Access to Water

Delegate: Owen Bishop

Country: Belgium

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to Water

The issue of access to safe and clean water is one of the most pressing that the world currently faces. Water is a human right and necessary for survival for everyone on earth as humans can only survive for three days without water. The UN needs to take action to aid developing nations in being able to provide water for their people. Additionally, it is necessary for developed nations to ensure that their water supplies are not merely available but also clean as to avoid the spread of disease and other issues.

Belgium heavily recognizes the importance of water as a human right by both providing financial support to those who can’t pay water bills as well as through a minimum supply of guaranteed water. This has allowed Belgian people to have a reliable source of clean water allowing them to be able to live without fear of not having access to this critical supply. Belgium would be in favor of potential resolutions passed to encourage other nations to enact similar policies to better ensure that people are not failing to receive water even in wealthy countries with access to it.

The other pressing issue is ensuring that the water people have access to is clean. In 2003, Belgium was labeled as having one of the worst water supplies in the world. Since then, Belgium has improved infrastructure to better clean their water supply. However, the majority of the water used in Belgium comes largely from the southern regions as the north is lacking a clean supply. Through this, the committee can see that it is critical that nations have the ability to improve their infrastructure as well as revealing the importance of sharing water both inside of a nation and between multiple nations to ensure that everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water.

Work Cited:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Belgium

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3458-sewage-laden-belgian-water-worst-in-world/ https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/contributions/Belgium.pdf

• Delegate Name: Owen Bishop

Delegate: Cassie Chang

Country: Honduras

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to water

Honduras is a country in South America that is experiencing a crisis in which they have a lack of access to improved sanitation, and a majority of Honduras also lack safe drinking water. Honduras has around 638K people without any safe drinking water. They have a lack of safe water that distinguishes a dividing line between rural populations and the rest of the country’s people. 

Today, Honduras has around 8.8% of the population that doesn’t have a reliable safe drinking source. Around 1.2 million people out of 7.8 million people in the city of Tegucigalpa have no water access, that is a big issue for children who could die from water-related diseases. The reason for this unsafe water is due to when Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1963. The Hurricane destroyed many of the water pipelines that carried clean water to those who needed it. Thanks to the United Nations for recognizing the issue, we celebrate each year with World Water Day. 

Honduras hopes to be able to contribute to the problems and solutions to the lack of safe drinking water from across the world.

• Delegate Name: Cassie Chang

Delegate: Haashir Ali

Country: Syria

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to Water

     Clean water is a major issue the United Nations seeks to solve, as it is essential for establishing the roots of human civilization and initiating the course of development in many areas. It is crucial for life and without it there would be no civilization to live in. The United Nations must take urgent action to provide a solution that would offer swift results and end the suffering of the nearly 2 billion people who do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.

     The Syrian Arab Republic has an expanding population in a mostly arid part of the world and thus seeks to benefit from the solutions proposed in the United Nations. The Syrian economy also has a very prominent agricultural sector that could make use of such agreements. Because of these factors, it is absolutely vital for our country to have an ample amount of safe water to drink, use in agriculture, and supply our growing industrial ambitions.

     The Syrian Arab Republic strives to fulfill this noble purpose of providing its citizens with universal access to high-quality drinking water. As of 2007, 94% of our citizens living in cities had access to clean drinking water and as do 78% of citizens living in the rural areas. In the past 30 years, Syria has set into motion a comprehensive plan of action as to how water would reach the entirety of our population. This involved the creation of the man-made Lake Assad Reservoir and the overhaul of infrastructure providing water to include more extensive pipeline networks and better drilling equipment to gain access to the groundwater, springwater, and to create more wells. However, due to the recent developments in the civil war, may areas have been cut off from this network and will continue to be as such until government forces regain control of these areas.

     One solution the delegation Syria proposes is to utilize international diplomacy. Many borders are formed by rivers dividing two nations, such as Syria’s border with Iraq along the Tigris River. Many of these rivers’ resources are under-utilized because due to the lack of deals or mutual agreements between countries as to how the resources should be divided in a manner that is fair and presents an acceptable amount of resources available for each side. Syria encourages the development of a platform in which internationally-shared resources may be discussed and agreements may be made so countries can maximize their usage of the resources available.

     Another solution that the Syrian delegation proposes is a comprehensive plan of development assistance. Poverty in countries is often the main barrier as to why proper infrastructure cannot be developed. To counter this, an NGO or UN-sponsored should be established in order to counter the main root causes of these issues to solve the problem at hand.

• Delegate Name: Haashir Ali

Country: Hungary

Committee: environmental (ECOSOC)

Topic: Access to water

Delegate: Haoran Li

School: Troy High School

               “Water is the driving force of all nature,” Leonardo da Vinci once said. Many countries like Hungary are facing the same issues of the contamination of drinking water. Due to the water crisis in Hungary, over a million Hungarians drink water containing contaminants that increase the risk of serious illness and disease.  Furthermore, a recent reservoir failure flooded many towns in Hungary with red toxic mud, which greatly impacted the water quality in Hungary even further. With more than 90 percent of Hungary relying solely on groundwater, and with 47 out of 108 groundwater bodies considered to be “possibly at risk,” the water quality in Hungary remains in jeopardy.

The delegation of Hungary fully recognizes the severity of this issue and has been actively forming solutions over the past few years. One potential solution comes from a European Union-funded project that brings clean drinking water to Hungarian that are affected by the polluted groundwater. We are currently working to complete these projects in time to qualify for 100 billion HUF in financing from the European Union. These projects are the greatest hope to improve water quality in Hungary at this time. Hungary is also cleaning 90 percent of its waste water and upgrading its dam and levee system which, in our current form, are not equipped to deal with the extreme floods expected in the region. The government of Hungary hosted the BWS 2019 summit, 2500 participants from over 118 countries gathered to discuss the issue of water crisis. On crisis prevention, we discussed technology to improve efficiency, promoting water as a tool for peace, behavior change via education of youth, investment that builds resilience, tiered pricing systems, and transboundary water governance. The strategies we adapted from the EU includes allocating water and water-related funding more efficiently: improving land-use planning, and financing water efficiency and fostering water efficiency technologies and practices. 

The delegation of Hungary is looking forward to discuss this issue with internationally community and collaborate ideas to form the most beneficial solution to all countries. We recommend other countries to take similar methods and take immediate actions. 

Works cited: 

https://www.climatechangepost.com/hungary/fresh-water-resources/

https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-in-hungary/，

• Delegate Name: Haoran (Sara) Li

Name: Om Shah

Country: United States of America

Committee: ECOSOC Environmental (UNEP)

Topic: Access to Water

United States of America – Access to Water

This year, the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report forecasts that the member states of the United Nations will spend over $160 billion on humanitarian aid throughout the world. [1, 2] Despite this, 1 out of every 4 humans lack access to clean water, causing nearly half a million deaths through disease each year. [3] Furthermore, 785 million of those people are not able to consistently access potable water in any form. [4] It is quite obvious that the methods currently being employed are not efficient. Regardless of the governments’ good intentions, the current system is clearly ineffective. In order to make the system great again, UNEP must approach the problem in a vastly different manner.

The United States of America believes that water disparity throughout the world must be viewed through an economic lens if a meaningful solution is to be found. President Donald J. Trump is a firm believer that just like any other economic problem, the private sector is far better equipped than the government to combat this issue. [5] This is because firms are forced to innovate and improve their services in order to stay competitive in the market. In contrast, the current government aid based system has almost no incentive to better itself. While some may postulate that governments maximize their efficiency in order to assist a greater number of individuals, this claim has repeatedly shown itself to be false. At the end of the day, firms have been proven to minimize costs far more efficiently than the public sector. [6]

However, the aforementioned argument for private-sector efficiency would crumble at its foundations if the firm had no incentive to be in the market in the first place. Because there is no feasible way for firms to create a profit by donating infrastructure to communities in need, the UN must step in to create an incentive for these firms. In order to create a profit for these firms, the United States of America would like to propose the creation of the Lasting International Fund for Equity (LIFE). This fund will comprise of donations from any UN member state or private organization willing to donate funds.

Unlike many other proposals, however, LIFE will not create any extra costs for member states. Instead, the United States of America would like to propose a reallocation of funds. In the Global Water Strategy, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) advocates for transitioning to zero humanitarian aid relating to water access. [7] The United States of America recommends that all UN member states follow this recommendation. These saved funds from each country would then be allocated to LIFE, creating a common UN fund with the sole purpose of creating water infrastructure in high priority countries, at no extra cost to member states.

The objectives of LIFE will be simple. For every x amount of people that are able to consistently receive sanitary water due to infrastructure built by a firm, the firm will receive a one-time payment of y dollars. LIFE will simply review each project and subsidize the most efficient firms. With a clear profit to be made, numerous firms will quickly enter the market, ensuring competition between them for LIFE funds. LIFE will only subsidize projects that take place in high-priority countries to ensure that infrastructure gets to where it is needed the most. [8]

While the solution proposed by the United States of America may seem radical in its restructuring, President Trump would like to remind UNEP that this plan does not have any losers. Member states will pay the same amount of money that they have been to create water infrastructure. Firms will earn profits that end up bolstering the economies of the donor nations. And most importantly, the billions of people without access to clean water will be able to find water, and therefore opportunities. The United States of America is optimistic about the proposed solution and is eager to work with its Western allies, such as Canada, the UK, and Australia, in addition to the many countries who would receive more efficient aid as a result of this solution, such as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Haiti. [9]

• Delegate Name: Om Shah

ECOSOC ENVIRONMENTAL

ACCESS TO WATER

Australia

Molly Capelli

Troy High School

Today, more than 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation and at least 663 million do not have access to safe drinking water. Poor sanitation, water, and hygiene lead to about 675,000 premature deaths annually and estimated annual economic losses of up to seven percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in some countries. Water quality is an issue that affects the entire globe, especially developing nations. In fact, according to the United Nations, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services. Additionally, at least 1.8 billion people worldwide are estimated to drink water that is not protected against contamination from feces. An even greater number of people drink water which is delivered through a system without adequate protection against sanitary hazards. This is a concern because access to clean water is a basic right for everyone. Unclean water, or water with a poor WQI, can lead to diseases such as dysentery, hepatitis, and even worms. In particular, worms such as the Guinea worm can be contracted from contaminated water. In fact, by 2025 half the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. This leads to poorer water quality. Unless people take active steps now to correct these issues, it will only worsen. 

Australia proposes a system of water quality tests be done on local rivers/streams where many residents of a particular nation go for water. These tests will determine whether the water is sustainable for drinking or not. These tests can be done with relative ease by water quality scientists. Australia does realize this presents some financial issues for less developed countries but notes that a fund could be created to alleviate such issues. In addition, education needs to be improved on the awareness of clean water access and the diseases that can occur alongside unclean water, countries need access to WHO’s WASHFIT guide. Additionally access to commodities such as iodine tablets, water filters, disinfecting agents and the like.

With the committee having so many able countries, the delegation of Australia is pleased to bring about solutions to ensure clean water for the world. 

Sources:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/04/527352-un-and-world-bank-chiefs-announce-members-joint-high-level-panel-water#.V3HJ-U1f271

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/

• Delegate Name: Molly Capelli

School: Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to Water

An astonishing 40% of the world population does not have access to sanitary water, with a predicted 1.8 billion people living in regions of absolute water scarcity in 2025 (UN-Water). The lack of access to water is even more prevalent in developing nations, specifically in Africa where diseases spread in contaminated water that is consumed by children daily.  A total of 80% of diseases and illnesses in LDCs are related to sanitation problems. 

Limited access to safe drinking water leads to the spread of water-based diseases such as diarrhea, viral hepatitis A, cholera, and the Guinea Worm Disease. These diseases become a cause of death in children under five years of age in developing countries and about 86,000 children under the age of 15 die each year due to water-borne diseases (UN News). In Equatorial Guinea, the average mortality rate for children 5 and under is 9% higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa. Women and girls are two and a half times more likely to be water carriers in their family, preventing them from obtaining an education, as seen in the adult literacy rate: 92% for males and 76% for females. Although Equatorial Guinea receives high rainfall each year between April to November, there are few systems put in place to clean the water. Only 18% of the population surrounding cities have access to sources for safe drinking water, and effective water supply systems are not up to standards in the cities with little to no management for wastewater. 

The delegation of Equatorial Guinea recognizes that effective measures have been made to eradicate the deaths related to water contamination and gender inequality in terms of education. A project in 2007 between UNICEF and Exxon-Mobil EG have constructed a collective system for rainwater in Baney, on the roof of the schools. The systems allow for the rainwater to be safely filtered for consumption, allowing children, especially young girls, to remain in school. The delegation of Equatorial Guinea looks forward to collaborating with fellow nations to create solutions for the problems regarding access to water such as education, diseases, and availability of clean water sources. 

• Delegate Name: Charlotte Howald

Nicolas Gonzalez Democratic People’s

Kalamazoo Central High School   Republic of Korea 

Committee: Environmental

Topic 1: Access to water 

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been observing the current problem with access to water for its citizens. In 2015 the United Nations established a set of 17 goals, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030 in order to build a better world for the sake of our people. The sixth of the SDGs is ensuring access to water and sanitation for all, as clean water has previously been recognized by the United Nations as fundamental human right. 

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has trouble with clean and access to water to its citizens. Only 61 percent of households have access to safely manage water services. That means 39 percent of households do not have access to safely managed water service. 

 The action that is recommended by The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is for the United Nations to help countries around the world to have access to water and developed countries to help out to countries that are in need of safely managed water service. As a committee we need to work together to achieve a good resolution and have access to safe water to all of the countries that are in need of it. 

Some countries are in more need than others for example a lot of countries in Africa need access to safe water since they do not have the infrastructure to manage safe water for its citizens. They are in need of developed countries that are willing to take action on the problem. As Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, we need help to get the 39 percent of the households that are in need of safe water. 

• Delegate Name: Nicolas Gonzalez

Access to water was established as a fundamental human right by the United Nations in July, 2010. It is something that should not be an uncertainty in everyday life; however, currently more than 780 million, 11% of the global population is without access to clean, safe, water. Access to clean water cannot be isolated from sanitation of water. The two are seen hand in hand, and while access to water is crucial, it is not nearly as crucial as access to clean water.Poor quality and lack of access to water can cause disease, which is the leading cause of death in young children with over 800 deaths everyday due to diarrheal illness, and is fueling gender inequality in nations where water must be fetched, as fetching water is a task that is often performed by young women. As global population continues to increase, the need to access clean water also increases. Access to water is a problem that is most predominant in poor nations and LDCs, however the discrepancies within countries in regard to access to water is equally as concerning. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is working to increase international access to water, seeing that if access to water continues to worsen, millions of people internationally will die due to preventable causes. In 2015, the United Nations established a list of 17 goals, called the Sustainable Development Goals, this set of goals addresses access to water in goal 6. Goal 6 directly aims to achieve “universal and equitable access to safe water” by 2030. In addition to the SDGs, the UN has held numerous international conferences regarding water and sanitation, and helped approximately 1.3 billion people gain access to water during the “Water for Life” International Decade for Action from 2005-2015. 

Japan has taken many steps in the right direction regarding access to water. To date, 95% of Japanese people have access to water, and 97% of the population has access to piped water. Japan is one of only 15 countries with “potable” tap water, which undergoes strict quality control tests to ensure it safe to drink. This is not to say that Japan has never experienced water shortages; in the years 1939, 1964, 1967, and 1994, Japan faced water shortages so severe that 16 million people were affected at least once. In 1957, Japan enacted the “Waterworks Act”, which aims to supply clean, and inexpensive water as a way to improve public health and living environments. In addition to this, Japan has two “Water Supply Visions”, one enacted in 2004, and one in 2013. These “Visions” aim to sustainably supply a continuous amount of clean water to anyone, anywhere, with reasonable costs. In Tokyo, rainwater in harvested to increase access to water domestically. This is a recent phenomena in Tokyo, and research is still being done as to how harvesting water from rainfall can increase access to water in the rest of Japan, as well as internationally. 

In order to improve international access to water, action must be taken on a domestic level, as well as at an international level. The delegation of Japan believes that there are solutions that can help address this issue on a smaller level, as well as more complex solutions, relating to infrastructure and sanitation. Japan would like to propose actions that can be taken on a domestic level. First, Japan believes that we must take advantage of natural sources of water, such as rain water, and groundwater. By implementing systems that harvest rainwater and groundwater, similar to systems in Tokyo, access to water can be improved. Inorder to assure that the water harvested from the rain and the ground is clean, Japan believes that home water-treatment, and low-cost options must be provided. This includes: water filters, solar disinfection agents, flocculants, chlorine/iodine tablets, and plastic water bottles that can be exposed to sunlight. By providing these options, people have the opportunity to filter the collected water so that it is clean enough to drink. Second, Japan believes that in order to ensure the long term success of said systems, nations must monitor them on a yearly basis. They must be monitored on success rate, efficiency, sustainability, and most importantly, use. By doing this, will information about the systems be up to date, but feedback will be received, as well as information on how to improve them to ensure future usage. Finally, Japan believes that infrastructure must be updated. In many countries, infrastructure is too old to work successfully, where up to half of the water can be lost due to faulty or outdated systems. The delegation of Japan is looking forward to collaborating with other nations to come up with successful solutions that will improve international access to water.

• Delegate Name: Sydney Levy

Delegate: Victor Schmitt

Country: India

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to water

People not being able to access a clean source of water has been a problem which the United Nations has been trying to fix for many years. There are about 790 million people without access to an improved water supply according to the CDC. In addition, people with no access to an improved water supply have to walk hours just to get to a water source, and even then, the water that they retrieve is often unsafe to drink and can cause many deadly diseases. There are an estimated 800,000 children that die from diarrhea every year, usually in developing countries due to unsafe water.

The United Nations has made much progress towards fixing this problem, in 1977, the United Nations stated that access to clean water was a human right. The United Nations also has been raising awareness to bring many people clean water. Recently the United Nations recognized that the access to clean water was a basic human right, which is a major accomplishment on this topic.

India plays a major role in the issue concerning access to clean water, and sanitation. In 2008, only 88 percent of the indian population had access to drinking water, leaving around 200,000,000 people without access to clean drinking water. An estimated 21 percent of communicable diseases in India are linked to unsafe water. A big issue that plays a role in this unsafe water crisis is the staggering 344,000,000 people who practice open defecation. This is a major issue that must be resolved somehow. The government of India is not doing much about this issue currently, and a lot of the issues are attributed to increased privatization and increased population growth.

• Delegate Name: Victor Schmitt

DATE: 12-11-2019

SUBMITTED TO: UNEP

FROM: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 

SUBJECT: Access to Water

Reliable access to clean, fresh, drinking water is one of the most important natural resources a nation can have.  Fresh water is not only necessary from human hydration, but also for bathing, and more importantly, agriculture and farming require copious amounts of water to grow crops and livestock to feed and fuel a nation’s economy.  Water access however, does not come easy with every nation. Many nations in dryer parts of the world, like the Middle East, have difficulty providing water for their nation due to scarcity or lack of readily available resources.  Our nation believes It is a basic necessity for a person to have reliable and safe access to clean fresh water. Nations lacking access to fresh water often suffer from development issues in part due to this lack of basic resources.  Lacking in clean water will also lead to a host of health hazards and issues, Diseases like cholera arise from unclean drinking water.

Which nations are suffering the most lacking in fresh water access? In which ways, and how severe is it affecting these nations?  When securing funding for possible water development projects in nations lacking proper water access, which or who would be the best way to attain reliable funding for the project. Are utilizing existing or new NGOs r reliable system for helping nations who lack access to water to  gain more access to this extremely important resource? Is transporting water by ship or addition to provide a relief for citizens living in an affected area a reliable source or effective way of short term water access achievement? What can larger, more developed nations do to help with attaining greater water access in the world? Likewise, what can smaller, less developed nations do to aid with water access. Whether in their own country or another.  

A good resolution would be  that highlights the extreme importance of water to modern society and modern economies.  It should highlight the vast, and major importance of secure and reliable water access in both the public and private sector.  Any resolution should also include acknowledge mean of the great importance of water access in both architecture and livestock farming, but also in many widely used industrial processes, and industrial functions or operations.  A resolution our nation would like to see is one that discusses the importance of NGOs in the issues of water accessibility in less developed nations, as well as the use and importance of local governments when facing the prospect of clean water. A good resolution would cite the cause of lack of water accessibility, whether it being georgarpic, or a man made issue.  The revolution should also list some of the best solution on the most efficent, and effective way to alleviate lack of water accessibility across the globe. 

SInce this issue has been plaguing various different nations through the history of our world, many projects and ideas have been presented to help solve this major crisis.  In middle eastern nations such as audia arabia and israel, they have development technology to solve their lack of fresh water access. One of the major ways they have done this is by harvesting fresh water from saltwater by using machines that remove the salt from saltwater to turn it into usable freshwater.  While this industry is costly to both build and maintain, it has been proven to be a reliable source of water accessibility in nations who lack such a resource. 

All in all, water access is one of the most important resources a nation can have during its development, and throughout its lifetime.  Our societies and economies need clean, fresh water to function properly. I hope at the conference our nation will work hard and diligently to ensure that not only our people have access to safe, clean drinking water, but that people across the globe will have it for years to come. 

• Delegate Name: Aaron Purrenhage

The sixth of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is access to water and sanitation for all. These are important to human life, yet many people struggle with these issues every day. In fact, 30% of people do not have safely managed drinking water and 60% do not have an adequately managed sanitation situation. These are problems that need to be addressed.

Iraq is a nation in which almost all of our citizens are located near water, but it is not necessarily drinkable in large part due to poor sanitation. In 2018, over 100,000 people were hospitalized in the city of Basra, where bad sanitation habits along with other things created major problems for the city’s water supply. Another problem in Iraq is dramatically decreasing water levels in our rivers, leading to the desertification of 61,000 acres of arable land a year according to the UN Environmental Program. The main cause of this: hydro-electric plants being built by Turkey. These plants have devastated Iraq’s rivers, mainly the Euphrates. They have lead to pollution, destruction of wildlife habitats, and possibly an 80% reduction in the amount of water Iraq receives every year.

Something must be done in order to keep our rivers clean and flowing. Iraq proposes new regulations that would require countries to get UN approval before creating projects that would have an international effect on the environment and water supply.  Additionally, more efforts could be made internationally and nationally towards more widespread use of good sanitation to prevent pollution in waterways and drinking sources.

• Delegate Name: Henry Vredevelt

Makena Bodzianowski Country: Nigeria

Clean water remains a vital resource to sustain life, but many impoverished countries struggle to even provide this basic human right. The lack of water contributes to waterborne diseases, agricultural struggles, and low level school enrollment, especially among girls, as it does in Nigeria. Simply because of poor water management, millions of people will suffer and die each year. In order to put an end to these preventable deaths, countries would have to cooperate and work to provide water globally. The UN has already established clean water as a human right and included access to clean and sanitized water as number 6 in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. With the international community working to preserve and expand water access, surely struggling countries like Nigeria will be able to find sustainability.

For Nigeria, maintaining access to clean water is a constant tribulation. Only 30% of the population in northern Nigeria has access to safe and sanitized drinking water. In 2015, only 67% of the population had a basic water supply, and only 33% had access to basic sanitation; this left 60 million people without water and 122 million without safe water. In some regions, like the Niger Delta make gaining water a feat as the residents are either forced to purchase water at ridiculously high prices or drink from Benzene contaminated wells. Nigeria lacks in both access to water, work force, and the funds to fix this issue. Water production facilities in our country run inefficient operations due to the lack of proper equipment and fuel for functionality. The poorly maintained pipes often leak and make way for high levels of non-revenue water. Fixing the facilities’ quality would bring Nigeria one step closer to achieving the 6th goal in the Sustainable Development Goals, but funding poses as a large obstacle. To achieve the goal by 2030, Nigeria ​will be required to triple its budget or at least allocate 1.7 percent of the current Gross Domestic Product to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

Eager to better the lives of both its people and other struggling nations, Nigeria proposes a continued cooperation with other nations and organizations. For short term resolutions, more wealthy and water prosperous countries should support the underdeveloped countries and provide funding and water. Partnerships with other countries would be a necessity and collaboration with UNICEF and USAID to support the WASH movement is essential. Underdeveloped countries should have an increase in effort put into NGOs focused on clean water like Nigeria’s Society of Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN). With this global support, Nigeria is looking forward to a future where water is an easily achievable resource that doesn’t cause suffering or fatalities

• Delegate Name: Makena Bodzianowski

It is clear that action needs to be taken regarding the current state of global water and sanitation levels. The Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015 called for a substantial improvement in the infrastructure and distribution of water on a global scale.

Romania has suffered from widespread water and air pollution since the aftermath of World War II, most prominently in Prahova county, an oil-refining region which contains the 120 mile long Prahova River, connecting to several Romanian counties (Brașov, Ialomița, and Prahova) and posing a threat to them. In 2010, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested $221,060,000 into the modernization of water utilities in Romania, and as of 2015, 79.1% of Romanians had access to sanitation facilities. Thanks to EU funding, drinking water in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary has become safer, but there are still areas where water from the public network does not comply with the 1998 EU Drinking Water Directive. Romania’s GDP as of 2019 is $243.698 billion, and has an economy based around services, so Romania is doing as much as it can to take part in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Romania encourages the sustained effort of prioritizing the health of its constituents, and the assurance of healthy drinking water worldwide.

Works Cited:

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3652100276/SUIC?u=lom_royaloakschs&sid=SUIC&xid=c43fd3e7

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-drink/legislation_en.html

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A243281851/SCIC?u=lom_royaloakschs&sid=SCIC&xid=e2e09dc2

• Delegate Name: Jack Merten

Topic: Water Access

Nation: Qatar

Committee: ECOSOC

Water is necessary for human survival and, as recognized by the UN in 2010, a basic human right. However, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme 2017 report, 2.1 billion people do not have access to potable water. This means, as of 2017, 28% of the world was denied of their fundamental right to clean (let alone affordable and close) water. Not only is water crucial from an agricultural standpoint in order to ensure a stable, self-sufficient food supply, but also for sanitation purposes, as contaminated water stunts the reduction of poverty and disease, being a leading cause of child mortality. According to the WHO/UNICEF JMP 2017 report, in 2017, 4.5 billion people lacked safe sanitation, meaning 59% of the world did not have access to basic sanitation. Of these 4.5 billion people, 1.8 billion were estimated to drink water possibly contaminated with feces. In addition, in dry, desert regions, the overuse of groundwater is exacerbated by the overgrowing of plants & inefficient technologies used in agriculture. The ineffective treatment of wastewater from both houses and industry also leads to  limited water re-use, which leads to less access to clean water. All of these factors that lead to inadequate water access, driving emigration which can cause conflict and unrest.

As a nation, Qatar has relied heavily on desalination plants, which supply about 50% of potable water in the country. In addition to that, Qatar has initiated the Water Security Mega Reservoirs Project in 2012, starting the construction of five giant water reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 14.384 billion liters, which means that, altogether, the five reservoirs can store up to 7 days worth of drinkable water. These water reservoirs will also link the desalination facilities in north and south Qatar. As Qatar has one of the highest household water consumption rates in the world, Qatar has also put into place legislation to reduce water waste, such as in 2008 to reduce outdoor hose usage. Qatar has also formed a department for water conservation & efficiency within KAHRAMAA (Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation) due to the fact that Qatari household water waste remains extreme.

In order to combat excessive water loss and increase water access, desalination plants should be constructed, especially in ocean coastal nations in drier areas with less natural freshwater bodies. These desalination plants should utilize renewable energy sources and energy-conserving processes such as reverse-osmosis in order to conserve energy when purifying groundwater. However, the waste from these desalination plants must be efficiently dealt with to reduce pollution and the salinification of other natural bodies of water. Water storage should also be increased in order to limit the hardships brought about by natural disasters such as droughts. Agriculturally, technologies such as drip irrigation should be implemented in order to conserve water, and if possible, heat-tolerant crops and crops that require less water should be grown more frequently.  Planning should be implemented to reduce water waste both in the industry and households. Educating the general public about their domestic water consumption will help decrease the excess use of water in these households. Further investments in technologies to harvest water, distribute water, and reduce water loss and water waste in the industry, household, and agricultural field should be made in order to make water access more widespread and efficient across the many climates throughout the world.

Works Cited:

“Advocates Propose Solutions to Water Scarcity Crisis in Cape Town Edition of Doha Debates.” The Peninsula Qatar, September 12, 2019. https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/12/09/2019/Advocates-propose-solutions-to-water-scarcity-crisis-in-Cape-Town-edition-of-Doha-Debates. 

Doha Debates. “How Definitions Drive Debates: What We Mean by ‘Water Scarcity.’” Doha Debates, September 5, 2019, https://dohadebates.com/2019/08/30/definition-4/.

“Food and Water Security in Qatar: Part 2 – Water Resources.” Future Directions International, 23 Jan. 2015, http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/food-and-water-security-in-qatar-part-2-water-resources/. 

“Water.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/.

• Delegate Name: Andrew Mojares

Committee: United Nations Environmental Programme 

Topic: Access to Water

Country: Republic of Costa Rica 

Delegate: Catherine Hwang, Forest Hills Northern High School 

Access to water has been a pressing topic and developing goal among numerous countries. Not only should access to water be addressed, but also how to provide it to every citizen whilst maintaining proper sanitation regulations, as water has been recognized as a human right by the United Nations in 2010. Although immense progress has been made regarding drinking sources and sanitation, approximately more than 35% of the world’s population still lacks access to water or improved sanitation. This particular lack of sanitation facilities leads to such practices such as open defecation. Lesser developed countries such as those within Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern and Eastern Asia are especially restricted from proper water quality. Water is vital for any country, for it increases life expectancy at birth and decreases the chances of infant mortality as well as diseases. 

Although Costa Rica has relatively high political stability, high standard of living, and well-developed social benefits system as opposed to its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica strives to become a more developed country, for it is especially concerned with issues including water sanitation practices, environmental surroundings of water sources, as well as the effects of tourism on the water supply. For several years, Costa Rica has been a leader in environmental protection and the Costa Rican legislature is now taking further initiative to improve water resources whilst preserving nature’s environment. In response to several regions in the country having polluted streams and rivers, the Costa Rican government reacted to this sanitation problem and a plan is underway to construct Costa Rica’s first-ever wastewater treatment plant in San Jose. By 2020, Costa Rica strives to improve and fully develop Ley de Aguas, the Water Law. For the past several years, almost 20% of GDP has been spent towards achieving universal access to education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and electricity. In 2009, the National Alliance for the Defense of Water presented lawmakers a bill for “integrated” water resources management. Costa Rica has established an estimated 1000 community-based water organizations throughout the country to help resolve the issue. 

Costa Rica encourages other countries to implement similar laws and actions that have been found beneficial to progressing towards the safe and adequate distribution of water to all citizens. Countries with natural and unique landscapes, rainforests, and great biodiversity, should utilize and protect natural resources to provide clean and plentiful water sources without harming the surrounding environment. Recognizing the importance of funding, Costa Rica hopes to see great cooperation among the countries within UNEP to develop a financially stable infrastructure that is able to maintain proper water management.

• Delegate Name: Catherine Hwang

United Nations Environmental Programme

Access to Water 

United Kingdom 

Gabby Flint 

Mattawan High School 

The human body can withstand three days without water and needs water not only for hygiene but for the most simple form of human functioning.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 700 million people worldwide lack access to a proper water source. More than 35% of the world’s population have an absence of sufficient water sanitation. These people are being forced to use water from rivers and springs that are often used as a dumping ground for waste products of surrounding power plants, factories, and villages. Without proper water sanitation, the risk of dehydration, multiple diseases, and death runs high. When the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, it established the goal of gaining clean drinking water for everyone as soon as the 2030’s. This caused the pressure for achieving clean water for all has become as important as ever. It’s a crisis that can no longer be forgotten as its effects can either destroy or save the human population. 

In 2017, 55% of the rivers in the United Kingdom were found to be polluted with sewage. These rivers are a main source of water for the UK, and the pollution of sewage poses a large issue on the access to clean water for UK citizens. The United Kingdom strongly believes in the principle that every human has the right to clean water. The UK had found that tight control and monitoring of what can access into rivers and lakes allows every UK citizen access to clean and sanitary water.  The 21st Century Drainage Programme, created to combat sewage pollution in rivers, aims to tightly monitor sewer systems in hopes of finding possible leakage to prevent contamination of the United Kingdom’s water supply. The programme’s efforts have benefically impacted the country’s agriculture. For example, wheat is a lucrative export for the UK, and a clean water supply is critical for wheat’s growth. If the United Kingdom had a unsanitized water supply, the value of exports would decrease, making the value of imports higher. This imbalance would result in a negative net export, meaning that the GDP for the UK would be lower. The 21st Century Drainage Programme aids the United Kingdom in staying on track of keeping a clean water supply; henceforth, it provides every citizen access to clean and sanitary water.  

United Kingdom proposes to the committee that policies be set in place for every nation to have an organization that is responsible for monitoring the country’s water supply cleanliness. Every single member nation of the UN should be involved in this issue as it affects all nations even if the water sanitation issue is present within a nation on the other side of the globe. This course of action would ensure that the basic human right to clean and sanitized. The creation of such organization would create a plentiful amount of jobs, which would in turn boost the nation’s economy. These organizations would also help support each of the lucrative sectors in every nation, as it has done within the United Kingdom.  UK is also open to giving aid to countries who are unable to clean up their water supplies. The United Kingdom hopes for open collaboration from all countries in committee to find a solution that will give access to clean water to all.

• Delegate Name: Gabby Flint

Iran is a country in Asia with little access to clean water.   Iran gets their water mostly form out of the country exports and dams due to their water containing a bacteria that causes one to have a diarrhea death.  Iran’s water supply is very poorly constructed and not sanitary at all. While the water is supplied through modern infrastructure such as dams, reservoirs, long-distance transmission pipelines and deep wells.  Tap water is very unsafe to drink due to the amount of bacteria in the water from lack of filters and distilleries.

Pollution of water in Iran is because of the industries not properly disposing their waste.  Pollution was also caused by municipal wastewater as well as by agriculture. The collection of sewage is discharged untreated and constitutes a major source of pollution to groundwater and a risk to public health.  Many suffer from the bacteria that resides within the untreated water.

Most of the tap water in Iran is safe for the most part due to their new accords in 2014 that made sure they built new water infrastructures cleaning their water.  However, this has not gone all over the country yet, so there are many unsafe parts which affect the children causing them to become infected and die from constant diarrhea.

• Delegate Name: Mitchell Kovacic

United Nations Environmental Program 

Access to Water

Seychelles

Natalie Tinklenberg

Mattawan High School

The benefits of clean water are a central focus for many issues ranging from gender equality to public health. With one of the seventeen goals set in the hope to achieve them by 2030 being access to clean water, the only thing left for every nation to do is come together to benefit the entirety of human nature. Currently, people that collect their water are at 435 million, which exposes the many to life-threatening diseases. In addition, countries that do not provide a safe way to acquire water risk their citizens, as they have to travel far and possibly dangerous journeys to acquire any water at all.

In the tropical environment of Seychelles, the weather is ever-changing causing difficulty to supply water; most of the water is saltwater and the little water that is underground is very limited. In the dry season, much of the water dries up; however, in warmer and wetter seasons, the growth of bacteria in the water is very favorable.  Currently, in Seychelles steps are being taken to improve the water that is given to the citizens; however, there is still a struggle. With issues like these in mind, Seychelles has passed multiple laws and regulations, plus, it has explored many avenues to have clean water for the citizens. A majority of water comes from streams, rivers, and rainwater, so many hope for the government to invest in more distillation plants. The island already has multiple distillation plants; however, by 2030, the demand for water is expected to increase by 130%, and Seychelles is currently unfit to meet that demand. With funding from the European investment bank, Seychelles is committed to improving the cleanliness of its water by improving the sewer system and its piping. Therefore, Seychelles is committed to increasing access to clean water for their country and the rest of the world. 

To achieve the many goals set, Seychelles believes it is fundamental that countries with more infrastructure in place to deliver clean water lend a helping had to those who are struggling. The countries struggling the least and have the most infrastructure should have more of a responsibility to contribute money and resources. Funding is, ultimately, what stands in the way of countries developing clean water.

• Delegate Name: Natalie Tinklenberg

Environmental

Access to Water

France

Oliver Shapton

Currently, locations all around the world are constantly at risk due to the lack of access to clean water. In fact 3 of 10 individuals lack access to clean drinking water. With countries lacking access to water, and the difficulty of transporting water to locations all over the world, the concern, is a growing issue. When human beings aren’t provided with an essential substance that allows them to live, chaos and death occurs. When countries are left with unsanitized drinking water, more than 800 children are left to die due to diarrheal diseases each day. However, the lack of clean and accessible water does not only lead to illness and damage to an individual’s health, but leads to gender inequality, an un-sustainable production of food and energy, and impacts the climate. 

France has been in a long lasting fight against the lack of clean and accessible water sources. France, like many other countries have worked for a future, where every individual has access to clean water, as it is their right as a human. In the past, we have supported resolution (A/RES/64/292) as well as resolution (A/RES/21/1) in order to make it a priority for all countries to work towards a better and healthier future for all. We have joined the Blue Group, and continue to play a major role in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the amount of population that has no access to clean water. France has funded and supported water related projects through 600 million euro donations, focusing on the need to change the reality of our word.

It is clear that we as United Nations, must come together to defeat this issue. France proposes further implementation and support of water related projects in dire locations such as Dakar in our to produce water systems that are closer to where the individuals live. This allows for better access to clean water while not forcing women to give up their right to an education to support their families. Further France proposes support from all countries to increase sectoral funding towards sanitation, making it fit the needs of the populations in need while also emphasizing efficiency and maintaining a healthy global climate by reducing waste produced, which therefore promotes a healthy water cycle. 

France’s mission is to create a world, where children aren’t dying and educations being deprived from women, but a world in which humans have access to an essential source, clean water. We hope that has a group of nations we can fix this issue while also protecting our beliefs in a sustainable ecosystem and economic system.

• Delegate Name: Oliver Shapton

Ukraine is a country in Europe that doesn’t always have access to clean water. The source of Ukraine’s water contamination stems from the fact that since the Soviet times, Ukraine’s water infrastructure has not been upgraded. Much of Ukraine’s pipes, sewage treatments, and filters are very old and are in desperate need of an upgrade. According to the International Relief & Development (IRD) humanitarian organization, ‘’more than 50 percent of Ukraine’s pipelines and water distribution systems are in need of urgent repairs and/or replacement.’’ Over the past 10 years, over 20,000 of Ukraine’s rivers have disappeared which leads to less clean water for the country. 

Much of the water pollution in the country of Ukraine comes from large businesses and corporations run-off and smoke from their factories and large buildings. This pollution ends up filtering into the fourth largest river in Europe, which is where the majority of Ukraine’s population gets their water. Even though there are laws prohibiting the dumping of sewage and waste materials, most large companies ignore these laws and the consequences and do so anyway. Another factor that leads to water pollution is the manufacturing of more corporations releasing toxic chemicals into Ukraine’s natural springs, making the water unhealthy to drink. According to the country’s National Security and Defense Council, ‘’70 percent of Ukraine’s groundwater contains chemical amounts that exceed acceptable levels and 40 percent of Ukrainian water wells do not meet sanitary standards.’’ 

Polluted drinking water in Ukraine is more common in the rural areas where 80% of people are lacking clean drinking water while 20% of people in urban areas lack clean drinking water. The World Health Organization estimates that ‘’25 percent of the Ukrainian population is at risk of contracting water-borne diseases such as diphtheria, cholera, hepatitis A, and typhoid.’’ In Ukraine more than 4.5 million residents are drinking from water sources that don’t meet the regulatory requirements. In recent years, the government of Ukraine has taken steps to improve the healthy drinking water situation.

• Delegate Name: Isabelle Gray

Country: Afghanistan

Committee: United Nations Environmental Programme

Topic: Access To Water

Delegate: Allyson Suandi

School: Williamston High School

By 2030, The United Nations is hoping to meet it’s Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, the United Nations Environmental Programme is working towards many of these, including Sustainable Development Goal 6 which calls for access to water and sanitation which is a basic human right. In order to meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 and other sustainable development goals regarding water, there is still much that the United Nations Environmental Programme needs to do as an international body to create cooperation among member states to allow for there to be access to water to be available globally. Improved management of water can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as through the reduction of water pollution and greener infrastructure and development alongside bodies of water, especially with proper waste management. There also needs to be a more efficient water delivery system for developing nations that do not have a direct source of access to clean water, as many children and women are forced to give up their right to education and have to walk long treks to find water that also affects their health. There are also financial discrepancies in developing nations that affect a person’s access to water. Those who are not as well off have a much harder time finding water, as they may not have the means to afford water systems that are closer to them. 

Afghanistan is struggling to get its people access to water, with only 27% of the nation that has access to clean drinking water and only 37% have access to sanitation facilities. 1.5 million people have been displaced due to droughts because of climate change with 22 out of 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces experiencing droughts in 2018. Afghanistan’s water crisis is mainly due to being a war torn nation for the last couple decades with the Taliban in place which caused water mismanagement throughout the country, despite there being readily available bodies of water surrounding Afghanistan. There has been a lot that the United Nations and Afghanistan have worked on together to help solve this crisis. For example, with the help of UNICEF and USAID, Afghanistan has started to implement solar powered water pumps and gravity-fed water systems that have been less costly and more reliable sources compared to regular hand pumps. There has also been the creation of separate bathrooms for genders within educational systems and improved access to water. Afghanistan has also turned towards small private enterprises to help maintain and manage water services and systems. In clinics and hospitals, Afghanistan has started to implement a hygiene behavioral change program. There also has been great education among communities about hygiene and how to maintain good hygiene habits that has also greatly helped the nation.

There needs to be cooperation between nations with transboundary bodies of water in terms of adequate management and sanitation which shall be an agreement overseen by GreenPeace. Nations should work together to maintain the condition of the body of the water as well as proper management of waste management and ensuring that proper sanitation standards are method. Afghanistan would like to create an agreement between nations that can sign on to that makes them promise to uphold proper management of the area that their nation borders the body of water. Larger developed nations should also work towards providing financial means and deliver water to nations who are in water crisis temporarily and should also invest in research being done to create feasible water treatment systems for developing nations. Larger nations who are surrounded by bodies of water that are financially well off should especially ensure that they are not polluting their systems of water with their infrastructure and development. Afghanistan also believes that countries should begin to adopt similar policies to Afghanistan such as switching from regular hand pumps to cheaper and more environmentally conscious solar hand pumps. Afghanistan would also like to see a spread of awareness among nations about how to maintain good hygiene among communities. The body should also consider working with NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization to provide clinics for adequate treatment of diseases caused by poor water quality.

• Delegate Name: Allyson Suandi

Country: United Mexican States

Committee: Environmental (ECOSOC)

Topic: Access to Water

Delegate: Anthony Moncman

School: Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy

Across the globe, access to usable drinking water has afflicted countries, particularly underdeveloped nations, to the point of utter madness. The United Mexican States are of no exception to this painful calamity. The United Mexican States’ access to water is currently limited, having been recognized by experts from the United Nations for its need to improve the quality and access to clean drinking water. The United Mexican States ranked 91st on the global index of improved water sources per a 2015 statistic.Improved water sources are referred to as piped water on a premises or in the public, or other forms of achieving cleaner water. Over the last 30 years, Mexico has improved significantly from the approximately 80 percent of the population using improved water sources to over 96 percent of the population using improved water sources. However, this may be misleading as many Mexican citizens do not have access to clean water. In Mexico City, roughly a fifth of the population has limited access to clean water, often times it is necessary to use water trucks to supply neighborhoods with proper materials.

As the crisis has been improving at an alarmingly meek rate, the search for solutions to this problem, both nationally and internationally, has been optimistic. More effective waste treatment facilities have begun to be implemented throughout the country, namely in the most plagued regions of Mexico City and other major establishments within the nation. The Atotonilco wastewater treatment plant is the largest wastewater treatment facility in the world, located in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, to the northwest of Mexico’s capitol. It has complied with all water standard requirements and has generated 31.5m3/s of renewed water to the Mexico Valley. It is capable of bearing the wastewater from all of the residents of Mexico City; Atotonilco has provided fresh and renewed water for the purposes of farming, irrigation, and personal use for the residents of Mexico City. In addition to compiling water from more effective wastewater treatment facilities, it has become increasingly common to utilize rain water for household use. Under the current administration the goal set by the government was to use 200mn pesos (US$10.4mn) to install nearly 100,000 rainwater harvesting systems (SCALLs) in Mexico City. This has been thus far successful, as seen first hand by many citizens of the nation. As a temporary aid for water shortages in certain villages, many trucks hauling water for household use have been provided for certain districts in cities.

The United Mexican States encourages the United Nations to take a similar approach to the water shortage in many other nations. There are several NGO’s that would be able to aid financially with these projects that could be difficult for developing nations. One such NGO is Pure Water for the World, which generally focuses on nations in the Caribbean and Central America. Despite this specific non-profit working for such a small range of nations, there are several that target different regions in the world. Through placing emphasis on long-term solutions to the problem at hand, as well as solutions that aid citizens on a day-to-day basis, the United Nations have the capability and responsibility to make access to water a reality for every person in the world.

• Delegate Name: Anthony Moncman

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, 4.2 billion people face situations of that which they lack adequate sanitation and 45% of our population access to water. This lack could lead to many deaths from preventable diseases on a regular basis, especially in more poor, underdeveloped countries. The acknowledgment of this human right has been seen in the past as this matter had been addressed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, as well as in 2015 by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, creating 17 Sustainable Development Goals, supporting the need for such action to support the growth of those that have access to water and sanitation.

Peru has made many efforts to see the movement of common access to clean water and sanitation facilities through policies set by the Ministry of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation, and increasing urban and rural providers, showing the commitment to this natural human right. Access to safe water and sanitation has improved in recent years, yet there remains a large portion of the population (3 million out of 32 million) without access to safe water and 8 million without improved sanitation due to deficient sustainability and insufficient coverage. Although many Peruvians still live below the national poverty line and efforts to expand access have not been as successful as wanted, Peru continues to strive for solutions to this issue and supports those that may increase access to water and sanitation. 

The delegation of Peru aims to establish a solution of placing more emphasis on the sustainability of the execution of providing more access to water and sanitation. Peru believes certain solutions that could contribute to this could be the establishment of water “points” and sanitation/hygiene facilities. Funding could be possible through co-financing by increased community participation as well as enhanced international cooperation. More emphasis could be placed on specializing sustainability systems for each unique needs of the area.  

• Delegate Name: Christine Huynh

Not only is water a fundamental necessity to survive, it is a basic human right, and it is our duty as leaders of the global community to ensure that every person has adequate access to a clean source. Although water is an integral part of everyday life, 1 in 9 citizens are without access to safe water. This issue is so vast that it seems to encompass almost every major issue of current global concern, including poverty, climate change, and even social equality and equity. WHO conducted a study in 2017 reporting that out of the 39% of our global population using a “safely managed sanitation service”, 3 out of 5 of them live in urban areas, thus showing a higher prevalence of unsafe water conditions in urban areas—which have been shown to have higher poverty rates—showing a correlation between poverty and unsafe water. Climate change is leaving entire populations without water due to droughts caused by extreme fluctuations in weather conditions. Pollution is leaving once viable water sources tainted with contaminants such as pesticides, microplastics, and dangerous parasites. Regarding water equity, girls are twice as likely to be responsible for collecting water for the household than boys, which often requires a commute, frequently preventing girls from participating in everyday activities, including attending school.

            Germany firmly recognizes water’s undeniable participation in each of these issues and reiterates the importance of their swift resolution. As a nation with highly developed infrastructure, 100% of Germany’s citizens have access to an improved water source. This does not mean that Germany has put the topic to rest, as our participation in several multinational partnerships—such as the Right 2 Water, a European action group supporting economically accessible and safe access to water for every global citizen, nondiscriminatory of socioeconomic status—has shown Germany’s dedication to a globally comprehensive and collaborative solution. In providing affordable clean water, it is essential that we do not allow private corporations to distribute and therefore manipulate our water sources, as their motives are often further focused on profit rather than the equal distribution of one of our world’s most fundamental human rights. While private corporations’ direct involvement in water allocation is strongly discouraged, this does not mean that Germany also discourages NGOs, which can be a valuable asset. Non-Governmental Organizations, including the German-supported Water Integrity Network (a multinational organization ensuring that water is not being exploited and is sustainably managed), promote public involvement and often can help to fund and stimulate initiatives and research projects allowing nation’s government to support initiatives without the necessity to facilitate them. The funds and energy conserved can then be allotted for larger issues facilitated by the government. For example, the public sanitation and distribution of free water.  

            Alongside NGOs, it is crucial that we collaborate along international waters to create well-developed infrastructure, serving as the backbone for all future improvements in water quality. In nations with already-developed universal sources of water, a worldwide standard of inspection should be put in place with routine check-ins to ensure that distribution facilities are adequate, as diseases carried by inadequate water sources are a leading cause of death worldwide, and an estimated 3.5 million people die from water-related diseases. Fluoride and chlorine are widely used in developed nations to sanitize drinking water and should be made more accessible to water sources in developing nations. While infrastructure makes water accessible, there are many cases in which this is not an achievable goal in the near future despite the urgency of this issue. To provide support for developing areas in immediate need of water, a mobile source providing water for areas that might not have easy access to a clean source could be established. It could be supported by a nation’s local government, NGOs, or even as a collaboration with wealthier, developed nations. This might entail a large vehicle with water that can be distributed routinely throughout a community—not as the sole source of water, but rather as an emergency supply—and possibly could be equipped with medical supplies fit to treat common ailments in remote areas, including prevalent water-borne diseases and dehydration.

Works Cited

https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/

https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/environment/resources-sustainability/water-initiatives-from-germany

https://www.right2water.eu/

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics.html

https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/urbanization/

https://www.gwp.org/en/About/who/Country-Water-Partnerships/

https://www.waterintegritynetwork.net/

http://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/interesting_water_facts/dirty_water_diseases

• Delegate Name: Lily Kappa

Russian Federation

UNEP

Access to Water

Amelia Kocis

Royal Oak High School

Access to clean water and sanitation should be a right for every citizen. Sadly, this is not always the case across the globe. In addition to this, clean water can be a building block for improving the economics of developing countries. If the issue of water is taken care of, then it’s one less thing that country has to worry about in terms of the safety of its citizens. In Russia, 98.9% of the urban population, and 91.2% of the rural population has access to improved water source. 77% of the urban population have access to sanitation facilities, along with 58.7% of the rural population. ( CIA World Factbook )

One way that Russia achieved this high percentage of civilians with access to water was through its facilities and technologies. We have multiple different instruments and computer systems devoted to the filtration of this water. ( UN.org ) Russia would very much support a system of educating countries on these technologies, and/or a financial aid system to help implement these technologies on countries without the means to do so. We have many countries in the world right now that are very much, and rightfully preoccupied with conflicts, civil wars, and many other issues that make it difficult for them to focus on the water accessibility for their citizens. This, however, does not lessen the importance of water accessibility. That is why it is so vital that we as a committee can come to a conclusion on how to make the global access to water even more widespread.

Russia is very excited to work with the international community to form a solution that can increase the amount of citizens with accessible water sources, expand the usage of technology towards water purification, and improve the overall purity of existing water sources.

• Delegate Name: Amelia Kocis

New Zealand

United Nations Environmental Protection: Access to Water

The lack of access to drinkable water is a severe problem, countries all over Africa, kids walk extensive distances for the chance to be able to fill up jugs of water when they should be allowed easier access to water. Everyone should be allowed easy access to one of the most important things that keep us humans alive.

We believe specifically the access to water is not a current issue for the people of New Zealand, even though as urban development continues to grow as well as industrial and rural use which makes clean water usage for some people a concern but not one that needs to be acted upon so soon. The problem needs to be monitored because as of right now 83 percent of people have access to clean water but if the development of urbanization, industrialization, and rural development increases the number of people who have access will go down.

All the solutions I would like to put forth in this committee is funding NGOs that take the time to help poor countries that have people fighting for access to water. We also need to help countries build a proper sewage system that will properly clean water so that the water they drink is not filled with bacteria and help prevent water scarcity from getting any worse.

• Delegate Name: Jacob Wolfgang

Dominican Republic

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Renewable Energy

Through the quick growth of the Dominican Republic up to one of the leaders of the Carribean that it is today. Through the years of growth one of the problems we have hit is increased pressure on the electrical grid, and developing it to sustain all the citizens in our country. Through this process of growing, it could also be said that the electrical side has been one thing that could be seen to hold us back. According to the UNEP 80% of the energy in the world is produced by fossil fuels. This is an unsustainable way to continue, according to the Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) the Earth only has 30 years of oil, 40 years of gas, and 70 years of coal left at the rate we are currently consuming. As we go through this we look forward to a greener future using renewable energy sources to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

This topic is one that is at the center of our country currently. Through needing to develop our grid and supply ourselves with more electricity, we are looking for a way to grow. This opens up the possibility of powering the Dominican Republic through green energy. In the Dominican Republic, there is a greater demand for energy than we can supply. Because of this, our population has turned to generators and other ways of making their own power. Renewable energy is a good way to turn away from these dirty diesel generators into solar panels and turbines that can be controlled close to home, or in a large scale be used to power a whole country.  

In 2007 only 88% of our people had access to power. This is a number that is hopefully only going to go up. The hope is that we are able to find new ways to make energy. We hope to preserve the greenery that surrounds us and keep the earth clean.

Through this committee, I hope to expand the use of renewable energy throughout the world. I hope to find clean solutions to the world’s dirty energy problems. Solutions for the world will help all countries involved, and we look forward to looking for new ways to create energy, in a clean, safe way. 

• Delegate Name: Harrison Hill

Dominican Republic

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Access to Water

Water, along with food, and shelter, is one of the necessities to sustain a person. Without it, life is not possible. In today’s day and age, there is very much a large disparity between the haves and the have nots. Around the world, in 2017 at least 2 billion people used a source of water tainted with fecal matter.  Most people do not have to even think about water. Turn the tap and it appears. On the other hand, people are struggling to survive and have to resort to drinking dirty water that has not been sanitized. According to the WHO only 71% of the world’s population used a clean and stable source of water. That means a whole 29% of the world either can’t find a source of water or is using a dirty one.

This topic is something that is very close to the country and the people of the Dominican Republic. As a still-developing country access to a clean, and reliable water source is something that we have been striving to achieve and is something that we have made great strides in. 

Before 1999 our water supply went through many changes for the better and the worse, and development of this system came to a halt. In 1999, though the Dominican Republic was approved for a $71 million loan to rebuild and help to bring our water systems up to the modern standards that the rest of the developed world has enjoyed. Since this great investment, we have made major steps that have brought our percentage of people that have access to fresh and clean water up to 87%.

Through the time spent in committee, the goal should be to set programs in place to help countries improve their overall water quality and access to water. This should be though funds that are dispersed to countries through aid. These funds can be used to drill wells. It should be said that funds should also go to research into efficient seawater desalination. As we look toward the future, this issue is crucial to us and global stability. We look forward to working with other nations to solve this common problem to help us all.

• Delegate Name: Harrison Hill

11/10/19

UNEP

South Korea

Water Access

Access to clean water has been a struggle of most countries throughout history. Today is one of the most devastating times for a big chunk for the world because of water accessibility. Over 1 billion people suffer from a lack of water access on a daily basis. This is caused by the increased amount of droughts and floods over the course, which is damaging the small amount of fresh water left on earth. Water accessible is a basic human need, everyone should be able to easily access water without people risking their lives.

In South Korea, we are experiencing severe drought, which is having a heavy impact on farmers and causing drinking water shortages. A lot of coastal cities such as Jindo-gun are drawing water from Lake around them to distribute across the city. The South Korean government has been trying to get farmers back on their feet and they are trying to distribute water across the country so half our population will not die of thirst.  

South Korea looks forward to speaking with all countries.

• Delegate Name: Lydia Maggi

The Declaration of Human Rights, supported by Argentina in its first year of creation, 1948, supports and affirms many fundamental human rights. The ensuing seventy-one years have seen many successful efforts to improve the human condition, but the Republic of Argentina recognizes that there is still much left to do, particularly with regards to water access, which was not explicitly stated as a right in the original Declaration. As recently as 2016, 780 million people worldwide lacked access to improved water, and another 2.5 billion lacked access to improved sanitation. With the effects of climate change weighing on our planet heavier than ever, the time to take action on this critical human need is now. 

In the Republic of Argentina, the right to clean water is protected in Article 41 of our nation’s constitution under the Right to a Healthy Environment. In spite of this acknowledgement, water access still remains an issue for some Argentinans. Argentina water supplies suffer from, among other things, water waste and chemical pollution. Water inequities also continue to disproportionately affect the poorest in our nation.

Climate change has and will continue to have a critical role in the water access dialogue. On the continent of South America, the melting of tropical glaciers as temperatures increase will have major effects on water access, as glaciers are a major source of drinking water and feed streams and rivers. An already warm continent, increased drought and drought severity as a result of climate change heightens the water access conversation’s significance to South America. Climate change-proofing continental and global agriculture and drinking sources is a time sensitive prerogative. 

Any solutions reached in committee must be thorough and achievable. On a global level, an emphasis on cooperation between governments, the UN, World Bank, and NGOs must take center stage. Worldwide issues require international coordination. Within developing nations, education on water conservation and efficient farming methods can be an important tool for human development and curbing water mismanagement, and media water conservation campaigns should also be considered as possible solutions in the fight against water waste. 

Argentina looks forward to partaking in open dialogue with all countries in tackling this global initiative – water access.

• Delegate Name: Elizabeth Vredevelt

11/14/19

Submitted to: United Nations Environment Programme

From: Rwanda

Subject: Access to water

Access to clean water is a human right but many citizens in countries across the world don’t have that right currently. Not only is access to water an issue for many, but also having a space to clean themselves off to stay healthy is unreachable for some. An estimated 790 million people across the world are without an improved water supply. Not only that but 1.8 billion people don’t have access to adequate sanitations or bathrooms. A basic human right isn’t available to everyone across the world but it should be.  

Rwanda is a landlocked country that struggles with finding access to clean water. Many poorer citizens live in remote places so they can’t find water easily. Only 57% of our country has access to water that is thirty minutes away from them according to UNICEF’s WASH program site. Because the water is so far away children who are collecting the water often miss school. Along with the limited access to water families often find themselves struggling to efficiently use the small amount of water they have for all of their needs.Washing their hands can prevent the whole household from getting sick. The lack of access to water can affect multiple aspects of Rwandans’ lives. 

 How can the government and organizations get to these remote places? How can organizations help build areas for communities to improve the hygiene of citizens? We need to focus on how we would get the water to developing countries. That also comes with the question of how we are going to allocate our funds. We need funding in the sense of money and general materials. In our resolution we need to find a solution to where we would get all of these things. We also need to think about how we can sustain these supplies. Do we have an organization build a facility or have monthly shipments? Should bordering countries share their water resources? How do we improve water quality in existing rivers and lakes? All important things we need to talk about. 

There are already organizations that are helping countries like Rwanda all over the world. One of those programs is UNICEF’s WASH program that is in over 100 countries across the world. This program provides water, builds bathrooms for towns, healthy hygiene through handwashing education and monitoring water quality and financing. Rwanda would like to see this program continue and other programs similar to this being built so that the coverage can be greater. The issue of water quality can also be fixed by companies providing filters for towns near rivers and or lakes. The water with low quality can often carry diseases that can spread quickly. With these filters this can also prevent diseases from spreading.

Rwanda really wants to see an improvement in the quality of water so that citizens in developing countries can have a higher quality of life. Though this is not an easy task, programs have been effective in our own country, we believe that with the coverage of these programs becoming bigger we will be able to help solve the issue of access to water.  

• Delegate Name: Hayden Natinsky

United Nations Environmental Programme

Access to Water

Federal Republic of Somalia

Hannah Mary Bhaskaran

Forest Hills Eastern High School

There is not a single living organism on earth that can survive without water. While this is a concrete fact, many people do not have access to clean water for drinking and to complete domestic tasks. The World Health Organization discovered that in 2019, 1 in 3 people globally lacks access to quality water and 4.2 billion people lack hygienic sanitation facilities. The absence of sanitation facilities and clean water can lead to malnourishment, dehydration, unhygienic living conditions, the spread of diseases, and other consequences linked to unsafe water. According to the CDC, diseases caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water conditions are the top causes of death in children under five. Somalia cares about this issue deeply as only 45% of our population has access to clean water and only 25% has improved sanitation within 10 meters (CDC).

Water scarcity is one of the leading issues in Somalia. Due to conflict with rebels, unreliable and scarce rainfall, and neglected maintenance of water sources and supply, our citizens suffer from a pervasive lack of water. Al- Shabaab, an Islamic rebel group has been preventing water and food from reaching our citizens. In 2017 our president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared a state of emergency due to catastrophic drought. Aid organizations such as UNICEF and WHO have attempted to provide resources for our people but, Al- Shabaab has seized control of many rural areas and thus access to water and food. According to the World Health Organization, 6.2 million Somalian citizens are in desperate need of food and water. Somalia receives scarce rainfall due to our desert location and arid climate. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, Somalia only receives about 282 millimeters of rainfall annually. With humanitarian aid being prevented, our citizens are in grave danger of malnutrition, severe dehydration, and diseases from contaminated water.

Somalia proposes that the United Nations assist us with the transport and supply of water as we have many obstacles while bringing water to citizens. With the aid of water transportation and supply from the United Nations, Somalians will live healthier, longer lives. Somalia greatly appreciates the consideration of the United Nations.

• Delegate Name: Hannah Bhaskaran

United Nations Environment Programme

Access to Water

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Sara Plante

Forest Hills Eastern High School

The World Health Organization and The United Nations International Children’s Fund report that 2.1 billion people lack clean and safely managed water. This water crisis is a critical issue for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially after the First Congo War (nicknamed Africa’s First World War). This war depleted the water supply because of damage to the DRC’s infrastructure. The Water Project, an NGO, depicts the results of this disaster. It leaves a mere forty-two percent of the Congolese with access to safe drinking water in 2019. Only sixty-nine percent of urban areas receive pumped water from the state water utility. Without funding, the state water utility lacks the means to improve deteriorating pipes used for pumping water. Areas that do not receive pumped water are left to find other options, such as streams or ponds, that are potentially polluted with chemicals, waste, or bacteria. For the few privileged citizens with access to bottled water, a liter costs one dollar, but many Congolese earn less than two dollars a day.

The UN News reported that as a participant in the Millenium Development Goals, the DRC was unable to reach goals set by the initiative to halve the number of Congolese without access to safe drinking water by 2015. The UNEP reported on its work in the Congo. In 2017, the UNEP aided the Congo in launching a pioneering initiative called Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to protect the main water supply of Lukaya, the Lukaya River. It focuses on the empowerment of the community to assess their specific needs and set priorities to create a safe and effective water supply accordingly. However, the protection of the water supply is also affected by private companies, such as farms and quarries. The IWRM encourages discourse between entrepreneurs and the community to decide on joint goals and plans to protect the water supply.

The DRC urges the United Nations to support recommendations made in the UNEP’s Technical Report of the DRC’s water issues. These are water sector governance reform, to help with technical and institutional capacity-building, and to establish a scientific information base to strengthen water resources management. These plans are expected to cost roughly 169 million dollars. However, the cost must be reevaluated after the process has begun. Ideal funding would be accepted from UN agencies, the private sector, development partners, NGOs, and social economy organizations. The DRC also urges that the United Nations helps fund the IWRM so that the initiative can be spread and implemented in both the Kivus and Katanga provinces. Included in this initiative is the goal to plant buffer zones and silt traps along the Lukaya River near the water treatment plant to improve water quality. The DRC proposes that organizations, such as The Water Project, charity: water, and Water4 help fund projects. The DRC does not have the funds necessary to contribute a substantial amount to the improvement of water safety. The Congo requests that the funds from these organizations be spent on replacing decaying water pipes, expanding the reach of pumped water from the state water utility, and drilling wells in rural towns and villages to supply clean, sanitary water.

• Delegate Name: Sara Plante

United Nations Environmental Programme

Access to Water

Republic of Finland

Jill Pierangeli

Forest Hills Eastern High School

Clean drinking water was recognized as a human right by the United Nations in 2010. This right is not only important in a sense of citizens having access to clean drinking water, but also keeping water sources clean for future access. As the most water-rich country and number one country in availability of water quality data, Finland believes all countries should have access to clean water sources. Clean water can be the key to economic success and growth of a country. According to data from 2016, 100% of Finnish citizens have access to clean water, so our goal is to sustain clean water habits and reduce water pollution. With access to clean water, a population can be healthy and successful.

Inland waters make up 10% of Finland’s total area with rivers, ponds, and lakes. Finland has passed laws to meet water quality targets in 2015 by reducing eutrophication and pollution, and protecting and restoring groundwater. Eutrophication is Finland’s largest water problem, caused by an excess of nutrients from agricultural discharges. Finland aims to reduce agricultural emissions, preferably at the will of farmers, to decrease eutrophication. Clean wastewater is another factor in reducing eutrophication, so wastewater technology like dry-composting toilets can help reduce nutrient emissions. Protection of groundwater is another priority of Finland’s. Groundwater pollution is prohibited and any polluting parties are responsible for remediating polluted groundwater. Permits are also required if one is extracting more than 250 cubic metres per day. The Finnish Water Forum is a joint network of private and public water sectors created to solve global water problems, including transboundary waters, with Finnish water expertise. 

Finland recommends that the committee take similar measures as Finland has taken. Groundwater protection should be a priority, since it is such a valuable water resource. Legislation should be put in place to stop the pollution of groundwater, as well as other bodies of water. Reducing eutrophication should also be discussed, especially by reducing agricultural emissions. Countries with shared water borders should be encouraged to have common legislation sharing access and prohibiting pollution to promote global cooperation. Clean-water technology, like dry-composting toilets, should also be utilized to ensure a lack of wastewater pollution. Finland hopes the committee can work together to create international cooperation and provide clean water for all.

• Delegate Name: Jill Pierangeli

Environmental

Access To Water 

People’s Republic of China

Leah Palladino

Forest Hills Eastern

Access to water remains a vital topic in the world, whether it be water scarcity or water cleanliness. Enacted by the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals are quintessential improvements that need to be achieved and implemented to sustain the population and environment. Water access is vital to China’s success. The most populous country in the world, China needs to be able to supply its citizens with clean, fresh drinking water. Because of the continued population growth and drastic droughts that limit freshwater, China needs a plan to ensure access to safe water for its citizens. 

The southern region of China receives and contains nearly 80% of national precipitation, leaving the northern region worse-off in water availability. The northern area has also been experiencing a drought, traumatic to both crop yields and the drying up of rivers and reservoirs. The lack of fresh, drinking water in China most directly stems from climate change which causes global average temperatures to warm, precipitation patterns to shift, and desertification to augment. Water pollution also is limiting water access to the citizens of China, for rivers and lakes are polluted with runoff, sewage, and industrial outflow, and groundwater is tainted with saltwater intrusion and earthy materials. Freshwater reserves are declining yearly and pollution is increasing in surface and groundwater. Currently, 83% of Chinese citizens have access to safe water, while 48 million lack sufficient drinking water. To meet the energy and water demands of being the most populated country in the world and an active agricultural and industrial economy, China is working on a new project. China is building the South-to-North Water Diversion Project which is projected to cost $62 billion and be completed in 2050. It is the largest project to be attempted and aims to redirect 44.8 billion cubic meters of water yearly from rivers in the south to the dry, desperate north. However, this project is a short-term solution with many criticisms. The treatment plants that southern water will travel could be polluted, and the southern area does not have deep freshwater reserves to permit this diversion for too many years into the future. This is merely a short-term solution to a problem that is being taken on a global scale. Local citizens are also taking action, such as farmers who emplace plastic sheeting around crops to collect rainwater and limit water waste. 

To the international community, China, in accordance with statements made by the World Bank report, stresses that there needs to be law enforcement to streamline and coordinate water management institutions. Also, suggestions have been made regarding increasing the information made aware to the public to increase public involvement. It is important that the Environmental Programme address water shortages and redirect stress to the unfortunate lack of safe water in many areas of the world. As a country fully aware of the importance of access to water, China would like to see a resolution to maintain and strengthen water access across the globe. China hopes for a fruitful committee experience and looks forward to working with many countries.

• Delegate Name: Leah Palladino

United Nations Environmental Program

Access to Water

Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Allayna Hight

Forest Hills Eastern High School

On July 28th, 2010, the United Nations established access to clean water to be a human right; however, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of the human population is currently suffering from lack of clean water. Extreme conditions such as the water crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa and the drought in India are in urgent need of assistance. The United Nations has a duty to ensure that all people have sustainable access to clean water.

The Bahamas sympathizes with those who lack access to water: as a country of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, freshwater is difficult to obtain. There are no legitimate freshwater lakes or streams on the islands, so The Bahamas’ main sources of freshwater come from underground aquifers and desalinated freshwater. The Bahamas’ essential aquifers are in danger of saline contamination due to the rising sea levels and natural disasters such as hurricanes that infect fresh groundwater with ocean water. Microbiological contamination is also a concern: a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2003 found 65% of Bahamian groundwater resources to show microbiological contamination. FAO’s global information system on water resources, AQUASTAT, found that The Bahamas’ aquifers are depleting quickly, especially in New Providence, where the highest water demand is; this forces the Bahamas to implement more desalination methods, which is costly for the Bahamian government. The Bahamas is very aware of the situation and is taking care to address the issue. First, to combat the intensifying threats to freshwater supplies, The Bahamas passed The Water and Sewerage Corporation Act in 1976, placing all water usage under government control. Since then, The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) has been working to ensure proper use and distribution of water; moreover, the WSC began forming an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in 2002. The IWRM will employ more organizations to help monitor water usage, encourage more government involvement, and increase the WSC’s regulation of water resources. Also, in 2010, The Bahamas passed the Bahamas Forestry Act, which legally protects many water sources from harm. The Bahamas is pleased with the actions of the United Nations in regards to the water crisis; agreements such as Chapter 1, paragraph 12 of the Addis Ababa action agenda of 2015 encourage countries to set budgets for important public safety expenditures such as sanitation and water access. 

The Bahamas believes government-monitored water usage is necessary in order to successfully combat water crises in struggling countries, and recommends that the United Nations encourage all countries that are facing a water crisis to place water under government control. In the case of struggling countries with unstable governments, The Bahamas encourages the United Nations to enlist the help of NGOs such as Miya: a company that helps to create efficient water systems, and has helped The Bahamas before; or Water.org, a non-profit organization that constructs wells in countries and educates citizens about proper water usage and sanitation. The Bahamas hopes to form a resolution that determines the best water source for countries and encourages the handling of water consumption by the country’s government or by NGOs.

• Delegate Name: Allayna Hight

United Nations Environmental Program

Access to Water

Kingdom Of Cambodia

Aastha Patel

Forest Hills Eastern High School

Access to clean, fresh water remains a barrier for many countries around the world, in need of clean water connections in their homes. 1.1 billion people around the world lack access to clean, non-contaminated water. Inadequate sanitation is an immense problem for 2.4 billion people around the world. They are exposed to diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and other water-borne diseases. Two million people, mostly children, die each year from diarrheal diseases alone. Numerous water sources are drying up or becoming too polluted to us as a resource. Over half the world’s wetlands have disappeared. The majority of the clean water is consumed by the people who work in the agricultural industry. The organization, ‘Water for Life’ International Decade for Action, helped around 1.3 billion people in developing countries, gain access to safe drinking water. 

Cambodia passionately cares about access to fresh water because the identical problem is occurring in our country. Approximately three million people in the Kingdom of Cambodia do not have access to clean, safe water. This problem mainly occurs within poor families living in rural areas because the government has made the rural water supply a lesser priority than other development areas. The lack of access to clean water leaves Cambodian children vulnerable to diseases such as diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of death among children under the age of five. Of the 15.6 million people in the country, more than two million are still using dirty, surface water for drinking, leading to major deaths. Improving the quality of rural water would help accelerate Cambodia’s social and economic development. Cambodia does not have a lack of water because it’s tropical climate brings alternating seasons of shortage and surplus of water but, not safe water because the water we receive is contaminated with insects. The rivers of Cambodia have been contaminated with Arsenic, which is a type of toxic. To tackle this issue, the ministry of industry, mines, and energy approved Cambodian drinking water quality standards in 2004. The Cambodian government also took a shift toward building new dams on the Mekong river because the river downstream from China and Thailand and in the dry season the two countries keep the water in their reservoir. Due to that action, we don’t receive enough clean water. In order to preserve some water, a dam is needed. Cambodia needs assistance with purifying water and making a dam to keep some water in our own reservoir.

The Kingdom of Cambodia supports the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development, regarding accelerating efforts towards meeting water-related challenges, such as limited access to safe water and sanitation. Cambodia would also like to find a way to solve the problem of dirty water. Cambodia proposes the United Nations to improve water, sanitation and hygiene for young children and the communities, who are extremely poor, geographically or socially diminished, and live in areas vulnerable to environmental risks, like flooding or drought. This can be addressed United Nations needs to raise public awareness about trying to drink as less as possible of contaminated water. We need to find a solution to help clean water by finding a way to purify water to make it safe to drink. Countries should dig wells to find clean water, build dams, and use water filters. 

• Delegate Name: Aastha Patel

United Nations Environmental Program

Access to Water

Republic of Turkey

Natalie Robbins

Forest Hills Eastern High School

The Middle East is a region characterized by water scarcity; with only about 1,400 liters of renewable freshwater resources available per capita, it is one of the areas of the world under the most water stress. While relatively water-rich, Turkey’s large population stretches its resources thin, and water demand has doubled in the last 50 years. Many regions in Turkey also report having unusable freshwater, especially in near the Black Sea. Turkey is thus concerned not only about securing freshwater for its own citizens, but also understands the gravity of this issue on a global scale. The risk of water has increased, and will only continue to increase, due to ongoing worldwide population growth and industrialization. Seeing as half the world may be, according to a report issued by the United Nations Environment Program, living with a water shortage by 2050, Turkey strongly encourages an immediate response to this ever-growing problem.

In the past century, the Republic of Turkey has worked to improve freshwater access for its citizens –– most notable of which is the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). GAP is an excellent example of how efficient water management can be introduced to a country to improve a wide variety of sectors, including agricultural irrigation, hydropower generation, and public health and education. Turkey has poured its resources into dams, power plants, and irrigation networks to lift up its southeastern region and its 9 million inhabitants, which has a history of economic struggle. Irrigation sourced from the Atatürk Dam has already tripled cotton, wheat, barley, and lentil yield. Since GAP was implemented, the southeastern region has transitioned from a net importer to a net exporter. GAP is also responsible for making freshwater more accessible and more sanitary for domestic use. Turkey has also occupied itself with smaller projects since the late 20th century, developing infrastructure for both its urban and rural centers to improve water access and quality. As a result of these efforts, 90% of all Turks have access to water and sanitation resources. 

The Republic of Turkey sees the issue of water scarcity not as a source of tension in the global community, but rather an opportunity for cooperation. Focus on the regulation of transboundary water sources is thus especially recommendable; Turkey encourages cooperation between countries that share water resources to enact common legislation or create organizations among themselves to ensure water safety for all parties. While Turkey values sovereignty in how water is used in each state, we believe that transboundary water sources must be used in an equitable, efficient manner that will not significantly harm others who also rely upon them. Turkey also calls for both financial and technical support from developed countries to help developing countries with water access, especially for regions that are at most risk of water shortages –– something that should be qualified by the committee as a whole. Only through collaboration will struggling countries and regions be able to implement improved infrastructure that will support the sanitation, sustenance, and agricultural needs of its citizens. 

• Delegate Name: Natalie Robbins

Environmental Programme

Access to Water 

Trinidad and Tobago 

Megan Hearn 

Forest Hills Eastern

Water is the most important and prominent resource in sustaining ecosystems. Global access to clean water can reduce illness and death from diseases. Without clean drinking water, people fall ill with diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. Safe drinking water is absolutely crucial to improving the health and lives of citizens. Having access to safe water domestically improves the nation’s economic growth and reduces poverty rates greatly. Inadequate management of waste can result in water pollution.The United Nations needs to improve lives globally, and the first step in doing so is to improve water sources for all.

Trinidad and Tobago have been striving to improve water sources to all. It is very important to improve the lives of those that live and visit Trinidad and Tobago, and water is the first step to providing a safe environment. Trinidad and Tobago have had issues with water sanitation in the past. Trinidad and Tobago gained independence in 1962, being a newer nation have had its ups and downs regarding access to water. Trinidad and Tobago created WASA (Water and Sewage Authority) three years after becoming a free nation. The goal is to ensure clean water to all citizens and visitors. The Water Resources Agency (WRA) of Trinidad and Tobago was created to collect data on the cleanliness of the nation’s water. Each water source is thoroughly observed for the measurement of quality and quantity. To avoid chaos during possible droughts, the WRA issues a water abstraction license. This license allows limitations to the amount and use of the water, giving the WRA a better understanding of who has access.

Trinidad and Tobago propose that the United Nations urges all countries to improve water sources. It is important for the health and safety of all human beings. This issue should not be taken lightly, lives are at risk. Internationally, everyone should have access to a safe water source. All nations should create a program similar to WASA to ensure citizens and visitors that they will have access to clean water. Observing who is given access to the water and the cleanliness of it is pivotal to ensure that the water is safe. As pollution continues to disrupt the clean water sources we need to continue to observe and develop technology.

• Delegate Name: Megan Hearn

United Nations Environmental Programme

Access to Water

Portugese Republic 

Rachel Verbrugge

Everyday millions of people around the world are suffering from dangerously low quality sanitation and water. The United Nations Environmental Programme has created a set of in 2015 called sustainable development goals to accomplish by the year 2030, and one of these goals includes “ensuring access to water and sanitation for all.” The United Nations has found that currently, throughout the world, three out of ten people lack clean water, and six out of ten people lack sanitation. In addition to unsanitary water, another problem with access to water is that some countries struggle to find sources of water. There is competition among countries for resources which may result in limited water. Obviously, there is a large amount of work to be done to bring these numbers up, and accomplish the goal of 100% access to water. As a result to bringing clean water and sanitation to everyone, several other global issues may improve. Gender equality is a worldwide issue surrounding this topic because girls are the ones to fetch water miles and miles away from their home, and this compromises their education. Additionally, the UNEP found that the leading cause of death for children under five is diseases from bad water. Access to water would greatly increase in the United Nations could come to a solution in order to resolve the fatal issue of bad water quality, and bring good water and sanitation to all.

 In 1996, the percent of people without access to water was 5%, and as a result of the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations, Portugal has been working to improve this number and currently 100% of the people in portugal have access to clean water. Legislation passed by the Portugese government called The Water Law help distribute water to the entire country and surrounding countries. The Law states, “all surface water is publicly owned, and in times of scarcity the public water supply has first priority and then to the vital activities of livestock and agro-industrial sectors”. Additionally, the Law of Water Resources has goals to preserve water and reduce the amount of water resources used for activities that require a significant amount of water. For example, licences are needed for farming equipment, and large scale water electricity in factories. Failing to comply with the regulations results in a heavy fine. Portugal has not yet done anything to address the issue of access to water on an international level yet, but has plans to bring it up with the UNEP and make change for the whole world.

Portugal Suggests that other all other countries adopt the same laws that portugal has in order to distribute water fairly. Portugal has an abundance of water from rivers like The Tagus River, Douro River, Guadiana River, Minho River bring plenty amounts of clean water to the citizens of Portugal. Something needs to be done to protect the precious water. Portugal proposes that all countries with good access to water and sanitation set regulations on how people are allowed to treat water. For example, more water would be protected if fewer boats were traveling and emitting oil into the rivers. Portugal is also apart of the European Union, so the country will cooperate with other EU countries in order to improve access to water in other nations.

• Delegate Name: Rachel Verbrugge

Country: Brazil
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic: Access to Water
Delegate: Isabella Beckhorn
School: Williamston High School

Water is something most of us take for granted in our daily lives when many of the world’s population does not have access to clean water. It is estimated that 790 million people do not have access to clean water. That is 11% of the world’s population. While countries have come up with ideas, no one has come up with answers to all countries problems. What can be done to create a logical solution to every nations problems? Countries worldwide have been asking what they can do to help.

Brazil is a country that has faced drought and flooding before, but never like this. Currently, there are 4 million people dealing with the effects of floods and drought as they do not have access to safe water. 24 million people cannot get proper sanitation. There are some who have access to these necessities, but water supply downtime, disruption of service and deficiencies created challenges. In some parts of Brazil, this crisis has been going on since 2012. Since then, droughts and floods have been discussed in the press. In certain areas the press have made aware of the presence of rationing and varying water cuts. 

Brazil has always been a country that has had a considerable amount of water. In this time of crisis, Brazil would like help from countries fortunate enough to supply safe water to all of its citizens. Brazil would also like for countries dealing with this same issue to converse and try to find reliable answers to these issues. Though you cannot stop Mother Nature, Brazil would like to find a way to safely deliver proper water and sanitation to all of its people. 

• Delegate Name: Isabella Beckhorn

November 10th, 2019

Submitted To: UNEP

Subject: Access to Water

Delegate: Joshua Brzezinski (Royal Oak High School)

      As of 2019 the UNICEF declared only 54% of Madagascar has access to safe drinking water. Thats barely over 50% of people having access to safe drinking water, imagine what’s it like for other 56% of people with drinking water. Well, over 12 million people don’t have access to safe water and they yet continue to drink it anyway because it is a basic necessity to our health. People in Madagascar are dying because of the lack of access to safe drinking water about 800 children day each day due to diarrhea related diseases because of unsafe water. But, UNICEF is working with Madagascar to restore and bring clean water to the people. They recently created a pipeline in Southern Madagascar that delivers safe water to the thousands of people that live there.x

      Another program that is working with Madagascar is WASH, they are part of UNICEF and are working to bring water to the communities of Madagascar. Their three main challenges are to fix are Madagascar’s 3rd lowest unimproved sources of water and basic sanitation, only 36% of the main population have access to improved water sources, and only 10% of the population uses basic sanitation facilities. It is their job to help expand these resources across Madagascar. Another program is WSUP (Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor. What have they done? The WSUP has helped 1.15 million people with improved water services, 1.35 million people with improved sanitation services, 2.28 million people that have received hygiene training, and 18million additional funds from the USAID. The issues have already been identified now they need to be solved and expanded across the country.

      How will Madagascar expand clean water? Well, leave that to Unicef, their job is to bring safe and clean water across Madagascar. They have multiple supporters like donors, volunteers, organizations, regional communities, and celebrities to help do the job. Safe clean water and proper hygiene is a basic necessity that everyone should grow up with according to unicef. “In a country where only 51 percent of the population has access to clean water, we knew we could help, and we wanted to get involved” as unicef quoted. They have expanded clean water to almost 20% of Madagascar and it has proven as successful according to the population receiving aid. Committees have not done enough since this is still a problem there needs to be more funding from other countries that would like to help support countries that need the money for this issue. 

     With all these situations going on with people and children dying at the age of 5 of diarrheal disease and other countless lives being lost to unclean water with the help of all the committees such as UNICEF, WASH, WSUP, USAID, and with the help from volunteers and other supporters it just takes a matter of time till when clean water is everywhere in Madagascar. But, if this continues more and people every day will receive clean water and proper hygiene soon the only problem is time. By 2030 these issues should be solved according to SDG.

• Delegate Name: Joshua Brezenski

Delegate: Paige Hahn

Country: Canada

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to Water

The lack of access to a source of water is problematic on a large scale. This problem is not a recent one, it is an issue that the United Nations has been struggling to resolve since its creation. Approximately 785 million people live without access to potable water. The regions where this issue is most prevalent in countries of Africa such as Ghana and Kenya, and in countries in Asia such as Bangladesh and India. The people who live without easy access to water will sometimes have to walk miles to a water source. This walk could take multiple hours just to retrieve water. The water that is collected is often not safe to drink, but because the people have no means to purify it, they must drink it. Consuming this water can cause a variety of diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. 

Although there is still much progress to be made on resolving this issue, the United Nations has made great strides in attempting to tackle this ongoing problem. At the 1977 United Nations Conference for Water, it was stated in the Action Plan that everyone had the right to water in the quantity and quality needed for basic living. During the International Drinking Water Decade (1981-1990), the United Nations raised awareness of the cause to bring more people water. This awareness brought roughly 1.2 billion people water. The UN did something similar from 2005-2015 called the “Water for Life” International Decade. One of their most recent accomplishments was in 2010, when the General Assembly of the United Nations recognized water as a human right. 

In Canada, the majority of people have easy access to safe drinking water. However, there are groups of people that inhabit Canada that do not always have a source of clean water. One prominent example would be the First Nations communities. The government of Canada is in the process of increasing funds to try and eliminate long-term drinking advisories. The legislature has also revised past laws to ensure improvements in water quality. Canada would like to see increasing efforts in getting people water all around the world – and to those who are without it in their own country – in a resolution. Canada looks forward to working with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and others in the fight for water for everyone.

• Delegate Name: Paige Hahn

Forest Hills Central High School

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

United Nations Environmental Protection Committee: Access to Water

There is an epidemic throughout the course of the world, clean water is becoming scarce in some areas of the world. In the words of the UN, roughly 84% of all Algerians have access to fresh, clean water. Also, about 74% of them have access to drinking water in specific. While in other countries, some of them have difficulties with obtaining clean water. The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria can assist those other countries that are in dire need of freshwater with the help of our 84% of our nation’s clean water.

With an actively increasing population, the demand for fresh, clean, water in Algeria is on a rapid rise. While more citizens are demanding for clean water, the rise is causing a slight increase in the amount of unsanitized water. The service quality of obtaining water is about 20% of people getting 24-hour constant clean water receival. Our nation is investing roughly 20 billion in US dollars for a 5-year plan to better water supply as well as sanitation. While improving wastewater treatment, has lead to better agriculture and a stronger economy in general. Since Algeria is not in desperate need of better water, we can use the systems that we have implemented to assist our allies, such as: Palestine, China, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan, and Iran, who are in a much bigger predicament involving access to a clean and freshwater supply.

While being involved in the committee, we as Algeria plan to use systems such as the ones implemented in our country to help other countries in dire need; like the water drainage and underground systems. We will provide donations for sanitary services and clean pipes for easy transportation for the water. Collect funds for this process to spread donations to the countries in the largest need of these systems. Yet also, while trying to assist these other countries, try to clean up our own a little bit to decrease the percentage of unsanitary water within our country. We look forward to meeting with delegates to find an impactful solution to this issue.

• Delegate Name: Samuel Growney

Country: Sweden 

Committee: Environmental 

Topic: Water Access

Delegate: Juliana Lewis

School: Williamston High School

A major issue for many countries is safe and accessible water sources. This is a concern that is crucial to the safety of human life and should be addressed immediately. Over Around 700 million people in 43 countries suffer today from water scarcity. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed conditions. To add on to that, in the least developed countries, 22% of health care facilities have no water service, 21% no sanitation service, and 22% no waste management service. This is an extreme risk to the health of the nation and needs to be taken care of properly for the wellbeing of the citizens. 

Sweden has an interest in making water more accessible, but most importantly, making it more sanitary. With approximately 97,500 lakes, Sweden is very accessible to water but has issues with runoff that contaminates the water supply due to precipitation. Sweden has spent quite a bit of effort in educating the public about the dangers of runoff and how to structure measures to eliminate the concern since most of the water supply comes from “on land” sources. Sweden supports the sustainable development plan for clean water. This ensures that clean water is a basic human need and supports developing countries’ access to clean and safe water. 

Sweden plans to focus on the educational development of  “run-off free water” to ensure safety in the bodies of water. Sweden also looks forward to working with developing countries to help gain access to water and keep consistent accessibility to these sources for the wellbeing of the countries citizens. The plans proposed will be handled by those nations directly concerned, and with consent, allowing the intervention of stronger countries to support them. Sweden hopes to side with neighboring European countries such as Germany, Finland, and Norway, to resolve this emergency. 

• Delegate Name: Juliana Lewis

Country: Fiji

Committee: Environmental

School: Williamston High School 

Topic: Access to Water

Delegate: Jack Schafer

Water, the basic need of most living creatures, yet some of the most advanced of those, humans  go without such a staple. This is absurd all men and women should have a right to water, that’s why we created Fiji water, in Fiji we have plenty of clean water that is being packaged and sent to those in need of a cold refreshing savory sip straight from our humble abode,

Fiji will be working hard with other nations to set up trade deals with nations so that both nations get what they want, we will be glad to work with other nations to secure a strong future with our Fiji water, we would also be happy to set op packaging plants in willing nations. With our expertise other nations could start their own sister company such as “Russia water™” or “Venezula blue™” or “Kenya water™” these companies would bring in a massive amount of money for their economy that they would flourish. Fiji hopes to work with many other nations in their pursuit for basic human needs.

• Delegate Name: Jack Schafer

The lack of access to water is a very big problem in the world. Many countries do not have laws to make companies properly treat water, or to keep them from contaminating or dumping waste into the water sources. 785 million people lack basic drinking-water service, 144 million of which are dependant on surface water. It is predicted that in 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water stressed areas. This epidemic will spread, as it is already reaching big cities, if the United Nations does not intervene and help determine what can and should be done to combat this growing problem.

El Salvador is very interested in helping find or come up with a solution to this water crisis, as she and many other countries, including her neighbors, have been greatly impacted. El Salvador has already started cobatting this issue by banning metal mining in the country, which is a leading cause for the poor conditions of the water. The General Water Law bill, which would enforce access to water for everyone, make companies treat water before returning it to its source, and regulate the amount of water used by companies, was originally introduced in 2006. An updated version of the bill was proposed in 2013 and to show their support of the bill in 2014, many Salvadorans marched in San Salvador, El Salvadors’s capital. Unfortunately, the ARENA party of El Salvador struck this bill down, as they are more concerned with recognizing the rich and keeping them in power.

El Salvador proposes some solutions, the first being simple, yet very complex. Countries should make water a constitutional right, if they have not already. This would give the poor rural villagers as much a right to water as the rich city dwellers. Another solution for El Salvador in specific (but other countries could do something similar) would be passing the General Water Law bill. This would, metaphorically, would be like grabbing the weed from the roots and pulling. Eliminating the main cause of the problem should be one of the first steps in solving it. A well is also being built in the village of El Limon, which has about 150 families.  El Salvador expects to find allies in other countries that are struggling with access to and the pollution of waters, such as Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru.

• Delegate Name: Elleah Berger

Country: Kuwait

Committee: Environmental

School: Williamston High School 

Topic: Access to Water

Delegate: Trucy Phan 

Access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation are global issues that affect millions of adults and children in all corners of the globe. On a global scale, 663 million people lack easy access to usable water, 2.4 billion people do not have hygienic sanitation facilities, and 1 out of 4 health care facilities lack basic water services. Many people must walk long distances everyday to retrieve clean water. Consequently, this can negatively impact education and equality for women and children, since they are the main retrievers of water. Roughly 3.36 million children and 13.54 million adult females had the task of water collection in households. In 2015, as part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations, the UN hoped nations would work together in order to work towards access to water and sanitation for all people. Other targets include improvement in water quality through pollution reduction and improve water systems for delivery for those who need it. Access to sterile water is also crucial to adapting to climate change and preventing the spread of diseases, especially in areas with inferior sanitation conditions. Diseases caused by poor water quality is one of the main causes of death in children ages five and below. Waterborne and diarrheal diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio, are all linked to consumption of contaminated water. These issues impacting health, equality and loss of biodiversity are especially prominent in low-income countries. Because access to clean water is a fundamental human right, all nations must cooperate to find a solution that will address all the concerns regarding lack of water, lack of sanitation and disruption in the natural water cycle.

Kuwait would like to find a solution to address the numerous factors and obstacles preventing people from accessing clean water. As a result of no permanent rivers or lakes, Kuwait’s only natural water resource is groundwater, with almost no internally renewable sources. The country is dependent on desalinated seawater, the scarce natural groundwater and treated municipal wastewater for their freshwaters. Kuwait’s meager supply of groundwater is deteriorating in quantity and quality as a result of continuous pumping and high extraction rates. World Resources Institute published a report in 2015 that ranked Kuwait among the nine highest ranked countries that may face an “extremely high water risk” by 2040 as a result of their declining freshwater sources and low rainfall. The government has contributed billions of dollars in order to build and improve water treatment plants. In 2013, Khalid Al Barrak, head of the KISR’s Water Science Department, proposed that the country monitor and cut down on its level of water consumption. The government and environmentalists have also encouraged the investment of solar powered desalination which would help with the water and pollution issue. Kuwait has also been encouraging the increase of water resources by utilizing waste water for use in agricultural irrigation, greenery landscaping and the development of forested areas.

Furthermore, Kuwait would like to work with other nations and contribute ideas to create a resolution to resolve this social and environmental crisis. Improvements and utilisation of water resources and water plants is necessary for sustainable development. Because this is also a global crisis, Kuwait believes that there will be several different methods that may help with the issue overall. Countries can promote the urgent need to cut down on consumption of freshwater and educate the public about the significance of water and its preservation. Kuwait also believes that money should be put in to develop new conservation and desalination technologies. Governments can educate citizens about various irrigation and agricultural practices which could improve issues relating to food and water sources. Kuwait would support guidelines that promote improvements in water infrastructure and cooperation of countries to discuss water security. Kuwait expects to work for Egypt, Syria, the United States, and Japan.

• Delegate Name: Trucy Phan

Country: Denmark

Committee: Environmental

Topic: Access to Water

Delegate: Ashley Moulton

School: Williamston High School

Access to clean water has been an extremely prominent struggle throughout history. Today, it is estimated that over 1 billion people experience some form of water scarcity on a daily basis. This is caused by the lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities partnered with the increase of severe droughts and floods caused by climate change, which is damaging the already small amount of fresh water available. Accessible water is a basic human right, everyone should be able to readily obtain water without enormous and unrealistic sacrifices.

In 2008, Denmark founded the State of Green, a non-profit, public-private partnership that fosters relations with international stakeholders interested in discussing their environmental challenges and brings into play relevant Danish solutions that enable the transition to a greener future. So far, countries such as Vietnam, China, Japan, The United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, as well as large companies such as Google partnered with the State of Green coming up with plans to reduce their carbon footprint and preserve their natural resources. In the case of water accessibility, the State of Green has worked to create sustainable ways of conserving water using new advanced technology that detects water leakages in factories. They also are tackling the contamination of water as well as treating wastewater to be used again. However, the largest effort the State of Green has made is the exploration and gathering of groundwater to use as the main source of clean water to preserve the freshwater above ground.

Denmark’s environmental footprint and economy have greatly benefited from the water accessibility plans implemented by the State of Green and encourages the countries of the UN to come together and partner with the State of Green as well as brainstorm more ideas on with everyone’s help and participation, The UN can provide clean water for our growing population and protect our natural resources.

• Delegate Name: Ashley Moulton

Country: Morocco
Committee: Enviornmental (ECOSOC)
Topic: Access to Water
Delegate:Savannah Andrews
School: Williamston High School

Morocco is a water-scarce country confronted with dwindling groundwater reserves and a strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Only 15 percent of total agricultural land is irrigated, resulting in inefficient water use and management. Many rural communities rely on a single water source to sustain families and livelihoods. The lack of a functioning sanitation network and wastewater treatment system causes already scarce water resources to become contaminated and unsuitable for multipurpose use.

USAID supports water resource management in Morocco by introducing new technologies to help improve agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. By working with small farmers and private sector firms, such technology reduces operational costs while using less water. USAID is a SMS based service that sends individually tailored irrigation advice directly to Moroccan farmers’ cell phones to help them optimize their use of agricultural water. despite the availability of good infrastructure for the delivery of water and sanitation services, over 1 million residents still lack access in the fast-growing outskirts of cities and urban areas.

 In 2015 the government came up with a directive to improve the provision of water and sanitation services to low-income communities and informal settlements in urban areas. This initiative set in motion a collaboration between private operators in the country, local municipalities, and GPOBA.The GPOBA support provided funding for a pilot OBA scheme to expand services in poor peri-urban areas to bridge the financial gap between households’ ability to pay for connections and the cost of service. The project helped over 62,000 residents receive improved access to sanitation and piped water supply services.

In conclusion,  Today, 83 percent of Moroccans have access to improved drinking water, and 72 percent have access to improved water and sanitation. However, in a steadily growing population, the percentage of Moroccans lacking such access are faced with many challenges that the goverment of Morocco have yet to fix.

• Delegate Name: Savannah Andrews