Rome,
08/03/2013 - Yesterday the first session of United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) took place in Sala delle Colonne of LUISS
University in Rome. UNEP is a governing council and anchor
institution for environmental programs founded in 1973 whose
headquarters are in Nairobi.
Delegates
set the agenda of the two topics, which are both about the 7th
Millennium Development Goal, “Ensuring environmental
sustainability”. Therefore, they decided to discuss firstly about
the principles of sustainable development into country policies and
then to move to the problem of safe access to drinking water and
basic sanitation.
Twenty-five
countries were present at the meeting. Italy, United States and China
appeared to be very involved in the discussion, while France, Germany
and Central African Republic had significant remarks.
The
Russian Federation argued that as long as water problems will not be
solved, the international community will not be able to reach a green
economy and full sustainability.
According
to the Central African Republic, the goal has not yet been reached
because of the huge division between northern and southern
hemispheres.
The
Netherlands considers agriculture and farming as effective tools for
sustainable development also in growing economies.
“We
would encourage education to arise awareness and create a
self-sufficient society”, Italy pointed out. “We all have
different priorities and use money in a different way” – claimed
the United States – “and we should have a monetary fund in order
to know where money goes.”
In
their intervention, Italy and Albania highlighted the importance of
control and respect of international law. According to China, the
control system is not effective. They proposed the creation of a
national authority, which should work in cooperation with UNEP, whose
aim is to report exactly how the money given by every single donor is
spent. “We have the general feedback but not the financial one. We
would like our money to be spent in the fight against scarcity of
water, desertification and pollution”.
During
the first break, the Chair told the cameras that delegates still need
to get some clarifications about rules and procedures, while the
Director, at his third experience in that role and with various
experiences as a delegate, said that the committee should be on time
to cover the entire agenda.
Article written by Sofia
Franzoso, Céline Schoen, Melania Sebastiani ( from the CNN International RomeMUN2013 journalists' team)
