Background to Environmental Security - Essay Example

? Environmental security Introduction Security of individuals, nations, communities and entire global community is jeopardized increasingly by the unpremeditated and non-military environmental threats. These threats perpetrate through human activities like fouling of water and air. The southern countries suffer from desertification while the northern countries suffer from effects of the acid rain. The Polar Regions experience persistent pollutants caused by the organic chemicals (Balzaqc 2005, p. 171). Environment refers to planetary support system of all the human enterprises. Environmental security translates into cultural, political, religious and social security. The environmental security focuses on the effects and impacts of international relations and human conflict on the environment. The environmental security involves three elements such as protecting the environment, responding and preventing conflicts due to the environment and repairing and preventing damage to the environment caused by the military action (Dobson 2006, p. 206). Background to Environmental Security It is vital that a nation properly withstands environmental risks and adverse changes, environmental asset scarcity, environmental conflicts and tensions. When climatic changes are managed within nations, and affected regions, the changes caused such as shortages in food production and altered resource alignments may not necessarily result into ethnic tensions, political disputes, regional defence alignments and global conflict. The environmental security study has a concern that the environmental problems, specifically environmental degradation and resource scarcity, could result into vicious conflict between societies and states. In fact, it is true that environmental issues such as pollution, depletion of the ozone layer and many others with environmental designation have become part of the political discourse internationally (Linklater 2006, p. 77). The environmental security proponents argue that if environmental change can be considered as a source of social unrest and if environmental change is a danger to societies, the concept of security and its policies have to be changed. This argument led the emergence of two groups during the 1980s that were considering the relationship between security and environment. There was environmental policy community to address the security implications environmental change and a security community to look into new definition of the national security. Security has always been seen to have two main functions such as to preserve a sate’s territorial integrity and the state’s preferred political leadership (Balzaqc 2005, p. 180). Though presently there is no preferred clear definition of environmental security, the cause effect analysis can be used to come up with a more reasonable, more encompassing and accommodating definition. To achieve environmental security, the support of training, education, capacity building, and information exchange are highly necessary. This achievement can easily be realized when the international institutions and eco- geographical regions are clearly defined (Linklater 2006, p. 77). Environmental changes can be considered as both a cause and a result of conflict. These conflicts can lead to serious economic strain as well as regional and global animosity. History has shown that there is territorial demarcation, which is dependent on the link between resource scarcity, environmental degradation and territorial fights over continental shelves, raw materials, islands, food and energy. In the traditional and native governments, state powers were dependent fundamentally on the natural scarce resources contained within its territory. The state power increased to be dependent on other key natural resources that are not within its territory (Balzaqc 2005, p. 182). In the modern days, state powers are dependent on the state’s ability to change and convert these natural resources into consumer goods. This transformation may lead to enhancement or depletion of the natural resources quantity with time. Competition for the natural resources and control of these same resources has become the guiding principle for most nation’s leading to the use of force and welling animosities (Dobson 2006, p. 206). Environmental security reflects the ability of a society or a nation to withstand the scarcity of environmental assets, the environmental risks, environmental tensions and the adverse changes. It refers to the relative safety of the public from the environmental dangers from natural or the human processes caused by accident, mismanagement, ignorance or design across the national borders. It describes the human-environment dynamics, including the restoration of environment destroyed through military actions, environmental degradation, biological threats and the amelioration of the scarcity of resources. Environment security encompasses identification, containment, evaluation and treatment of the environment to eliminate threats to the public health and the environment. Unlike the conventional military threats, environmental threats are ongoing and real. Nevertheless, all environmental issues never generate security problems. Many security problems result from the complex situations involving the social, environmental, economic and political issues. From deeper analysis of dynamics of securitization, security attains performative capacity in mobilization using complex political processes. Mobilization depends on the audience acceptance of the actor’s claims and necessity for extraordinary response to the problem. Securitizing should be backed by the external evidence of imminent existential threats affirming urgent need for action (IPCC 2001, p. 397). The spatial nature of the environmental threats indicates environmental destruction in daily securitizing audience. This may prevent perception of the environment as an existential threat that demands immediate corrective action. Validation to these claims requires the comparison of the environmental hazards like famine and genocide in highlighting the suffering. Large scale mobilization is unachievable on security ground because of the nature of resulting threats (Balzaqc 2005, p. 191). Over the past centuries, human activity has taken a toll on the natural environment. Tentatively, the contentions on economic modes of consumption and production established by the industrial revolution exert negative impacts on ecosystems that sustain life. The human activities alter the climatic the climatic make-up. With increased certainty of the environmental degradation science, security impacts of the developments unfold constantly. Environmental degradation affects human survival through stemming out starvation, reduction in crop productivity and the physical destruction from the effects of the sea level. The industrial activities, rampant individual consumption and the agricultural monocultures enhance human welfare through control and domination of the insecurity (Linklater 2006, p. 77). The larger hand in development of the contemporary environmental problems is attributed to the enlightment of the human ability in conquering all. Quest for security and superiority is erroneous between nature and humanity due to perception of the natural world as something to be conquered and tamed instead of something to be respected. Water is the key illustration of the environmental security. The ES phenomenon of water arises from the unprecedented growth of the human activities and numbers. Global water supply diminishes with the increase in population. Since 1950, world consumption of water increased by 180%. This will increase further in the next two decades. The world of today has radically changed beyond apprehension (Linklater, 2006). The past centuries experienced over 450 disputes and 37 occasions of rivalry within countries regarding blown up dam and violent actions. The river basins relate to over 45% of the total earth’s surface and accounts for 60% of total world’s fresh water supply. Basins supply about 40% of the population in the world with domestic use water, hydropower generation and agriculture among other uses. Nevertheless, over 40% of the total world’s population suffer from severe water deficits. For instance, Asia has 36% freshwater sources, but it comprises 60% of the total world’s population (National Intelligence Council 2000, p. 33). Emergence of water deficits applies to desertification, deforestation and soil erosion. For instance, deforestation generates broad scale problems in both political stability and the human welfare. By virtue of its trigger for internal displacements, famine, and the international migration, desertification is a leading cause for political instability and armed conflict. All the countries in Sahel zone, in Africa, failed terribly during the draughts in 1970s and 1980s. Draught and desertification threaten livelihoods of over one billion people and exposes over one billion people to risks. However, the conventions to combat desertification cost over $22 billion annually (Balzaqc 2005, p. 174). Desertification points to basic qualifier with caution taken to avoid overstating the case. Not all conflicts stem out of the environmental problems, and not every environmental problem causes conflict. Causative linkages are rarely direct and exclusive. The environmental phenomenon encourages conflicts and not direct sole causes. Inefficient economies, repressive governments and unjust social systems predispose instability in a nation and increase the susceptibility to the environmental problems. Developing countries experience absolute poverty (Council 2000, p. 38). The impoverished nation is desperate and challenges the government and has the plight to overwork in the croplands and clear forests for cultivation triggering soil erosion and compounds poverty. Other factors undermining the environmental security include the inflexibility in political structures and the faulty economic policies. The oppressive governments rarely affect the environment but their deficiency aggravates the environmental problems and they are in turn aggravated by the environmental problems (Dobson 2006, p. 206). Correlations between environment and conflicts perpetuate, where the environmental deficiencies provide conditions that are likely to cause conflicts. As a result, the nature of the conflict is shaped to stimulate the increased use of force in repressing disaffection among those affected by the effects of environmental decline. The national security entails fighting both for weaponry and other factors that are less considered by the political leaders, including forests and other environmental forces. The meta-problem in environmental security gained recognition in 1980s through the statement of environmental problems affecting both the poor and the rich. The ES thus aims at establishing the security of environmental factors and other components of the environmental foundations in the nation (Council 2000, p. 39). Lack of predictive capacity is expressed by the difference between the past and current analysis. Principally, today’s discourse lies with the continued decline in predictive capacity regarding these issues. In essence, the environmental problems lead to more conflicts on land, thus the anticipation of the pre-emptive strikes to counter them. Greater efforts are required in to replant the forests, push deserts back, get more work for unit energy, as well as stabilize the climate (Council 2000, p. 41). The collective security entails expansion of understanding of security that incorporates the environmental dimension. It involves the development of policy purview by highlighting the collective security. Climatic change poses the greatest challenge towards insulation against these effects (Linklater 2006, p. 77). In meeting the new challenges, governments recognize that most environmental impoverishment constitute distinctive categories of the international problems. They lie beyond the international relations and established diplomacy. Impingement on strategic interests of individual nations proves immune to standard response to the major threats. Global warming cannot be fought using fighter planes, or dispatch tanks cannot counter the advancing deserts. Countering these problems requires a response that emphasizes on the cooperation instead of confrontation in the international arena. A nation cannot fight global warming alone, or protect itself from actions of others. This demands seismic shift in strategy and spirit and postulates a change in the state of the nation. The Mediterranean experience notes the eminent success story of collaboration. People live along the shores of Mediterranean Sea alongside millions of people take vacations along the Mediterranean Sea. The sea is enclosed and the outlet confined to Straits of Gibraltar. The renewal of water takes place once every eight years. Currents are usually weak, and the tides are small. Many areas of the world have been polluted like the dumping areas of the Mediterranean. Mediterranean Sea is among the largest waterways in the world, mainly for petroleum trade (Balzaqc 2005, p. 175). The project by United Nations Environment Programme in 1975 was absurd. It persuaded the coastal nations to formulate joint strategy in tackling the joint problem. Unfortunately, Albania failed in formulating the plan of action. The feat of UNEP encouraged unity among the nations that were previously rivalling. For instance, Israel and Syria experienced perpetual hostility towards each other; Egypt and Libya were long-standing enemies; Turkey and Greece were foes, France and Algeria mistrusted each other, and Spain and Morocco were wary of the ancient antagonisms. Despite the political disparities among these nations, there was persuasion of rising above individual interests in collective welfare. Mediterranean blueprint serves as a model for the parallel programs in Baltic, Persian Gulf and Caribbean (Council 2000, p. 45). The international linkages encompass efforts by the security analysts in both developing and developed nations. Mostly, agricultural decline, deforestation and water shortages are associated with the developing nations. The security linkages between the developed and developing nations entails the spill way of the environmental problems beyond the borders. The climatic patterns embrace countries beyond the horizon (Dobson 2006, p. 206). The financial trade off is addressed using illustrative examples. For instance, a $2 billion per day spending is enough to finance Anti-Desertification Plan, and supply sanitation and clean water throughout the world. Most spenders are the developed nations like United States. Environmental security gained attention in mid-1970s when it prompted few substantive assessments and broaching from a number of analysts. Presently, overall rationale is cited frequently among the security appraisals by the developed countries like UK, Us and NATO (Balzaqc 2005, p. 201). However, the adoption is not yet formal and official within the long-term thinking. It is less embedded in the overall strategic planning and will take time before gaining the appropriate prominence. One country that has faced environmental security challenges is Philippines where employment sectors are more dependent on agriculture, fishery and forestry. These natural resources, through deforestation, watershed abuse, coral reef destruction, soil erosion, and overfishing, have been widely depleted. This depletion has led to decreased food supply, reduced income generation and high unemployment rate (Council 2000, p. 45). Case Studies of Environmental Security Philippines are then faced with an ever growing population that has to share the decreased and diminishing natural resources. Rebels and anti- government gangs like the New People’s Army spring up to take advantage of the vulnerable citizens and the declining conditions. They terrorize people and control better part of that territory. The government, by using its resources, tries to campaign against such rebel groups. The government’s campaign does not take care of the needs of the local people whose livelihoods have been cut short by the environmental degradation. The result is, the more the government denounces the rebel groups, the more the local people feel neglected and rebellious. The government is thus faced with insecurity and potential of more rebellion if nothing is done to change the minds of the locals on the current environmental situation and cases of their problem (Linklater 2006, p. 77). The problem of deforestation was experienced in Haiti in 1978 that declared deforestation as virtually complete. Coupled with other countries facing similar problems in the Caribbean such as Honduras and El Salvador, the region was faced with a serious food crisis and instability. The cultivation of marginal soils increased as well as firewood shortage. The region waited with abated breathe, the looming danger of social, political and economic instability. Though they have not fully recovered, these regions are still volatile and put much effort in afforestation (Cohen 2001, p. 298). Deforestation in Ethiopia has not spared Somalia either. In the Ethiopian highlands, there was massive soil erosion and degradation in 1960s. This degradation was favoured by improper agricultural practices and rampant soil mismanagement. This resulted into a decline in food production, a reduction in farmland, and inefficiency of agriculture. Burst after the burst of industrial riots, boycotts and go- slows could not be avoided due to high food prices (Dobson 2006, p. 206). Given that most rivers in Somalia originate from the Ethiopian highlands, they faced the same problem experienced on the highlands. The Somalis became worried that the Ethiopian migrants may divert the water to irrigate their lands (Cohen 2001, p. 298). This feeling of mistrust generated animosity between the two nations, which, in 1997, went to war that lasted for two years. Given the wrong support offered by the developed countries, the two regions could not be stable early enough to establish a lasting regional solution to the deforestation problem. Since then, the food supply of Somalia has been dwindling, as well as the water supply. The land has become more eroded, and desertification has continuously spread. Some extremist groups also terrorize the local government and authorities to take up the control. Such insurgencies have been known to cause trouble to the existing legal leadership. This is the greatest threat to formal governments in many developing countries. Somali is now recovering from the terror groups that for now have been ousted but the destruction already done is much more than any economy can bear. Because of that, they might need so long to regain the normal economic level with neighbouring countries like Kenya (Balzaqc 2005, p. 196). The water crisis in the Middle East has been and is still a result of massive environmental security. In 1950s, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria worked out a comprehensive plan that would have ensured co-operative use of the waters of river Jordan by all of them. This plan flopped due to mistrust between the four bordering states, and each of them decided to establish and follow water policies. On several occasions, Israel and its neighbours have fought over access to river Jordan waters. The Israelites have sworn never to leave West Bank to its neighbouring states. They believe that by relinquishing it, it would be a threat to the Jewish state. Many moves by the military in that region were motivated by the water and the river. Since then, the region around the Jordan River has been volatile with fighting between Israel and the surrounding Arab Nations. Specifically, the region along the Gaza strip, the West bank and Golan Heights has been contentious (IPCC 2001, p. 397). Conclusion In conclusion, the security challenges should not only be military and political but also environmental. The benefits and effects of environmental security are larger than environmental sector and transcend borders. The resource depletion, environmental degradation and natural disasters have direct implications on the security of individual states as well as the international community. Globally, the environmental security can be addressed by putting in place measures to curb global environmental degradation, managing and preventing global risks, coordinating global commons, and by exchanging the collected information, and data on the global environmental co-operation schemes. References List Balzaqc, T. (2005). Three Faces of Securitization: Political Agency, Audience and Context. European Journal of International Relations 11 (2). pp. 171-201. Cohen, S. (2001). States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering, Cambridge, Polity Press. pp.298. Council, N. I. (2000). National Intelligence Estimate: The Global Infectious Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States. Environmental Change and Security Project Report, 6, pp. 33-65. Dobson, A. (2006). Do We Need (To Protect) Nature? The Politics of Protection: Sites of Insecurity & Political Agency, Oxford, Routledge. pp. 206. IPCC. (2001). Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, New York, Cambridge University Press. pp. 397. Linklater, A. (2006). Political Theory and the Ecological Challenge, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. pp. 77-79. Read More