Integrating Perspectives on Environmental Security

The report examines the evolution of 'environmental security,' contrasting narrow research focused on violent conflict with a broader 'vulnerability perspective' that emphasizes livelihoods and health. It argues that environmental degradation is rarely a sole cause of conflict but interacts with socio-economic drivers to threaten vulnerable groups, particularly in developing countries. The authors advocate for integrating vulnerability analysis into sustainable development to better protect the poor from risks associated with climate change, urbanization, and large-scale infrastructure projects.

• There is a conceptual divide in environmental security research between those focusing on the links between environmental degradation and violent conflict and those using broader conceptualizations that couple social and environmental systems.
• Research on environmental degradation and violent conflict generally agrees that degradation is not a direct or single cause of conflict, that conflicts over renewable resources (like freshwater and cropland) are emerging, and that such conflicts are more likely to occur at subnational levels in developing countries.
• Environmental conflicts typically only cross the threshold into violence when specific conditions coincide, including a group's desperate dependence on degraded resources, poor state performance in resource management, the instrumentalization of the environment for group identity, the ability to organize allies, or spillover from historic conflicts.
• A vulnerability perspective shifts the focus from state security and sovereignty to the security of vulnerable groups, analyzing who is prone to harm, the specific threats they face, and the processes that limit their ability to cope.
• Rapid loss of livelihoods, particularly in the agricultural sector due to land and water scarcity, can make young men in developing countries more susceptible to mobilization into domestic violence and militias.
• Large-scale hydropower projects often impose disproportionate social and environmental costs on indigenous groups, minorities, and the poor, who may suffer from physical displacement, loss of traditional floodplain agriculture, and increased health risks such as malaria and schistosomiasis.
• Climate change increases health threats—including the expansion of transmission seasons for malaria, schistosomiasis, and dengue—with the severity of impact determined by socio-economic factors such as material resources and public health infrastructure.
• In urban areas of developing countries, low-income groups face severe environmental health risks—including poor sanitation and lack of safe water—that lead to significantly higher child mortality rates compared to wealthy districts.

APA

Maltais, A., Dow, K., & Persson, Å. (2003). Integrating Perspectives on Environmental Security. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Maltais_perspectives_2003.pdf

Chicago

Maltais, Aaron, Kirstin Dow, and Åsa Persson. Integrating Perspectives on Environmental Security. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2003. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Maltais_perspectives_2003.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maltais |first1=Aaron |last2=Dow |first2=Kirstin |last3=Persson |first3=Åsa |title=Integrating Perspectives on Environmental Security |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2003 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Maltais_perspectives_2003.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maltais2003integrating, author = {Maltais, Aaron and Dow, Kirstin and Persson, Åsa}, title = {{Integrating Perspectives on Environmental Security}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2003}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Maltais_perspectives_2003.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }