’s purpose in bringing this point to the attention of the committee is not to put down the respectable idealism recently displayed by Chinese lawmakers. At the same time, Japan would like to urge the Chinese delegation not to enforce legislation that will be ineffective in the long-term. Japan does not advocate a policy of appeasement with corporations, but it is important to begin with the integration of the private sector and the government in a more moderate fashion. Thus, Japan believes that in order to achieve successful freshwater management, we as the member nations of UNEP cannot rapidly pass laws that will have little consequences for the future; we must work to see what solutions will have a gradual yet effective impact upon infrastructure.