The Rise of Environmental Security

Running Head: Environment 0
International Relations
4/10/2019

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Introduction
Environmental security is termed as an association among the security of humans and nature,
which is a significant part of the international environmental policy. When people do not
have sufficient food, natural resource, shelter, and water required to live that generates an
unstable condition. It is quite evident that it is becoming more explicitly understood both in
the environmental community as well as in defense strategy. This is the reason why
convergence is seen among environmental protection, policy development, and natural
security thinking. Then they have come together to develop a new field of environmental
security. It examines threats posed by environmental trends and events towards communities,
individuals, or nations. It might concentrate on the influence of international relations and
human conflict on the environment (Nellemann et al., 2016). In this essay, the discussion has
been made on the rise of environmental security, which is central to national security.
The rise of environmental security
It is stated that environmental security is considered as environmental viability for life
support with the specified three elements:
 It protects the environment because of its inherent moral philosophy,
 It repairs the military loss to the environment, and
 It responds efficiently to environmentally caused disputes (E-International Relations,
2019).
It describes the capabilities of communities, individuals, or countries to cope with
environmental changes, risks, or conflicts. For instance, climate change can be depicted as a
threat to environmental security. Human activity influences global and regional climatic, CO2
emissions, and environmental changes, which predicts changes in environmental output. This
can tends to food shortages, which will then cause civil unrest, political debate, and ethnic
tension. Environmental security is an important aspect in two diverse fields’ i.e. international
development and international relations. It is stated that that within international
development, it might attain objective to enhance environmental aspects such as water as well
as food security. It also associated aspects of energy security that is being regarded as
Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations level (Dalby, 2016).

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According to UNU Millennium project, it has been stated that Environmental security is the
situation of human-environment dynamics that involves renovation of the environment
damaged by military actions along with environmental degradation, biological threats, and
resource scarcities that could tend to social conflict and disorder. In the current historical
development of the socio-environmental framework, there is an improving superimposition
of biostructure, eco-structure, and technostructure, which leads to an increase in
thermodynamic sinks and flows. This has resulted in a vast impact on ecological processes,
patterns, and ecosystem sustainability (Stimson Center, 2019).
According to Barnett J (1997), environmental security is the proactive minimization of
anthropogenic threats to the functional integration of the biosphere and to its human factor.
Environmental security is significant because it discovers the suite of environmental threats
including both natural and human as they have the potential to undermine regional, global, or
national security. The progressively transactional and complex drivers of environmental
challenges compromise economic, ecological, and food security can motivate geopolitical
threat and destabilization. Through its cooperation with unconventional shareholders, they
need to initiate environmental security program, which works to recognize the roots of these
threats to stability and peace and develop innovative solutions (Florescu and Glenn, 2015).
Environmental security assists in implementing multilateral environmental agreements,
which tends to the continuing degradation of the natural and human health environment.
Their main goal is to contribute countries in accessing non-ozone depleting substances based
innovation within the deadlines set by the Montreal Protocol. It helps in developing the
capacities of national authorities, which are accountable for its implementation with respect
to developing, planning, maintaining, and execution of plans. It also assists in encouraging
sustainable innovative technologies to be used within these plans (Purdon, 2017).
It is stated that the environmental security is needed because security concerns in the Post-
Cold World concentrate on the transforming international security agenda and the political
instabilities, which have to recapitalize with the end of the cold war. There is also a
developing need for growth of environmental security associated concerns in international
negotiations involving military, political, and globalization concerns. It also concentrates on
the challenges faced as environmental degradation, erosion of sovereignty, huge population,
advances in communication, and complex interdependence. It is quite evident that security
paradigms are transforming and the vulnerabilities are being raised to an increased level by

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globalization, deepening gap between those who can deal with impacts of climate change,
and environmental sustainability. These are further exacerbated by the growth of terrorist
groups, combined with outdated legal, governance, & institutional framework, and improving
access to social and technological resources. Environmental security adds a new aspect to the
global security landscape, which concentrates on non-traditional threats and develops legal
and social perspectives. As a globalized phenomenon, it requires a global framework with
domestic actions (Stephens, 2016).
Securitization of the government describes a state-centered regarding security with the
capability to react to the environmental concerns, which rely heavily on the character of the
state. Economically dependent states and politically unstable might have to choose among
quick and cheap environmental protection. It has been contended that by involving a non-
military threat such as the aspect of environmental security, which represents a
demilitarization of security thinking (Proskuryakova, 2018). It is stated that the aspect of
environmental security incorporates the need for a political as well as dominant leadership to
make sure that the security is to be enhanced beyond their military security, which might
increase the extent of policymaking. Therefore, by securitizing environmental concerns and
making them part of high politics, the range of policy alternatives should be decreased. It is
evident that the securitization of the environment elaborates a manner of handling
environmental concerns where it is seen that these threats to the environment immediate and
urgent at the top political level. This is the most significant political as well as a social
contribution, which defines its potential demilitarization of security thinking. So, it is quite
satisfied that in the future, politicization or desecuritization is acceptable for making aware
people about environmental security and its significance. When it becomes part of the low
politics and lose their political sense of urgency and importance, they attract less public
interest. In any manner, the extent of political mobilization is accepted to rely heavily on the
perception of its efficacy (the Guardian, 2019).
There are several approaches to environmental security are-
 System approach- It is generally defined as a way of dealing with the difficult
problem for which a reductionist approach is too limited. It is commonly adopted in
the form of “system analysis” as a way of recognizing the system components,
defining the integrative relationship among them, inculcating the positive as well as
negative associations, and dealing with the potential constraints on the connection. It