Are International Conferences a Viable Route to Environmental Security - Essay Example

From Stockholm to Copenhagen: are such international conferences a viable route to environmental (and hence human) security? International security, which is interrelated with environmental security, is the most important issue in global context. When this issue is superimposed to human security, it becomes the most important threat to the sustenance of human race. Earlier, in the Cold War era, the looming danger of a nuclear war between the US and Russian blocs posed threat on human race. But the split of Russia into a number of independent states in 1990s reduced the scope of a third World War, probably a nuclear war. But now, rapid spread of terrorist plots and religious fundamentalism threatens human security to an extent. Thesis statement/argument: Whether the international conferences on environmental security is capable to safeguard environmental (human) security or not? The scope of international conferences on environmental security (From Stockholm to Copenhagen) Without briefing the goals of international conferences on environmental security (say, from Stockholm to Copenhagen), one cannot assess its scope in the global context of human security. I. The Stockholm Conference -1972 Generally speaking, military threat, external or internal, is considered as the most important threat to nation states. Page (2000, p.37) makes clear that traditional studies on human security is strictly limited to the sphere of violent conflict among world nations. But now, environmental change due to human encroachment upon nature is a major threat on human security. So, the United Nations’ initiative to organize a major conference (Stockholm Conference) on environmental issues is a turning point in environmental politics. It helped the whole world to be aware of environmental problems and its after-effects. First of all, the Conference put forth a master plan for the preservation of nature. The declarations included principles, action plans, recommendations and a resolution. The major issues discussed were the Ozone layer depletion and global warming. The initiative undertaken by the member states by formulating a framework for future co-operation in dealing with environmental issues was really innovative. Besides, it motivated the European Union to formulate its environmental policies. In addition, the Stockholm Conference was helpful to create global awareness on preservation of nature. McCormick (1991, P. 88) makes clear that the Stockholm Conference held in 1972 positively influenced the growth of environmental consciousness in international level. For instance, it initiated the formation of Environmental and Consumer Protection Directorate and the Environmental Action Program. Besides, the Stockholm Conference helped the member states to take effective measures to minimise the effect of global warming and eventually led to Kyoto Protocol. So, one can see that the Stockholm Conference created an awareness that environmental security is vital in human security. II. Vienna Conference on the Ozone Layer -1985 Generally, implementation and proper evaluation of Protocols on environmental security equips the world nations to deal with manmade and natural disasters in future. Due to globalization, the whole world is considered as a single market and national boundaries become less important. So, rapid industrialization forces the world nations to be in the forefront of global market and it creates much stress upon nature. The Vienna Conference for the Protection of Ozone Layer makes clear that human activities cause the rapid depletion of Ozone layer. Eliasch (2008, p.19) states that deforestation is one of the major causes of green house gas emission and ozone depletion. The general obligations derived at the conference included appropriate measures to protect human health and environment. The conference assessed the effects of human activities upon nature, especially on ozone layer. In addition, the conference put forth some measures to control human activities that deplete the Ozone layer. The innovative suggestions include a large scale research on health and biological effects of human encroachment upon nature. The conference put forth some measures to protect the ozone layer and to save humanity from further natural disasters. But one can see that the developed nations show less interest to provide aid for the poor nations to take precautionary measures on environmental issues. Washington Post (2006, p.1) states that the rich nations does not give much priority to environmental security issues in poor nations. Instead, they consider their financial interests as more important than environmental issues. When these nations show readiness to provide financial aid, its impact is less on third world nations. For instance, the third world nations consider poverty eradication as most important and natural security as less important. So, ozone layer depletion is not limited to the sphere of developed nations but it negatively affects the whole world. Moreover, the Vienna Conference helped the world nations to consider ozone layer depletion as a major environmental issue. Besides, the role of developed nations in adopting effective measures to deal with environmental problems is vital. III. The Montreal Protocol -1987 Earlier, security of any democratic state was totally vested upon its military power. But now, the situation is different and the military is incapable to deal with environmental security or ecological balance. But the role of military in disaster management cannot be totally neglected. Besides, ecological degradation, ozone layer depletion and climate change etc, badly affects the ecological balance. The Montreal Protocol aiming to protect ozone layer from further depletion is an effective step on conserving nature. The Montreal Protocol, which came into force in 1989, proclaimed that the conditions of Vienna Conference were fulfilled but effective measures must be adopted to save nature. Besides, the Montreal Protocol put forth some effective follow up measures to protect human health and to preserve nature. The conference found out that the root cause of ozone layer depletion is the high rate of emission of harmful substances to the atmosphere. Litfin (1999, p.9) makes clear that the most important action related to environmental security is to track the root cause of the same and to develop an effective plan. The conference evaluated the effects of emission on global climate. The measures put forth by the conference include the control over emission and special consideration to developing nations. The emergence of environmental politics beyond national boundaries is another impact of Montreal Protocol. Besides, the Montreal protocol ignited the flame of conservation of nature by adopting effective remedial measures. The best possible way to deal with ozone layer depletion is to limit the amount of emission of harmful substances. The limitation given to developed nations and consideration towards developing nations proves that Montreal Protocol was effective to an extent. So, Montreal Protocol ignited environmental politics and put forth effective measures to deal with ozone layer depletion. IV. The Earth Summit -1992 The global trend of giving less priority to long term issues, especially the conservation of nature drastically affected environmental security. For instance, terrorism and internal/external conflicts are considered as important issues in global context. Kearns (2007, p.1 ) opines that global media gives unnecessary importance to short-term issues like terrorist plots/ internal conflicts and shrouds the threat of climate change and other environmental issues. At the same time, burning issues like protection of ecosystem gets less priority. The change in global climate due to over exploitation of renewable and non-renewable resources is a serious security problem. So, the global partnership and co-operation in sustainable development envisioned by the Earth Summit conducted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 is significant. The Summits put forth an innovative proposal on right to exploit resources for the member states of the UN and assessment of possible damage to the environment. The process of development without considering nature will badly affect the same. Besides, protection of environment must be the integral part of development. At the same time, Earth Summit proposed that eradication of poverty in developing and underdeveloped nations must be come under consideration. So, the Earth Summit proposed special consideration to developing and underdeveloped nations. The initiative on global partnership to protect the earth’s ecosystem is a turning point in environmental politics. Baker (2006, p.52) states that environmental awareness among the mass was high in 1990s because people dealt with a number of environmental issues like ozone depletion and climate change. The summit gave importance to sustainable model of production and utilization. The summit assessed that the role of women in conservation of nature is marginal. Besides, the role of indigenous population in conservation of nature can be adopted to take effective measures. But the drastic effect of globalization over traditional ways of preserving nature is totally ignored. At the same time, Earth Summit was effective because it helped the member nations of the UN to realise the necessity of global partnership in sustainable development. IV. The adoption of Kyoto Protocol -1997 One of the most defective approaches in environmental security is the difference in interpretation of the concept of environmental security. For instance, the developed nations consider economic development as important. At the same time, the developing and underdeveloped nations are forced to follow the footsteps of developed nations. In this situation, sustainable development and conservation of nature is ignored. When one considers sustainable development as important, Kyoto Protocol is an effective step to deal with the same. For instance, Kyoto Protocol put forth effective measures to deal with climate change by limiting green house gas emissions. Besides, conservation of natural vegetation, like reforestation is an effective measure to reduce the negative effect of global warming and it eventually leads to human welfare. Eddy (2004, p. 6) makes clear that human welfare can be achieved by addressing environmental issues with due care. The Kyoto Protocol put forth proposals to use renewable forms of energy. In addition, the Kyoto Protocol was a follow up process of Montreal Protocol. The innovative actions formulated and proposed by Kyoto Protocol aimed to initiate actions to minimise the drastic effects of climate change. Another proposal put forth by Kyoto Protocol is remedial measures to minimise the effect of global warming and climate change. The proposals put forth by Kyoto Protocol on climate change and global warming was entirely different from traditional ways for conserving nature. The difference in interpreting sustainable development by developed and developing/ underdeveloped nations hijacked the real aim of the protocol. But Kyoto Protocol’ role in sustainable development and conservation of nature in future is noteworthy. V. The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development-2002 The number of natural/manmade disasters and its after-effects are increasing and curbing development. For instance, it curbs economic development because more resources are used for the process of reconstruction. Switzer (2002, p. 2) states that conflict originating from environmental issues or natural/ manmade disasters hit the developed nations hard because less importance was given to sustainable development. As pointed out earlier, development without considering its effect on nature will lead to further disasters. So, sustainable development is an integral part of environmental security and can resolve environmental issues. The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development-2002 held in Johannesburg or ‘Johannesburg plan of Implementation’ is an important step in declaring goals on environmental security. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CDS) reviews and monitors the progress of the measures adopted to sustain environmental security. Another important initiative undertaken by the World Summit and its follow up program is the responsibility given to multinational corporations on environmental security. Nowadays, multinational corporations are global players and are responsible for environmental security issues related to non-sustainable mode of development. Besides, the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development assessed the challenges posed by globalisation on sustainable development. Hilgenkamp (2005, P. 33) makes clear that ‘the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development’ held in 2002 aimed to develop cooperation and coordination among the nations on environmental issues. In addition, the summit decided to provide support for regional partnerships in environmental security. For instance, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) shows keen interest in partnership for sustainable development in Africa and is encouraged by UN member states. But serious issues like population explosion, negative effects of globalisation and over exploitation of non-renewable resources in developing/underdeveloped nations curb overall development. Kheng-Lian (2009, p. 65) makes clear that future predictions on climate will be strictly based upon population growth rate and resource management. In addition, sustainable development must be the motto of world nations and it will help the world to reconsider the importance of nature. The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development helped the world realise the importance of nature in the process of development. VI. Copenhagen Climate Change Conference-2009 Generally speaking, human encroachment upon nature, especially on non-renewable resources badly affects ecological balance. This leads to economic stress and curb the development process. Threats related to environment leads to resource scarcity and badly affect the developing and third world nations. Foster (2001, p.1) states that change in relationship between human beings and natural resources cause threat to environmental security and eventually leads to human security issues. The degradation of local ecosystems due to over-exploitation forces the world to face the serious problem of climate change. The aim of I5th conference of UN on climate change (COP15), or Copenhagen Climate Change Conference- 2009, held in Copenhagen (Denmark) was to force the world nations to reduce emission of harmful substances. But the Conference was not successful because the developing nations were not ready to undertake the responsibility. The most important goal put forth by the conference was the agreement to reduce green house gas emissions beyond 2012. This goal exerted much pressure upon developing nations to reduce green house gas emissions. But this conference reduced the role of the UN in handling finance to deal with climate change and related issues. Besides, the poor countries considered that the agreement was troublesome for them. In the conference, less importance was given to emission reduction target set by Kyoto Protocol. Hough (2008, P.150) states that the serious problem of global warming cannot be resolved by political cooperation but environmental awareness can help the world to resolve the same. The political agreement or the ‘Copenhagen Accord’ did not set any specific target on emission reduction. So, the conference was considered as less successful. But the protest conducted by the developing/ underdeveloped nations, NGOs and other organisations prove that the whole world must reconsider the traditional understanding of sustainable development and environmental security. Technically, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference was not successful, but practically it helped the world to realise the importance of environmental security and human security. VII. Findings 1. The Stockholm Conference was a major step towards environmental security and it created awareness on after effects of global warming. 2. The Vienna Conference created awareness among the member states to consider ozone layer depletion as a major environmental issue. 3. Montreal Protocol was an effective approach to minimise the effect of ozone layer depletion and it ignited the spirit of environmental politics. 4. The Earth Summit was helpful to recognise the importance of global partnership in sustainable development. 5. The Kyoto Protocol put forth effective measures to deal with global warming and climate change. 6. The UN World Summit on Sustainable Development helped the world realise the role of multinational corporations in exploitation of non-renewable resources and the importance of nature in the process of development. 7. The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference was incapable to attain an agreement on reduction of green house gas emissions. 8. The conferences and protocols on environmental security helped the world to reconsider the traditional understanding of environmental security. 9. The UN plays an important role in coordinating its member nations under a single roof for a general purpose. 10. The international conferences are the most effective platforms for the world nations to attain agreement on issues related to environmental security. Within the global context, beyond military threats, environmental security issues curb the scope of human security. Still there exists scope for environmental security because the United Nations and international conferences on environmental security act the role of an effective platform for the world nations to express their opinions on issues related to environmental security. The findings derived from the initial argument makes clear that international conferences on environmental security (say, Stockholm to Copenhagen) are the best possible and viable route to environmental security. References Baker, S., 2006. Sustainable development. Great Britain: Routledge. Eliasch, J., 2008. Climate change: financing global forests : the Eliasch review. UK: Earthscan. Eddy, E., 2004. Environmental Security: Securing what for whom. Social Alternatives. 23(4), pp.1-12. Foster, G.D., 2001. Environmental Security: The Search for Strategic Legitimacy. Armed Forces &Society. 27(3), pp.373-95. Hough, p., 2008. Understanding Global Security. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge. Hilgenkamp, K., 2005. Environmental health: ecological perspectives. USA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Kearns, I.,2007. From crisis to strategy: new thinking on national security. OpenDemocracy Ltd. pp.1-4. Kheng-Lian, K., 2009. Crucial Issues in Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol: Asia and the World. Singapore: World Scientific. Litfin, K.T., 1999. Constructing Environmental Security and Ecological Interdependence. Global Governance. 5(3), pp.1-359. McCormick, J., 1991. Reclaiming Paradise: The Global Environmental Movement. USA: Indiana University Press. Page, E., 2000. Theorizing the link between environmental change and security. RECIEL, 9 (1), pp. 33-43. Switzer, J., 2002. Environmental Insecurity-Moving From Crisis to Sustainability. International Institute for Sustainable Development. pp.1-5. Washington Post, 2006. The FP Index: Ranking the Rich. Foreign Policy. 17 (20), pp.1-8. Read More