Human-centred environmental security

The document examines the evolution of environmental security, critiquing 'statist' models that view environmental scarcity primarily as a threat to the state. It proposes a 'human security' framework, specifically applying a Sustainable Livelihoods approach to understand how land access and tenure systems in Africa influence poverty and conflict. The author highlights that in southern Africa, colonial legacies of land dispossession and current 'opportunistic land grabbing' by elites exacerbate insecurity. The paper concludes that sustainable security requires moving beyond technical fixes to address the underlying power imbalances, governance failures, and social injustices that drive environmental and human insecurity.

• Traditional 'statist' approaches to environmental security focus on the survival of the state, treating environmental degradation as a security concern only when it threatens national interests or risks violence.
• Environmental stress alone is rarely the sole cause of conflict; instead, it interacts with a complex web of social, economic, and political drivers, including weak governance, corruption, and the erosion of livelihoods.
• In Africa, land is a critical source of livelihood security and identity, but it is under increasing pressure from deforestation, desertification, climate change, and over-use, leading to food insecurity and poverty.
• The Sustainable Livelihoods framework is proposed as a tool to analyze environmental security by focusing on the assets (natural, economic, human, and social capitals) and strategies people use to cope with shocks and stresses.
• Land reform in southern Africa has been slow and often fails to reach the poor because political commitments to redistribution are frequently replaced by a focus on 'economic goals' or productivity.
• There is a rising trend of 'opportunistic land grabbing' in southern Africa, where powerful indigenous elites and corporations acquire land at the expense of the poor, often under the guise of economic efficiency.
• Women's land rights in Africa are generally neglected under both customary and statutory systems, and the introduction of private title deeds has often worsened their access to land.
• Weak governance and the lack of legitimate institutions to resolve disputes are more immediate triggers of environmental insecurity than resource scarcity itself.

APA

CLOVER, J. (n.d.). Human-centred environmental security. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/3HUMAN.PDF

Chicago

CLOVER, JENNY. Human-centred environmental security. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/3HUMAN.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CLOVER |first1=JENNY |title=Human-centred environmental security |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/3HUMAN.PDF |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cloverndhumancentred, author = {CLOVER, JENNY}, title = {{Human-centred environmental security}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/3HUMAN.PDF}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }