Environmental Security: New Challenges for Comprehensive Security Strategies

Dr. Barbara Haering, Switzerland

Chair of the Committee on Security Policies of the National Councile c o n c e p t Inc. Zurich, Switzerland

Conference on Climate Change and SecuritySingapore, October 11/12, 2007

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Outline

Growing awareness

Major concerns with regard to environmental security

Environmental threats and environmental vulnerability

Energy security

Preventing and/or repairing military damages

Gendering environmental security

Examples

Recommendations

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Growing awareness

Since years scientific research has been done on the relation between the environment and the security of human beings.

Today, citizens, politicians and the media get more and more aware of environmental threats and their consequences for national and international security and stability.

1999 the EU Parliament discussed a report as well as a resolution on Environment, Security and Foreign Affairs. The UNSC held its first debate on security implications of climate change on April 17, 2007.

However, environmental security is more than climate change or energy security!

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Environmental security: Four major concerns

Protecting the environment due to its inherent moral value: Concerns about the adverse impact of human activities on the environment.

Preventing or responding to environmentally caused conflicts: Concerns about direct and indirect effects of environmental change on national, regional or trans-regional security.

Overlapping threats: Responding to situations where environmental threats and conflicts overlap..

Preventing or repairing military damage to the environment: Concerns about the adverse impact of violent conflicts and military actions on the environment.Based on: Millennium Project of the WFUNA (2007)

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Environmental threats

Many issues related to the environment can threaten security: Environmental changes due to global warming: Climate change

causes falling water tables, desertification, sea level rise, intense storms and floods, deadly heat waves.

Environmental scarcity: Environmental scarcity has three aspects:– Depletion of environmental resources– Population growth– Unequal distribution of resources

Management of natural resource assets: Natural resources play an important role in fuelling and sustaining conflicts, particularly in Africa.

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Ecological footprint

Today, the global Ecological Footprint is 23% larger than what the planet can regenerate. While some countries do not use the full ecological capacity they are able to produce, others use twice as much.

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Environmental vulnerability

Environmental vulnerability is a complex phenomenon too. It combines: Exposure: The effects of climate change will vary in different regions

of the world. Sensitivity: Regions can be more or less sensitive to the effects of

climate change or to consequences of other forms of environmental degradation.

Adaptive capacities: The adaptive capacities of regions can vary – not only but also due to the given wealth of a country.

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Pathways of conflicts over natural resources

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Statements

Projected climate changes can not only have serious environ-mental, social, and economic implications, but implications for peace and security, as well.Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the UN, 2007

Climate change is a security issue, but it is not a matter of narrow national security – it is about our collective security in a fragile and increasingly interdependent world.Margaret Beckett, British Foreign Secretary, 2007

Environmental degradation has the potential to destabilize already conflict-prone regions, especially when compounded by inequitable access or politicization of access to scarce resources.

Kofi Annan, former UNSG

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Environmental management is improving

Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Increasing ratification of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) can be reported. Moreover, improving the effectiveness of existing agreements is getting greater attention. The ISO 14001 standards got adopted.

Impact of scientific findings: Unfortunately, research could not yet identify any evidence of an impact of climate change on the policies of national delegations in international negotiations.

Conflicts: Moreover, MEAs often conflict with national interests; e.g. despite the Basel Convention, industrialized countries export their hazardous waste, causing accidents like the one in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 2006.

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Energy security

Global energy demand: The global energy demand will be doubled by 2030 and will then still rely on fossil energy to more than 50%.

Limited resources: These resources are limited. Oil and gas: 40 to 50 years, uranium: 40 years, coal: 120 years. Moreover, these resources are unevenly distributed geographically.

Conflict potential: Exploitation of resources, energy production as well as trading of resources and energy can lead to conflicts. Power over resources can be misused and can lead to political dependen-cies. We don‘t want wars on resources nor conflicts fought with resources.

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Preventing or/and repairing military damage

Military risks for the environment: “Military activities and facilities often present risks for the environment and human health. Restructu-ring or decommissioning such activities or facilities may reduce or increase such risks depending on whether proper consideration is given to environmental factors.”

The Environment and Security Initiative

Post conflict situation: In post-conflict areas countries face dangerous leftovers and environmental depredation.

Military assistance: On national level, the military is already assisting disaster management. On international level, protocols are in force and initiatives are in discussions.

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Gendering environmental security

4 to 1: In the Tsunami 2004, by 1 dead man 4 women died. Women in conflicts: As conflict patterns change from traditional wars

to internal conflicts women get more and more involved in conflicts – as victims, but also as actors.

Migration: The majority of migrants and shelter residents are women. Violence against women: Numerous studies show an increase of

domestic and sexual violence following violent conflicts but also following natural disasters.

Gender neutral is gender blind: Women are differently affected by environmental security issues than man. However, most vulnerability studies do not attend to women and men specifically nor to the social relations between them.

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Vulnerability of women

For many reasons women are specifically vulnerable:

Less access to resources: Women have less access to resources essential in disaster preparedness, mitigation and rehabilitation.

Overrepresented in vulnerable sectors: Women are overrepresen-ted in agriculture, self-employment, and the informal economy.

Less possibilities of migration: Women are primarily responsible for domestic duties and do not have the liberty of migration.

Cultural reasons: In many regions women are not taught to swim and dress differently than men. Moreover, they tend to overexpose themselves to save others – their children, their parents.

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A challenge and a chance

“Working together on solving environmental problems is often the simplest way to longer-term, systematic and fundamental cooperation. Where conflicts occur environmental cooperation may pave the way to broader solutions.”The Environment and Security Initiative

Managing natural disasters can contribute to conflict resolution – if the stake-holders are willing to take the chance.

Research indicates that over the long run environmental issues lead to more co-operative than to conflicting events. The trans-boundary management of natural resources can make political cooperation necessary.

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Tsunami 2004 in Sri Lanka

The Tsunami hit Sri Lanka on the south and east coast, more than 30’000 people died and one million people became homeless.

Former President Kumaratunga and Thamilselvan, leader of the political wing of LTTE, both stated the disaster would positively influence the freedom process.

However, reconstruction was slow because of the struggles between the government and LTTE.

Following the former air force chief Gunatillake, the disaster has nevertheless prevented the comeback of war.

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Tsunami 2004 in Aceh

In Aceh the tsunami killed more than 170’000 people.

Because of the ongoing violent conflict between the Indonesian government and GAM, the Indonesian army had to facilitate international disaster management support.

It was the international presence that finally lead to a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and GAM.

The peace agreement was signed on August 14, 2005 – only 8 months after the Tsunami.

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Dem Salween

The river Dem Salween forms a part of the boarder between Thai-wan and Myanmar. There are plans to build several dams in this region for the production of electricity.

However, the potential flood area is a very sensitive area: – National park under protection– Militant ethnic minorities in conflict with the government, e.g. Mon,

Karen, and 80’000 Burmese refugees in camps in Thailand that are tolerated tacitly

Despite this potential conflict, the bilateral joint venture was signed in December 2005 to build the first dam.

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Bangladesh

The last IPCC report states that Bangladesh will increasingly suffer from the consequences of climate change.

Already now, people are forced to leave the countryside. However, Dhaka itself is also threatened by floods. Leaving for neighboring states is not possible because of potential conflicts.

Therefore, a cooperation with other countries in the region seems necessary.

Moreover, ‘climate refugees’ need an international status.

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Arctic

The opening up of the Northeast Passage due to global warming will change the economic dimension of the Arctic and the North Atlantic: Exploitation of natural resources will increase and so will shipping.

This perspective is actually already changing the strategic dimen-sion of the region and will increase maritime security demands.

Shall these increasing security demands be answered by the military or by civilian capacities? Is the militarization of the Arctic inevitable? A multilateral coast guard approach is needed.

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Recommendations: Strategies

UNO: Following the UNSC debate of April 17, 2007, the UNO should continue its discussions while emphasizing on developing strategic concepts for Environmental Security as well as binding regulations. Moreover, climate refugees will need an international status.

Environment security strategies: In order to address environmental security threats an international cooperation is required. Therefore, countries as well as international organizations should elaborate and implement environment security strategies. These strategies will have to acknowledge women’s specific living conditions as well as their potential to contribute to disaster management and peace building processes.

Environment mainstreaming: Mainstreaming environmental factors into foreign and security policies becomes indispensable.

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Recommendations: Risk management

A comprehensive environmental security management has to strengthen: Prediction of instabilities: A comprehensive assessment of environ-

mental security risks has to be cross-cutting issues, multi stakeholder based and trans-boundary.

Prevention: Effective and efficient environmental policies as well as a comprehensive human security approach are needed.

Capacity building: National and international institutions have to be able to cope with – or to adapt to – possible risks.

Awareness raising: Public information and education with regard to potential environmental security risks should be enhanced.

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Recommendations: Energy security

Reducing energy demands: Reducing energy demands mainly by increasing energy efficiency as well as the use of renewable energies.

Reliable markets: Energy markets ought to be transparent and reliable.

Do no harm policies: Moreover, extractive industries should comply with corporate social and environmental responsibility.

Labeling: Labeling should add transparency and declare if natural resources are exploited or goods produced according to corporate social and environmental responsibility.

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Recommendations: Military aspects /1

Military/civil co-operation: With regard to environmental security challenges military/civil co-operation should be enhanced on both strategic and operational level, and this at all stages of the crisis management cycle.

Military training: Military training and testing should be made less harmful to the environment. The use of battle simulators contributes to this objective.

Codes of conduct for military personnel: Codes of conduct for military personnel should include rules and regulations with regard to environmental security challenges.

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Recommendations: Military aspects /2

Military private companies (MPC): International regulations relating to mercenary and private military companies should also include provisions with regard to the environment. Moreover, these regula-tions should be ratified by all states (up to now only 13% have).

Damages of wars: Those responsible for war fighting should be made responsible for repairing environmental damages. Thereby, new technologies for detection and clean-up should be fostered.

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Recommendations: CP and CIP

Increasing international awareness: Civil protection (CP) as well as critical infrastructure protection (CIP) are first and foremost national responsibilities. Adaptive strategies will have to be developed. However, as risks increase, international assistance and cooperation demands will increase as well.

Improving co-operation: CP and CIP ask for enhanced co-operation: – Civil/military co-operation.– Intra- and inter-governmental co-operation.– Public/privat partnerships since important critical infrastructures are

privately run.

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Recommendations: Research

Prediction: Improving the prediction modeling is important in order to improve early warning systems.

Gendering vulnerability studies: The need for a gendered approach to risk assessment studies including sex-disaggregated data has to be highlighted.

Foresight: Scientific foresight should focus on new technologies that could trigger new forms of arms races.

Bridging the gap: Bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and policy making is a prerequisite for successfully coping with the environment security challenges we face.

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Recommendations: Policy making

Transinstitutions: Environment security challenges transnational and cross-cutting with regard to traditional policy issues. What we need, are “transinstitutions” bringing together state actors, the economy, science, humanities as well as NGOs as partner for a sustainable collaboration.

Civil society: Strengthening the stakeholders and thus organizations of civil society can add to conflict prevention and is indispensable for rehabilitation and reconciliation after conflicts and natural disasters.

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For our common future:

“It becomes increasingly clear that humanity has the resources to address its global challenges. What is less clear is how much wisdom, good will and intelligence will be focused on theses challenges." WFUNA/ACUNU Millennium Project, 2004 State of the Future Report

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My thanks go to:

Jerome Clayton Glenn, Executive Director of the Millennium Project, WFUNA, Washington DC, USA

Jelena Beronja, ENVSEC, UNEP Vienna ISCC, Austria

Marie Toloue Tehrani, Uster, Switzerland

Anik Kohli, econcept AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Michèle Baettig, econcept AG, Zurich, Switzerland