Introduction

A: Introduction to the committee:

ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council) is one of the six main organs of the

United Nations that came to existence by the UN Charter. ECOSOC is the principal

body responsible for economic, social and environmental issues and also it aims to

achieve internationally recognized development goals. ECOSOC works as the main

mechanism for coordinating the activities of the UN which are related to economics,

social issues and environment. ECOSOC acts as a forum for Member States,

stakeholders, policymakers, parliamentarians, academics, major groups, foundations,

business sector representatives and 3200+ non-governmental organizations. It helps

these parties to work on economic, social and environmental issues through a

programmatic cycle of meetings.

B: Introduction to the topic: Sustainable growth in countries post-natural

disasters

Importance of the connection between disaster reduction frameworks and

development initiatives must be addressed. As we all know, the United Nations and

many other international organizations made natural disasters and post-disaster

development and growth their main priority in many regions. It is utmost importance

to analyze disaster trends especially in countries that are affected by natural disasters

and interpret them according to variables of sustainable development, e.g. the Human

Development Index, economic stability, An opportunity is stated in the post-2015

development frameworks which ensures that risk of disaster is significantly reduced

all around the world, especially for the most vulnerable.

Definition of Key Terms

Natural Disaster: Disasters are the consequences of natural, technological or man-

made events that cause physical, economic, social and environmental losses for

people, affect communities by stopping or interrupting normal life and human

activities, and which the affected community cannot overcome by using their own

means and resources.

Sustainable Development: A type of development that meets the needs of today

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Economic Growth: An increase in the amount of goods and services produces and

provided in a community

General Overview

When the 5-year development plans prepared since the 1960s are examined, it is

understood whether effective policies and strategies for the prevention and mitigation

of natural disasters can be developed and implemented.Although policies and

strategies that could be effective in mitigating natural disaster damages were included

in development plans in some periods and generally after major disasters, they could

not be implemented due to lack of political determination and social demand and

pressure.Can sustainable development be implemented in countries with high risk of

natural disasters such as floods, erosion, drought, landslides, avalanches and rock falls,

especially earthquakes, without effective policies and strategies to reduce their natural

hazards and risks? As long as rapid population growth, intensive migration, unplanned

and unsupervised settlements and industrialization continue, it will not be possible to

reduce the physical, social, economic and environmental damages caused by natural

disasters.

Effects of a Great Disaster:

- interrupts the economy and growth targets throughout the region,

- creates significant problems in the balance of payments,

- disrupts the budget revenue-expenditure balance,

- creates negative effects on income distribution and increases poverty,

- jeopardizes planned investments and cuts the amount of resources allocated to

investments

- Loss of production and inventory, market loss, shortage of goods and price increases,

- Unemployment, disruption of social balances, sudden and uncontrolled population

movements, social and political unrest

Since the “ International 10 Years of Natural Disaster Mitigation ”1990, both the

United Nations and all international organizations and platforms have problem as a

result of those damaging natural disasters.

Among the resolutions of the conference of the World Leaders Conference held by the

United Nations in Johannesburg, South Africa between 26 August and 4 September

2002, one of the most important factors that prevent sustainable development is

natural disasters and countries should give priority and priority to the prevention and

mitigation of natural disasters,

- Including activities aimed at mitigating catastrophic damages in development plans

and programs at country, region and local scale and increasing the capacity to cope

with affected communities,

- It was emphasized that implementation programs on disaster prevention and

mitigation should be carried out with the participation and effective cooperation of all

segments of the society.

The document, which was prepared as a result of the World Conference on the

Reduction of Disasters held in Kobe, Japan on 18-22 January 2005 by the Secretariat

General of the United Nations, was called to all countries.

- Establishing strong institutional structures at central and local levels to address

disaster mitigation as a priority issue at national and local levels and to prepare

effective implementation programs,

- Adopting a continuous duty by the authorities to identify, monitor, and establish

early warning systems for disaster hazards and risks,

- Establishing systematic, continuous and sustainable public education programs in

order to develop resistance and coping capacity of disaster affected communities and

to create a culture of harm reduction in society implementation,

- The main reasons underlying vulnerability, such as poverty, lack of education,

unemployment elimination,

- Preparing for timely, fast and effective response to disasters development and

strengthening of its activities.

Press by the Secretary-General of the United Nations state;”Countries should take the

issue of prevention and mitigation of disasters into their national priorities and work

effectively on these issues”.

II. Relation of Sustainable Development and Natural Disasters

Positive development approaches:

- Settlement and construction decisions taking into account disaster hazards and risks,

infrastructure and economic and social development planning will significantly reduce

existing vulnerabilities.

- After disaster, planned, comprehensive, aimed at reducing future hazards and risks

and improvement and reconstruction programs can significantly reduce future disaster

hazards and risks.

Negative development approaches:

- Disasters can prevent local, regional and national development and development for

a long time with the physical, economic, social and environmental losses and damages

they may cause.

- Development and development programs implemented without taking disaster

hazards and risks into consideration will increase the risks in the regions (population,

infrastructure, industry, etc.) and increase the risks of future disasters.

For 20-30 years, efforts to prevent and mitigate disasters in the international arena

have not been regarded as an element of sustainable development, but as a

precondition.

Greatest Disaster by death toll / Natural Disasters

Rank Death toll (estimate)

Event Location Date

1. 1,000,000–4,000,000

1931 China floods China July 1931

2. 900,000–2,000,000 1887 Yellow River flood China September 1887

3. 830,000 1556 Shaanxi earthquake

China January 23, 1556

4. ≥500,000 1970 Bhola cyclone

East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)

November 13, 1970

5. 316,000 2010 Haiti earthquake Haiti January 12, 2010

6. 300,000

1839 India cyclone India November 25, 1839

1737 Calcutta cyclone India October 7, 1737

8. 273,400 1920 Haiyuan earthquake

China December 16, 1920

9. 250,000–300,000 526 Antioch earthquake

Byzantine Empire (now Turkey)

May 526

10. 242,769–655,000 1976 Tangshan earthquake

China July 28, 1976

B: Introduction to the topic: Exploitation of Natural Resources in Conflict

Zones

Environmental factors are one of the most important reasons of the violent conflict.

Also, it is clear that the exploitation of natural resources and related environmental

stresses can become significant drivers of violence. Last 60 years, at least 40 percent

of all intrastate conflicts have a link to natural resources, and that this link doubles the

risk of a conflict relapse in the first five years. Throughout the 1990s, many armed

groups have relied on revenues from natural resources such as oil, timber or gems to

substitute for dwindling Cold War sponsorship. As a result of this situation, at least 18

violent conflicts have been fueled by the exploitation of natural resources, whether

high-value resources like timber, diamonds, gold, minerals, oil, or scarce ones like

fertile land and water since then.

Resources didn’t only finance but in some cases they motivated conflicts and shaped

strategies of power based on the commercialization of armed conflict and the

territorialization of sovereignty around valuable resource areas and trading networks.

As such, armed conflict in the post-Cold War period is increasingly characterized by a

specific political ecology closely linked to the geography and political economy of

natural resources. It is non-negligible that conflicts on natural resources had caused

lots of civil wars as well as the wars between two countries. Exploitation over natural

resources is the main reason for civil wars in countries such as in Angola, Colombia,

the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan for at least 40

percent of the world's civil wars over last 60 years.

Definition of Key Terms

Smuggling: The act or process of taking things or people to or from a place secretly

and often illegally.

Conflict:The area where an active disagreement happens between people with

opposing opinions or principles.

Sovereignty:The power of a country to control its own government.

Territory: Land (an area of) or sometimes sea, which is considered as belonging to or

connected with a particular country or person.

Exploitation: The act of using someone unfairly for your own advantage.

GDP: The Gross Domestic Product measures the value of economic activity within a

country. Strictly defined, GDP is the sum of the market values, or prices, of all final

goods and services produced in an economy during a period of time. Most scholars

measure a country’s ‘resource wealth’ by using the ratio of its resource exports to its

GDP.

General Overview

Natural resources have played very important roles in conflict areas. They have used

to finance and support fighters. Because of this the parties have become more

dependent on natural resources including petroleum, minerals in the areas. So used

natural sources for supporting and increasing fighting capacities have also bad effects

on social conditions and local people. Also, it has produced new political concept and

relations according to fighting environments. And as lots of researches said, civil wars

which had been financed by natural resources have tend to longer and in such areas it

is too difficult to reach peace.

Fighting groups and terrorist organizations in civil wars have used the resources for

getting more fighting equipments and different kinds of guns, explosives. So, normal

economic process changes and different fighting economy take the place of it. Instead

of legal economic activities, smuggling and drug trafficking also take place in conflict

areas. As a result, there are relationships between conflicts in civil wars and using

natural resources for supporting and financing of armed conflicts. Many armed groups

including terrorist organizations have relied on income from natural resources in

conflicts zone. Resources also motivate the parties and give shape to conflict strategies

and duration.

Survival estimates of armed conflict by natural

resource exploitation, 1990–2009.

There are a lot of international rules and regulations related war laws and treaties

including International Humanitarian Law (IHL). IHL is based on protecting persons

and human rights in conflict zones:

International Humanitarian Laws Based on Protecting Human Rights in Conflict

Zones

1. The key IHL treaties include the 1907 Hague Regulations, the four Geneva

Conventions, and their Additional Protocols.

2. 1907 Hague Regulations (Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of

War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on

Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907)

3. Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick

in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva, 12 August 1949

4. Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and

Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949

5. Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12

August 1949

6. Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Geneva, 12 August 1949

7. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating

to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977

8. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating

to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8

June 1977

9. Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating

to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III), 8 December 2005

Timeline of Events

1861-1865 American Civil War

1917-1922 Russian Civil War

1927-1949 China Civil War

1936-1939 Spain Civil War

1950-1953 Korea Civil War

1975-1990 Lebanon Civil War

1975-2002 Angola Civil War

1983-2005 Sudan Civil War

1991-2002 Algeria Civil War

Bibliography

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https://www.adrc.asia/publications/databook/ORG/databook_2007_eng/pdf/ch

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https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/home

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022343309350015

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https://www.jstor.org/stable/24889732?seq=1