The Environment and our Security

This research paper by Oli Brown for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the evolving relationship between environmental degradation, natural resource management, and global security. It traces the discourse from the Cold War era to the post-Cold War rise in intra-state conflicts, outlining four primary theoretical approaches to environmental security and proposing practical policy interventions to mitigate conflict driven by both resource scarcity and abundance.

• The understanding of security has shifted in the post-Cold War era from a focus on national territory and arms to 'human security,' which emphasizes the security of individuals, communities, and the environment.
• Four theoretical frameworks explain the link between environment and security: the 'Toronto school' focuses on resource capture and ecological marginalization; the Swiss Environment and Conflicts Project (ENCOP) links violence to the transition from subsistence to market economies; the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO) highlights conflict over abundant resources (e.g., diamonds, coltan); and a fourth approach views climate change as a 'network threat' consisting of dispersed, transnational individual behaviors.
• While environmental stress is rarely the sole cause of violent conflict—often interacting with ideology, ethnicity, and power politics—it is observed to increase the severity and duration of such conflicts.
• Resource abundance can fuel conflict, particularly in poor countries heavily dependent on primary commodity exports during economic declines. Specific resources of concern include minerals, oil, and timber, such as illegal timber in Burma, diamonds in Sierra Leone, or coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Resource scarcity typically generates violence at the local level by intensifying competition among the poor, who are most dependent on forests, land, freshwater, and fisheries.
• Environmental cooperation can serve as a tool for peacemaking and confidence-building between hostile parties. An example is the Indus Water Treaty, which facilitated sustained cooperation between Pakistan and India despite fractious relations.
• The document identifies several practical programming options to mitigate environmental insecurity, including restoring 'commons' spaces, enhancing revenue transparency for resources, integrating conflict sensitivity into protected areas management, and including environmental factors in post-conflict poverty-reduction strategies.

APA

Brown, O. (2005). The Environment and our Security. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_env_peace_iran.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Oli. The Environment and our Security. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2005. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_env_peace_iran.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Oli |title=The Environment and our Security |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2005 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_env_peace_iran.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brown2005environment, author = {Brown, Oli}, title = {{The Environment and our Security}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2005}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_env_peace_iran.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }