Human Security and the Environment International Comparisons

About this book

In the post-Cold War era the pre-eminent threats to our security derive from human degredation of vital ecosystems as well as the possibility of war and terrorism. This title examines this "security-environment" paradigm and the way in which the activities of societies are shifting the balance with nature. The authors investigate this redefinition of security with particular reference to environmental threats such as climate change and the availability of adequate supplies of food and water. They illustrate how unfettered economic growth, rising levels of personal consumption and unsustainable natural resources and energy procurement are taking a heavy toll on the global environment. This, in turn, is forcing both developed and developing countries to re-evaluate the more immediate environmental security of their own populations. For a truly global perspective, the authors present a series of country case studies, looking at issues of security and environment, and comparing how they influence policy and human well-being.

Contents

Part one - concepts: security and the environment, Ed Page (Keele University); democracy and the environment, Nils Petter Gleditsch, Bjorn Otto Sverdrup (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo); the environment and civil society - the rights of nature, and the rights of nature, Michael Redclift (Kings College, London); global environmental change and human security - what do indicators indicate?, Steve Lonergan, Fred Langeweg, Henk Hilderink (University of Victoria). Part two - issues: climate change as a security issue, Johannes Stripple (Lund University); food security, Colin Sage (University College, Cork); water and "cultural security", Chris Cocklin (Monash University). Part three - international cases: the European Union and the "securitization" of the environment, John Vogler (Keele University); human security and the environment - the North American perspective, Richard Matthew (University of California, Irvine); human security and the environment in Sub-Saharan Africa - the challenge of the new millenium, Kwasi Ngiaah-Gyabaah (Sunyani Polytechnic, Ghana); the semantics of "human security" in Northwest Amazonia - between indigenous peoples' "management of the world" and the USA's state security policy for Latin America, Oscar Ferraro, Graham Woodgate (Wye College, London); fresh water in Costa Rica - abundant yet constrained, Edgar Gutierrex-Espeleta, Aluaro Fernandez-Gonzalez, Viviana Blanco-Barboza (University of Costa Rica).

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