Topic: Impact of Urbanization
Country: Russia
Delegate Name: Matt Harmon
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Russia position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
Urbanization, while important for developing the economies of developing nations, is contributing to many environmental issues in the world. Thanks to developing technology and methods of building cities that is reaching all corners of the globe, many governments neglected the serious cases of air pollution, waste disposal, and urban sprawl in favor of increasing their economic prowess. Russia believes that in order to combat the negative health hazards that come with increasing urbanization, we must develop current infrastructure to be more environmentally conscious. We cannot undo everything that countries have been working towards for the past twenty years. We can, however, attempt to combat urbanization’s downsides by improving the urban areas of countries. We believe that through technological grants and incentives, we can help the infrastructure of developing nations while also helping the earth.
When discussing the impacts of urbanization, many different environmental hazards such as water contamination, air pollution, and the spread of peoples across many miles of land come to mind. One question we must address is how can we as a committee provide incentives for countries to work towards finding environmentally sound solutions to problems? In a “carrot or stick scenario”, Russia believes that penalizing a country for not being able to dedicate resources towards saving the environment will not solve anything. Developing countries have to worry more about making sure that their people have the necessities to live, which often means that waste management gets put at the bottom of the list in government duties. This lack of a system for waste can dangerously affect the water sources for citizens. Another question we believe is worth debating is how far should we go in terms of implementing eco-friendly systems such as public transit and housing in countries unwilling to cooperate? Environmental decay is a global issue that cannot be ignored by a single country, but we have often come across countries that cannot jeopardize their citizens current lives in favor of eco-friendly projects. We must decide as a committee what our limitations are.
It is not a secret that Russia has been dealing with air pollution problems for some years now. That is why countries dealing with similar issues should be eager to find solutions to urbanization. Russia believes that a good resolution will outline specific measure that can be taken to combat the major environmental hazards associated with urbanization. It will also provide incentives for countries that devote a percentage of their budget to implementing said suggested projects. For countries that are physically incapable of devoting money to combatting urbanization, a good resolution will have a way for countries to apply for grants from a fund that will be given when sufficient plans about how the country will start their project are put forth. We cannot hand out money without a guarantee that the money will go towards said project. Failure to comply with the grants guidelines should result in some kind of penalty. Note that this is not contradictory to our previous statement about the “carrot or stick scenario”. This is simply a safeguard so that countries take the grant system with the utmost importance. If we develop the specifics of Russia’s ideas, we believe our committee will come out with a successful and positive program that will help the earth recover from the impact of urbanization.
We are glad that the impacts of urbanization are getting attention on the debate floor. We believe that this committee will accomplish great things and we cannot wait to compromise and incorporate other ideas into an even better resolution.
