Among those groups who have developed a keen
interest in understanding the cohesive connections between
environmental change, security and conflict is the conservation
community. Among the reasons for this interest are:
- Mismanagement of the environment can increase social pressures,
aggravate tensions within and among communities and, in the worst
cases, lead to conflict. Sustainable environmental management can
be a cost- effective means of building social cohesion, reinforcing
mechanisms for collaboration and dissipating the pressures that
threaten to increase vulnerabilities to disaster and conflict;
- Conservationists may find themselves increasingly called upon
to operate in tense and even violent situations, working in areas
where conflict is ongoing and participating in post- conflict
assessments and rebuilding. Understanding the links among
environment and security will be valuable;
- Understanding the link between conservation and social cohesion
may offer important new avenues for disseminating the message of
sustainable development and present a strong argument in favour of
investing resources in conservation action.
Upon recognizing the relevance of environment and
security issues to conservationists and the unique contribution
they can make in the field, IUCN and the International Institute
for Sustainable Development embarked on a unique
collaboration
In 2000, the Commission on Environmental,
Economic and Social Policy established a Task Force on Environment
and Security to examine the links between conflict, disaster and
environmental management, focusing particularly on the
identification of the issues and next steps of particular relevance
to IUCN and its members. One of its central recommendations,
underscored by the consensus of participants at the Task Force's
presentation at the World Conservation Congress, was that CEESP
should carry on its work in this field.
To that end, CEESP has incorporated the theme of Environment and
Security into its work programme, and is seeking in collaboration
with the International Insitute for Sustainable Development (IISD),
an IUCN member and secretariat to the Task Force, to develop within
the Union a set of projects in the field of Environment and
Security. This was an important part of its message to the
world's decision makers and peoples at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg in 2002.