ESPM 169, Fall 2003: International Environmental PoliticsMemo on Group Exercise1. What the exercise involvesWe have set aside 4 sessions at the end of the semester for group presentations (November 18, 20and 25, December 2). Groups will prepare and deliver a short (25 minutes + 10 minutes for questions) presentation for the class on an international environmental issue. The main purpose of the exercise is to expand the class’s knowledge of international environmental problems, but it will also strengthen your own teamwork, research and presentation skills.2. Issues ChosenGroups will present on the following topics:- Climate Change: the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol - perhaps the most important threat to the global environment- Hazardous Waste Trading: the Basel Convention on Transfrontier Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal - deals with hazardous waste dumping from rich to poor countries- Deforestation: in which there is no international convention despite efforts (therefore the question to ask here is why not?)- Ozone Depletion (Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) - widely considered to be the most successful international environmental agreement- International Whaling Convention: one of the earliest, and recently one of the most troubled, international environmental agreements- CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)- Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants: the most recent international environmental agreement; governs production of highly toxic substances such as PCBs and Dioxins- Marine Pollution: how the international community deals with pollution from shipping, in particular - e.g. oil and wastes3. The PresentationIn the presentation, you will address the following issues:- Issue emergence and definition: what’s the problem?- Cooperation: Is there an agreement? If so, what is it? What are its major provisions? What follow-up activity has there been? Where do things currently stand?- Who are the key players in the negotiations (e.g. lead and laggard states, major NGOs or firms)?- Assessment: in your view, what have been the main obstacles facing the accord(s)? How has it been most successful?- What recent controversies/news stories have happened in your issue area?- Policy Recommendations: What, again in your view, are one or two recommendations to strengthen the international approach to solving your problem?Presentation Format: We recognize it may not be practical for each group member to actually give part of the presentation on the day. Those who do not present should have some designatedrole, for instance as "point person" for giving updates to me and the GSIs or preparing some part of the material to be handed in. Each group will provide a chronology of key events in your issue area as a class handout. Any additional handouts or visual aids are optional - we will assist, within the limits of departmental technology, and cover any copying costs. If your presentation involves Powerpoint, make sure you also print slides, or otherwise prepare for the possibility of equipment failure. 4. Process of Preparing the PresentationEach group is responsible for coordinating its own preparation (research tasks and presentation tasks), through meetings and/or e-mail. We will do our best to accommodate meetings after classor section, if required, and will have two “check-in” sessions during the semester in which each group is expected to report in and ask questions or raise any problems they may have (October 16 and November 6).References and Sources: We will provide a list of good sources for each group to start with. Each group is expected to find additional resources over and above what we recommend (although ultimate bibliographies should not be much more than 2 pp.). Porter, Brown and Chasek, chapter 3 (and footnotes) is an excellent place to start.5. To Hand InEach group will hand in:- A draft chronology on or before November 6 (second group check-in) so we can see you’re on the right track. Final version to be distributed in class; should be a single page.- A set of presentation notes from the group (these can be rough) - A brief, annotated bibliography (around 2 pp.). By annotated, I mean add a sentence or twoabout the reference. If it's a webpage, state who the organization is. Each member of the group will submit a brief, one page report on what you learned in doing this exercise. 6. GradingYour grade for the presentation will be based 50% on group effort and 50% on individual