IR 3001IR 3001

Environmental Security

Dr Di Rienzo

Environmental Security Environmental Security IssuesIssues

Environmental Change in Violent Conflict Environmental Change & National Security War and the Impact of War on the

Environment Environmental Change and Human Security

Overview of Overview of Environmental SecurityEnvironmental Security The environment is the most trans-national of trans-national

issues, and its security is an important dimension of peace, national security, and human rights that is just now being understood

Over the next 100 years, one third of current global land cover will be transformed, with the world facing increasingly hard choices among consumption, ecosystem services, restoration, and conservation and management

Environmental security is central to national security, comprising the dynamics and interconnections among the natural resource base, the social fabric of the state, and the economic engine for local and regional stability

While the precise roles of the environment in peace, conflict, destabilisation and human insecurity may differ from situation to situation and as such are still being debated in relation to other security and conflict variables, there are growing

Origins of Origins of Environmental SecurityEnvironmental Security

Six Interpretations of Six Interpretations of Environmental SecurityEnvironmental Security

Name

Entity to be

Secured

Major Source at Risk

Scale of Concern

Ecological Security

Natural Environment

Human Activity

Ecosystems

Common Security

Nation-State

Environmental Change

Global/Regional

Environmental Violence

Nation-State

War

National

National Security

Nation-State

Environmental Change

National

Greening Defence

Armed Forces

Green/Peace Groups

Organisational

Human Security

Individuals

Environmental Change

Local

‘We seek a cleaner global environment to protect the

health and well-being of our citizens. A deteriorating

environment not only threatens public health, itimpedes economic growth and can generate

tensionsthat threaten international stability. To the extent

that other nations believe they must engage in non-sustainable exploitation of natural resources, our long-term prosperity and security are at risk.’

- National Security Strategy for a New Century

Security and the Security and the Control of Control of Geographical Geographical

SpaceSpace Geopolitics always saw the environment as important,

but as a resource to be exploited for wealth, power and security

Motivators for wars and imperialism: Controlling key resources for trade and

industrialisation Key lanes of communication (e.g. Suez,

Bosphorus) Resource Wars - E.g. Oil and Water in the Middle East The Space race: securing a commons for strategic

purposes Nuclear fallout does not recognise official borders:

threat of M.A.D. affects non-aligned states

Environmental Change Environmental Change & & National SecurityNational Security

Environmental change can put at risk the quality and quantity of resources available to a country

Environmental change can put at risk the economic strength of many countries

Environmental change poses risks to population health in many countries

Some environmental risks come from beyond a country’s borders and are unintentional

Linking environmental issues to security issues may not help solve environmental problems.

Environmental Impact Environmental Impact of Armed Forcesof Armed Forces

The US military, and associated industrial complex, may be responsible for 10% of the of the United States’ total carbon emission. As such, it is responsible for 2-3% of total global emissions. That is to say, more than Australia, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand combined.

The US military generates more toxins than the top five US chemical companies

The former Soviet Union dumped up to 17,000 containers of nuclear waste and up to 21 nuclear reactors into the Barents and Kara seas

One quarter of all the world’s jet fuel is consumed by military aircraft

Environmental Change Environmental Change & Human Security& Human Security

Where people live and the nature of environmental changes in those places

How susceptible people are to damage caused by environmental changes

People capacity to adapt to environmental change