United Nations Environment Programme

Letter from the Co-Chairpersons

Dear Delegates,
We, Akshat Vora and Ashlesha Purohit, Co-Chairpersons of the United Nations Environment Programme find great pleasure in welcoming you to the Shishukunj Model United Nations. While we know that participation in this conference requires a substantial time investment for preparation, we are sure that it will be one of the most interesting experiences of your academic, social, and cultural lives.

Not only will you be introduced to the dynamics and theories of United Nations Environment Programme but also interact and collaborate with people of great ecological and therefore global concern.

The Agenda the committee will take care of is, “Devising a Prudential Approach towards Perpetual Disposal of Nuclear Waste in Order to Prevent Long Term Repercussions.”

The following pages are intended to brief you about the agenda and the programme. The agenda is highly comprehensive, including vast areas of discussion and debate. It deals with the unscientific disposal of Nuclear Waste and repercussions of exposure to the radiations it emits and the means to develop an international standard for the disposal of nuclear waste to avoid ecological damage.

As representatives of different nations to the United Nations Environment Programme, you must have the knack of policy formation and should always welcome ideas and work to have a consensus and avoid voting. The delegates are expected to have a scientific approach and always keep in mind environmental consequences and practicality of solutions proposed by them.

Looking forward to meet you all soon this October.
Cheers!
Akshat Vora & Ashlesha Purohit
Co-Chairpersons
United Nations Environment Programme
unep@shishukunjmun.com

Organ Description

The voice for the environment within the UN, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Headquartered at Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP aims to provide leadership and consensus between nations on aggravating environmental matters. UNEP’s activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and green economy. UNEP categorizes its works into seven vast thematic areas: climate change, resource efficiency, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, chemicals and waste, and environmental under review. The leading global environmental authority, UNEP, promotes the coherent implementation of environmental aspects of sustainable development within the whole world. With 181 active members, UN Environment has aided in the formulation of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, trans-boundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways.

Agenda: Devising a Prudential Approach Regarding Perpetual Disposal of Nuclear Waste to Avoid Long Term Repurcussions

In the twenty first century, the main objective of many international organisations and countries has been sustainable development. One way to achieve this has been through development of renewable sources of energy. Nuclear energy caters to this very need. But even this popular and ‘clean’ source of energy has its drawback- the problem of nuclear waste disposal. Nuclear waste is radioactive, penetrates live cells and changes their structure leading to diseases in plants and animals. It can cause diarrhoea, nausea, and in extreme cases, death. Therefore, measures to confine it have been devised. The failures of some such measures have often been linked to unfortunate incidents like the ones in Fukushima, Japan or New Mexico.
The other efficient ones are only short term solutions which do not provide for permanent solutions. Nuclear waste is radioactive for thousands of years, so it needs to be stored in such a way that it can reside there forever. Unscientific disposal of nuclear is the cause of a big ecological nuisance. Acres of land near the dump yards are isolated, the water which encounters the waste becomes hazardous, etc. Currently, its disposal is a national level operation which involves its unscientific and disastrous disposal harming the environment.
Devising a scientific, long term and risk-free plan for the scientific disposal of this waste is what the committee aims at.