Letter from the Executive Board

Hello Delegates!

Welcome to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Amity Model United Nations 2013. We sincerely hope that you find the simulation intellectually engaging and an enriching experience. The conference days will test your oratory talents, your ability to collaborate, your ability to faithfully represent your country’s policies as well as the stance of other countries. But more than a test, the conference is an opportunity to develop personally. Good research, presence of mind and diplomacy will ensure an amazing experience. This background guide is intended to steer you in the right direction as you prepare for the upcoming conference. Our philosophy is simple: if you read the background guide thoroughly, you should be in a good position to debate qualitatively in committee and make a valuable contribution. At the same time, we encourage you to read beyond the contents of this guide and prepare speeches and moderated caucuses in advance to maximize the fruits of your MUN experience.

All the best for the conference!Warm Regards

Saiyam Pabreja Anuj Ganjoo Siddhant Narang Nikita BakhshiChairperson Director Assistant Director Rapporteur

About the Committee

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit. The objective of the treaty is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding. Instead, the treaty provides a framework for negotiating specific international treaties (called "protocols") that may set binding limits on greenhouse gases.

Agenda: Water–Ice Cap melting, Thermal Expansion, and Ground Water Depletion

Topic 1: Water Ice Cap Melting

What is polar ice cap?

A polar ice cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of solid phase matter in the polar region. This causes the term "polar ice cap" to be something of a misnomer, as the term ice cap itself is applied with greater scrutiny as such bodies must be found over land, and possess a surface area of less than 50,000 km²: larger bodies are referred to as ice sheets.

Major Problems

The major impacts and threats of global warming are widespread Increasing ocean temperatures cause thermal expansion of the oceans and in

combination with melt water from land-based ice this is causing sea level rise. Sea levels rose during the 20th century by 0.17 meters. By 2100, sea level is expected to rise between 0.18 and 0.59 meters. There are uncertainties in this estimate mostly due to uncertainty about how much water will be lost from ice sheets, for example Greenland is showing rising loss of mass in recent years (UNEP 2007). Increased melting of sea ice and freshwater influx from melting glaciers and ice sheets also has the potential to influence global patterns of ocean circulation.

As a result of global warming, the type, frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons), floods, droughts and heavy precipitation events, are expected to rise even with relatively small average temperature increases. Changes in some types of extreme events have already been observed, for example, increases in the frequency and intensity of heat waves and heavy precipitation events

Climate change will have wide-ranging effects on the environment, and on socio-economic and related sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity and coastal zones. Changes in rainfall pattern are likely to lead to severe water shortages and/or flooding. Melting of glaciers can cause flooding and soil erosion. Rising temperatures will cause shifts in crop growing seasons that affects food security and changes in the distribution of disease vectors putting more people at risk from diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Temperature increases will potentially severely increase rates of extinction for many habitats and species (up to 30 per cent with a 2° C rise in temperature)

Case Study

AFRICA

Africa is already a continent under pressure from climate stresses and is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Many areas in Africa are recognized as having climates that are among the most variable in the world on seasonal and decadal time scales. Floods and droughts can occur in the same area within months of each other. These events can lead to famine and widespread disruption of socio-economic well being. For example, estimates reported at the workshop indicate that one third of African people already live in drought- prone areas and 220 million are exposed to drought each year

Asia

The region faces formidable environmental and socio-economic challenges in its effort to protect valuable natural resources. Land and ecosystems are being degraded, threatening to undermine food security. In addition, water and air quality are deteriorating while continued increases in consumption and associated waste have contributed to the exponential growth in the region’s existing environmental problems. Global warming is causing the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. In the short term, this means increased risk of flooding, erosion, mudslides and GLOF in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and north India during the wet season. Because the melting of snow coincides with

the summer monsoon season, any intensification of the monsoon and/or increase in melting is likely to contribute to flood disasters in Himalayan catchments.

Latin America

The region has already been experiencing climate-related changes with the frequency and intensity of extreme events, particularly those associated with the ENSO phenomenon. Torrential rains and resulting floods, including those associated with tropical cyclones, have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and severe economic losses and social disruption in the region in recent years18, for example in 1998 hurricane Mitch caused 10,000 deaths and severe damage to infrastructure, with Honduras and Nicaragua the worst hit. Northeast Brazil, on the other hand, is particularly affected by drought and its associated socio-economic impacts. Under climate change, as Andean glaciers disappear this century, there is likely to be serious effects on people lives and livelihoods and on ecosystems. Currently people in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, along the Andean Cordillera, depend on glacial seasonal discharge for their water supply as well as for hydro-energy. Higher rates of economic recession correspond with greater flows of water, which cause erosion, flooding and mudslides in lowland areas

Topic 2: Thermal Expansion

What is thermal expansion?In the context of oceans, thermal expansion is the increase in volume (or decrease in density) of ocean water as a result of increased temperature of the water.

Cause of Thermal ExpansionThermal expansion is caused when seawater expands because of the higher temperature of the water. Since the oceans absorb heat from the atmosphere, when the atmosphere becomes warmer so will the oceans. Warm seawater has a greater volume than cold seawater. As the temperature of the ocean increases so will the total ocean volume. The increased volume will cause the level of the water in the oceans to rise

Effects of Thermal Expansion

The global average sea level has risen by 10 to 20 cm over the past 100 years. The rate of increase has been 1 – 2 mm per year – some 10 times faster than the rate observed for the previous 3,000 years. It is likely that much of this rise is related to an increase of 0.6±0.2°C in the lower atmosphere's global average temperature since 1860. Related effects now being detected include warming sea-surface temperatures, melting sea ice, greater evaporation, and changes in the marine food web.

Models project that sea levels will rise another 9 to 88 cm by the year 2100. This will occur due to the thermal expansion of warming ocean water and an influx of freshwater from melting glaciers and ice. The rate, magnitude, and direction of sea-level change will vary locally and regionally in response to coastline features, changes in ocean currents, differences in tidal patterns and seawater density, and vertical movements of the land itself. Sea levels are expected to continue rising for hundreds of years after atmospheric temperatures stabilize.

Coastal zones and small islands are extremely vulnerable. Coasts have been modified and intensively developed in recent decades and thus made even more vulnerable to higher sea levels. Developing countries with their weaker economies and institutions face the gravest risks, but the low-lying coastal zones of developed countries could also be

seriously affected. Already over the past 100 years, 70% of sandy shorelines have been retreating.

Flooding and coastal erosion would worsen. Salt-water intrusion will reduce the quality and quantity of freshwater supplies. Higher sea levels could also cause extreme events such as high tides, storm surges, and seismic sea waves (tsunami) to reap more destruction. Rising sea levels are already contaminating underground fresh water supplies in Israel and Thailand, in small atolls scattered across the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Caribbean Sea, and in some of the world’s most productive deltas such as China’s Yangtze Delta and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Sea-level rise could damage key economic sectors. A great deal of food is produced in coastal areas, making fisheries, aquaculture, and agriculture particularly vulnerable. Other sectors most at risk are tourism, human settlements, and insurance (which has already suffered record losses recently due to extreme climate events). The expected sea-level rise would inundate much of the world's lowlands, damaging coastal cropland and displacing millions of people from coastal and small-island communities.

Threaten human health. The displacement of flooded communities, particularly those with limited resources, would increase the risk of various infectious, psychological, and other illnesses. Insects and other transmitters of disease could spread to new areas. The disruption of systems for sanitation, storm-water drainage, and sewage disposal would also have health implications.

Valuable coastal ecosystems will be at serious risk. Coastal areas contain some of the world's most diverse and productive ecosystems, including mangrove forests, coral reefs, and sea grasses. Low-lying deltas and coral atolls and reefs are particularly sensitive to changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall and storms. Coral will generally grow fast enough to keep pace with sea-level rise but may be damaged by warmer sea temperatures.

Human activities will also play a role. Roads, buildings, and other infrastructure could limit or affect the natural response of coastal ecosystems to sea level rise. In addition, pollution, sediment deposits, and land development will influence how coastal waters respond to, and compensate for, climate change impacts.

SolutionsGlobal warming causes thermal expansion of water. Hence the humans have to adapt to the changing conditions and at all costs prevent it from worsening further.Many policy options are available for adapting to sea level rise. Sensitive environmental, economic, social, and cultural values are at stake, and trade-offs may be unavoidable. Possible response strategies include protection (dikes, dune restoration, wetland creation), accommodation (new building codes, protection of threatened ecosystems), and planned retreat (regulations against new coastal development). Some countries, including Australia, China, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US, have already designated withdrawal corridors where buildings will be removed to allow precious wetlands to move inland. Other specific responses are dredging ports, strengthening fisheries management, and improving design standards for offshore structures.

Topic 3: Ground Water Depletion

Issue

Water has traditionally been thought of as one of the world’s major natural resource, one that will never run out. However, it is becoming clear that water is not a fully renewable resource, rather one that requires sustainable use. Created in 1972, the Stockholm Declaration calls for the protection of “the natural resources of earth, including water” for the “benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management. The two major sources of the world’s water are the hydrologic cycle and groundwater reserves. Through the hydrologic cycle, water evaporates into the atmosphere where it condenses and rains back down to the surface. This then naturally replenishes the groundwater supply as it soaks into the earth. However, if water is taken out of the groundwater supply faster than it is replenished by this natural cycle, the groundwater supply gets depleted and eventually disappears. Approximately 30 billion gallons of groundwater is pumped everyday, which is 2-7 barrels of water for every one barrel of oil extracted. At this rate, the world is pumping fifteen times more water than is being returned to the ground. The impacts of this continual depletion are even more concerning because there is no reliable way to measure it. The consequences

of depleting groundwater sources are many. As watersheds get depleted the land above them literally sinks into the ground. This can be seen in Mexico City, where the entire region has sunk due to its falling watershed.

Additionally, as natural root systems are removed and deforestation ensues, soil erodes, hardening the earth and lessening the ability of rainwater to get into the ground. This leads to desertification because when water is unable to be absorbed into the earth, there are floods.

The global water situation is woefully unaddressed from all three aspects of clean water provision—water (quantity), sanitation, and hygiene—and many half-truths about the situation abound. Thus, it is important to know the reality on the ground before embarking upon any programs to solve these issues. According to the Resolution 64.24 of the World Health Organization, published in April 2011, “…in 2008 the world was on track to meet the drinking-water target, with some 884 million people still lacking access to an ‘improved drinking-water source.’ The world is, however, seriously off course in its efforts to meet the sanitation target. Based on the status at the end of 2008 and assuming the trend in progress will continue without change, the 2015 target will be missed by 1000 million people and 2700 million people will lack access to ‘improved sanitation.

Effects of Ground Water Depletion

Pollution and contamination of existing water supplies have also become major environmental concerns.

Damming of major rivers has led to greater soil erosion, more run off and increased desertification. Additionally, dams prevent water-borne nutrients from flowing downriver, impacting entire ecosystems. The destruction of wetlands also affects the world freshwater supply as over 60% of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed.

This has greatly impacted the world’s usable water supply as wetlands act as “nature’s filter” cleaning the water of pollutants and contaminants. The Yamuna River in India is a powerful example of overuse of water sources. Although the river is considered sacred, 950 million gallons of sewage is poured into it everyday.

Causes of Ground Water Depletion

Groundwater crisis is not the result of natural factors; it has been caused by human actions. During the past two decades, the water level in several parts of the country has been falling rapidly due to an increase in extraction. The number of wells drilled for irrigation of both food and cash crops has rapidly and indiscriminately increased. India's rapidly rising population and changing lifestyles has also increased the domestic need for water. The water requirement for the industry also shows an overall increase.Intense competition among users - agriculture, industry, and domestic sectors - is driving the groundwater table lower. The quality of groundwater is getting severely affected because of the widespread pollution of surface water. Besides, discharge of untreated wastewater through bores and leachate from unscientific disposal of solid wastes also contaminates groundwater, thereby reducing the quality of fresh water resources. There has been a lack of adequate attention to water conservation, efficiency in water use, water re-use, groundwater recharge, and ecosystem sustainability. An uncontrolled use of the bore well technology has led to the extraction of groundwater at such a high rate that often recharge is not sufficient. The causes of low water availability in many regions are also directly linked to the reducing forest cover and soil degradation.

Case Study: The Ogalla Aquifer ground water depletion crisis

The Ogallala Aquifer, part of the High Plains Aquifer System, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. One of the world's largest aquifers, The Ogallala Formation underlies about 80 percent of the High Plains and is the principal geologic unit of the High Plains Aquifer. About 27 percent of the irrigated land in the United States overlies this aquifer system, which yields about 30 percent of all ground water used for irrigation in the United States. The aquifer system supplies drinking water to 82 percent of the 2.3 million people (1990 census) who live within the boundaries of the High Plains area. Many people fear for the future of the aquifer and there is reason for concern. According to a study done by the North Plains Water District in Texas, the aquifer levels are decreasing at a rate of 1.74 feet per year or 1,082,631 acre ft (NPWD). This decrease is of great concern because crops irrigated by the aquifer represent 65 percent of all the irrigated acreage in the nation (Jensen, 2004). Farmers are being forced to turn to new technologies but it is still possible that the aquifer may dry up in as little as 25 years.

The problem with drawing too much water from an aquifer, which has been stored in these geologic formations for thousands of years, is that it can’t easily be restored once pumped dry. Once pumped dry, the Ogallala would take at least 6,000 years to refill. Another complication of pumping too much water from an aquifer is that creeks will run dry and surface waters can literally be sucked back underneath the surface. That’s not good for wildlife. The High Plains aquifer in the United States, meanwhile, is having a particularly bad year. Farmers are pumping even more than usual, because of the drought afflicting this part of the country, and it is getting less replenishment from rainfall. So water levels in the aquifer are falling even faster, leaving less water for the region’s rivers, birds, and fish.

Privitisation

Proponents of privatization argue that private sector involvement and investment are the best ways to improve existing water infrastructures and management. The general premise of the argument for increased privatization of water resources is that it will lead to more individual conservation (due to the implicit worth of water) and incentivize corporations to expand and improve water services.38 A number of major cities and areas of the world now have privatized water systems; some of these include: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Puerto Rico; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Santiago, Chile.

Competition for water has widely increased, and it has become more difficult to conciliate the necessities for water supply for human consumption, food production, ecosystems and other uses. Water administration is frequently involved in contradictory and complex problems. Approximately 10% of the worldwide annual runoff is used for human necessities. Several areas of the world are flooded, while others have such low precipitations that human life is almost impossible. As population and development increase, raising water demand, the possibility of problems inside a certain country or region increases, as it happens with others outside the region

Pollution and water protection Water Pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of numerous countries have striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in developing countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters; this method of sewage disposal is the most common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is prevalent in quasi-developed countries such as China, India, Nepal and Iran. Sewage, sludge, garbage, and even toxic pollutants are all dumped into the water. Even if sewage is treated, problems still arise. Treated sewage forms sludge, which may be placed in landfills, spread out on land, incinerated or dumped at sea. In addition to sewage, nonpoint source pollution such as agricultural runoff is a significant source of pollution in some parts of the world, along with urban storm water runoff and chemical wastes dumped by industries and governments.

Ground water depletion and climate changeOver-pumping of groundwater for irrigation is mining dry the world's ancient Pleistocene-age, ice-sheet-fed aquifers and, ironically, at the same time increasing sea level rise. Groundwater pumping reduces the amount of stored

water deep underground and redirects it to the more active hydrologic system at the land-surface. There, it evaporates into the atmosphere, and ultimately falls as precipitation into the ocean. Current research estimates oceans will rise by about a meter globally by the end of the century due to climate change. But that estimation doesn't factor in another half-a-centimeter-a-year rise, says this study, expected due to groundwater recycling back into the ocean globally. Increasing climate-change-induced storm surges will also flood coastal areas, threatening the quality of groundwater supplies and compromising their usability.

The Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP)The Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) aims to incorporate these values into a practical tool for water resources planning. WEAP is distinguished by its integrated approach to simulating water systems and by its policy orientation. WEAP places the demand side of the equation--water use patterns, equipment efficiencies, re-use, prices and allocation--on an equal footing with the supply side—stream flow, groundwater, reservoirs and water transfers. WEAP is a laboratory for examining alternative water development and management strategies.

WEAP is comprehensive, straightforward and easy-to-use, and attempts to assist rather than substitute for the skilled planner. As a database, WEAP provides a system for maintaining water demand and supply information. As a forecasting tool, WEAP simulates water demand, supply, flows, and storage, and pollution generation, treatment and discharge. As a policy analysis tool, WEAP evaluates a full range of water development and management options, and takes account of multiple and competing uses of water systems.

International AgreementsThe case explicitly for rights to reliable access to water was made at the 1972 Stockholm United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and Development. The meeting endorsed the statement that ‘all people have the right to have access to drinking water’.Some twenty years later the United Nations General Assembly declared the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade to achieve universal access to water supply and sanitation.In 2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, interpreting the provision of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, asserted, ‘…water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life in human dignity. It is a pre-requisite to the realization of all other human rights’. The 145 countries that ratified the Covenant are now committed to ensuring

that their people have access to safe and adequate drinking water and sanitation facilities – equitably and without discrimination.At the World Food Summit in 1996, leaders from 185 countries adopted the Rome Declaration in which it was agreed that ‘the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger’.

Millennium Development Goals: Water, Food and Sustainable DevelopmentAt the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the 189 states of the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to working towards a world in which sustainable development for present and future populations would be assured. The central role of water (intrinsically linked with food as a basic human need but also essential as a resource with a major role in production as well as consumption) is evident in any systematic appraisal of life-sustaining requirements.Even at the most fundamental level of human survival and development, water not only has life sustaining qualities, but strongly influences economic activity and social roles, as reflected in its links to basic needs

Ground Water Policy Instruments Property rights and their assignment

It is important to distinguish ownership rights from property rights. Ownership rights include physical use of physical objects, the right to alter them and derive income from them and the power of management. The State owns right to natural resources but individuals can claim specific individual rights. Example: State owns ground water and the individual decides the access and withdrawal. Groundwater rights are referred to as the right to abstract and the right to use and both are subject to terms and conditions.

Ownership rights to water and land

Traditionally, and according to Roman law, ground water belongs to the owner of the land above it. To prevent overuse, the local and national governments have the right to restrict over use. A variation is provided here by the Islamic Law of ‘Sunnism’ that states that the digger of a well, whether on his own land or unoccupied, automatically becomes the owner of the water.

Regulation for use

The landowner may be required to obtain a permit to construct a well or dig a well hole. The permit may have conditions of maximum depth or abstraction rates.

Statutory vestment in public domain

Government should formally declare that the ground water is located under the property that is the public domain. The user, thus, has to apply to the State for access to use and abstraction. Property rights, thus, get separated from water rights and the government can revoke the permission granted for under ground water use in case of non compliance with rules, Example: The State of Iowa in US restricts ground water abstraction to ten years.

Supervision of well construction activities

Ground water legislation may regulate the licensing of well drilling contractors or impose control over the import of pumps and drilling equipment when the activity is handled on a large scale. In contrast, in South Asia, pumping facilities are on a small scale and managed by the well users themselves.

Land surface zoning

It can be used as a policy instrument for quality protection and quality control of ground water resources. Water administrators could pass laws creating special control areas where exceptional restrictions apply. Restrictions on crops, pesticides and fertilizers are common in such areas to avoid percolation

into under ground water. Such laws need to be supported by education programs and promotion of codes of good agricultural conduct so that the land value does not decrease. It has been tried in South Asia.

Waste water discharge licensing

It can be implemented to protect ground water against pollution. It is a ‘’polluter-pays-principle’’ legislation in which the polluter is charged for the amount of pollution caused. The principle is, however, difficult to enforce because time lapses before pollution is detected and moreover, there is persistence of certain ground water contaminants. To induce the industrial sector and water utilities to invest in adequate wastewater treatment and recycling, economic incentives are required.

Points to address How to adapt to effects of thermal expansion and increasing sea water

levels? Steps to tackle the problem of thermal expansion and increasing sea

level. Problems with the current models, to tackle the effects of increasing sea

water levels? Cost effective measures, which the LDC’s can adopt to counter the

problem of thermal expansion and increasing sea water levels? Actions taken by your country to prevent ground water depletion. How is an increasing population, urbanization or migration impacting

upon your country and its water supply? How has your country implemented legislation that protects water

supplies and ensures equitable access? Agreements signed by your country with respect to depleting ground

water or water availability in general. Steps taken to tackle the problem of ice cap melting. How has ice cap melting affected the world community?

Bibliographyhttp://unfccc.inthttp://www.dw.de/polar-ice-sheets-melting-faster-than-ever/a-16432199 http://unfccc.int/ resource/docs/publications/impacts.pdfhttp://unfccc.int/2860.php