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