The Use of Nuclear Technology in the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

The Use of Nuclear Technology in the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.I. OVERVIEW

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was founded in 1957 by the United Nations as the “Atoms for Peace” Organization. The Organization was based upon the three pillars of “Security, Safety and Science.”1 The IAEA has since then been active in the promotion of the peaceful use of nuclear technology, and the observation of the non-military application of advances in nuclear science. A science which has been feared and even hated throughout the latter half of the 20th century due to its destructive capabilities. However, the application and development of the science does not need to be exclusive to areas of weaponry and military. In fact the need for the development of this science in order to better equip the world with ways to better solve the vast problems of hunger, energy supply, and sanitation is undeniable. The third article of the statute of the IAEA contains the function which the Agency is authorized to carry out, and the first of which is:
“To encourage and assist research on, and development and practical application of, atomic energy for peaceful uses throughout the world; and, if requested to do so, to act as an intermediary for the purposes of securing the performance of services or the supplying of materials, equipment, or facilities by one member of the Agency for another; and to perform any operation or service useful in research on, or development or practical application of, atomic energy for peaceful purposes;” 2
The Millennium Development Goals are a set of eight goals set by the UN and adopted at the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which aim to relieve the suffering and meet the needs of the world's poorest by 2015. The IAEA works with the partners of the UN Millennium Development Goals Campaign such as UNDP or FAO, to contribute to the achievement of the goals.

II. TOPIC BACKGROUND

1. Initiatives by the IAEA.

The IAEA has undertaken a great effort in the application of technology and nuclear science to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Although the IAEA has been an active agency in the general technological development of many nations since its conception, the formal participation of the IAEA in the question of the Millennium Development Goals can be traced back to September 2002, when the IAEA participated in the World Summit for Sustainable Development. The IAEA undertook the initiation of partnership proposals in the issues concerning the environment, freshwater and energy.
The IAEA has been actively pursuing these three areas. With regards to the goal concerning water and sanitation the IAEA and UNESCO have initiated programs in water, and within their partnership drew expertise from the Hydrological profession and Oceanography, the IAEA and UNESCO have been able to better sustain aquatic environments, and use the same water ecosystem for industrial processes. 4
As the sole UN agency which deals with nuclear power, the IAEA can provide its Members with planning models, up to date information regarding energy and the technologies which are related to energy, operations models, training and guidance on issues concerning energy in any part of the energy production process. An example of this is the recent effort analysing energy policies in 12 national and 4 regional projects. Each involved 12-14 states, and the IAEA staff planned and evaluated the energy policies of the states participating. The IAEA clarifies the approach it uses in the planning and execution of the various projects it adopts to Member States. It is recommended that delegates know the process and the approach to which the IAEA has taken to adopting in recent years. The IAEA states that it looks at the energy demand analysis and models a scientific, mathematical and objective-based plan according to the needs of a Member State, and trains locals to give their projects sustainability.

2. Scientific Development and Progress.

The IAEA has been pouring in vast resources and research into areas of science and technology over the past six years in the efforts to reach and assist in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The technology which has been concentrated upon is varied and vast in its application. Some examples of such technology are explored in this position paper, but it must be noted that the technologies and applications the IAEA has researched with regards to the issue at hand should not be restricted to the ones found in this position paper.
1) Isotope Hydrology: a nuclear technique which helps measure the size, origin, flow and age of a particular water source, which in turn allows better planning and use of a water source.
2) Medfly: mass bred fruit flies which are engineered to be sterile, to control the populations of flies which threaten food sources in agricultural areas.

3. Millennium Development Goals and their progress as of 2008.

In the year 2000, the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals as a result of the September Millennium Summit. These goals were aimed at specifically tackle the problems of the world's most impoverished and eradicate the extremes of the world's most pressing issues with a time-limit of fifteen years. These tasks have now become more challenging with the advance of time, as economic, political and social factors have since arisen to add to the complexity of the already immense task of achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Nevertheless, the UN and the organizations falling under its umbrella have continued to work towards the achievement of the eight goals. These eight Goals are summarized as follows:

1) The Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger: by halving the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day and who suffer from hunger, providing means of work and income to all groups of people to achieve complete productive employment in all countries.

2) The achievement of Universal Primary Education for children of both genders.


3) The promotion of Gender Equality and the elimination of gender difference in education and enrolment.

4) The reduction of Child Morality by two thirds.


5) The improvement of Maternal Health by reducing the morality ratio by two thirds, and achieve universal access to reproductive health.

6) The combating of HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases, to have halted and began the reverse of the spread of these diseases, and the achievement of universal access to the treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.


7) The ensuring of Environmental sustainability, by reducing loss of biodiversity, initiating programs of sustainable development in developing countries, and reaching an improvement in the standard of living of slum dwellers.

8) Developing a global partnership for development.

The 2008 report on the Millennium Development Goals states that the circumstances of recent times, the economic slowdown and the food security crisis, will affect the pace at which the MDGs can be actualized. Threats such as global warming will also have an effect on the campaign. The Secretary General, Ban-Ki Moon stresses on the importance of keeping the MDGs a priority on the agenda of the UN and its Member States. It is in this instance that technology can serve a much bigger, much more prominent role, in the face of perennial challenges, and constant obstacles. It is recommended that delegates study the report to be able to understand and be familiar with the report.

The report states that along with the successes of some MDGs greater, more concentrated effort is required in other areas. Of these the IAEA may be able to tackle, among others, the problem of 2.5 billion people without improved sanitation, healthcare, carbon dioxide emission due to energy sectors, and the onslaught of disease. What the MDGs need from the International Atomic Energy Agency is the commitment to the application of technologies to further the achievement of the goals before the 2015 deadline. As a largely scientific and technical agency, the IAEA is one of the best choices for the direct action in developing and implementing the solutions in the scientific and technological areas.

III. MEMBER STATES

Most Member States have adopted and are working towards the Millennium Development Goal. In 2000, building on the Millennium Summit, resolution A/RES/55/2 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Most Member States of the United Nations want to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, yet there are many different considerations for each individual Member State depending on its status (developing or developed), its economic and its political circumstances. When considering the issue of the Millennium Development Goals and the IAEA, each Member State must review its use of technology and its efficiency in the use of technology, and see which IAEA programs are applicable in its territory, in its region and how certain programs are applicable in a practical sense.
Three case studies are given as examples of the efforts of Member States and the IAEA in the realization of the MDGs:
1) Brazil:
In a partnership with the IAEA currently developing indicators for sustainability in energy development to evaluate the practicality and advantage of developing the energy sector of a country. This partnership spans regions and includes Brazil, Cuba, Lithuania, Mexico, Russia and the Slovak Republic. The partnership includes scientific organizations and other UN bodies.

2) Israel-Jordan:
The two states have been fighting against pests such as the Mediterranean fruit fly by using nuclear science and have been achieving success in the sterilization of fruit flies and in controlling their population in the effort of gaining better food security through the use of technology. The targeting of the flies is environmentally friendly and only dwindles, not wipes out, the population in the region.

3) South Africa:
Nuclear science is being used to combat and detect algal blooms in the bays of South Africa. Algal blooms have been causing huge amounts of food poisoning and health risk in South Africa, the IAEA's isotope hydrology process gives the people of South Africa a more efficient and practical way of detecting and preventing problems arising from the algal blooms.

IV. DELEGATE CONSIDERATION

Each delegate must thinks of what his Member State wants of the advance in nuclear power, how involved they are with the IAEA, and to what extent their state will a capacity as a contributor or innovator in this topic. Try to propose solutions for all the relevant Millennium Development Goals. This topic depends largely on creative thinking and the application of new nuclear science and the study of innovations and their applications in a wide-scale world-view. Delegates are encouraged to think globally, and to see where the Millennium Development Goals are failing to be met, and try to use the science which the IAEA can contribute in meeting them.

V. CONCLUSION

Science and technology influences all aspects of the world today. To undertake a task as great as the one the UN has in trying to meet the Millennium Development Goals, they full utility of all tools must be constantly stressed upon. The IAEA has the resources to greatly affect the status of the current achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It is the task of innovators and the scientists of our world to help the political and international bodies achieve a world where everyone can have a high standard of living. It is in this instance that we need the solidarity of science and politics in facing the task ahead.

VI. REFERENCES

1. About the IAEA. http://www.iaea.org/About/index.html
2. Statute of the IAEA.
3. IAEA and the world Summit on Sustainable Development. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/IaeaWssd/index.shtml
4. 'In Zaragoza, its water, water everywhere'. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2008/zaragoza.html
5. Capacity Building for Sustainable Development. International Atomic Energy Agency Information Series. Division of Public Information. 02-01566 / FS Series 2/01/E
6. The Middle East's Fruitful Valley. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/2007/Medfly/medflymideast.html
7. IAEA and the WSSD http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/IaeaWssd/algal_bloom.shtml
8. United Nations Millennium Development Goals http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml
9. The Millennium Development Goals Report, 2008.
10. The Middle East's Fruitful Valley. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/2007/Medfly/medflymideast.html
11. IAEA and the WSSD http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/IaeaWssd/Energy.shtml
12. IAEA and Harmful Algal Blooms. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/AlgalBloom/index.html