With the near quadrupling of the world population in the last century, the melting of the polar ice cap, and the increased frequency of hurricanes such as Katrina and other “natural” disasters, the issue of ecological security is receiving renewed attention. Ecological security focuses not only on threats resulting directly from environmental degradation but also on the economic ramifications of failed environmental policies, military threats that stem from conflicts over scarce resources, and ecologically related health risks. The idea of ecological security achieved a measure of popularity during the 1980s as researchers and policymakers began to consider the broad security implications of crises related to natural resources. In this new volume, the editors and contributing authors try to forecast the potential security ramifications of current environmental trends over the next 30 years. Ecological security serves as an umbrella term throughout the volume for evaluating the risks to humanity created by inaction, weak policies, or slow implementation of environmental policies regarding population, water, food, energy, global climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity.
Because the study of ecological security deals with risks to humanity, the interests it addresses are global in scope rather than local or national. The assumption underlying research in this area is that human society, regardless of national or ethnic origin, has a common interest in devising and implementing preventive environmental policies in order to protect both the earth and its inhabitants. The idea that human society has common interests that occasionally override national or local interests has its precedent in earlier studies of global civic society (for example, Paul Wapner, Environmental Activism and World Civic Politics, 1996). However, a more controversial notion is that environmental problems should be viewed in security terms and that policymaking should be motivated on this basis. Some environmentalists have balked at the portrayal of environmental problems in this fashion, partly out of concern that it biases discussions of solutions almost exclusively toward governmental action. Several researchers have further argued that the reconceptualization of environmental issues in security terms is both superfluous and analytically confusing (Daniel Deudney, “The Case Against Linking Environmental Degradation and National Security,” Millennium 19 [3, 1990]: 461–76).
From Resource Scarcity to Ecological Security seeks to demonstrate how the concept of ecological security can unify our understanding of the social, economic, and public health effects of environmental problems. The book provides a historical perspective on a broad range of environmental issues, based on a retrospective assessment of The Global 2000 Report to the President (published in 1980). The contributing authors analyze the progress that has been made in specific areas since the publication of the report and outline future challenges. Individual chapters discuss current trends of resource use and environmental degradation and examine the potential ecological risks to human populations produced by globalization.
The book opens with two chapters on demographic trends that review fairly common predictions that the world population will grow at a moderate rate due partly to declining birth rates in industrialized countries and the consequences of AIDS in many developing countries. These two factors are also shown to contribute to the aging of the population, creating a variety of potential socioeconomic problems in societies that lack social institutions and economic resources to support the needs of the elderly. Both chapters present excellent data, but the discussion of the implications of an aging population for ecological security is somewhat disappointing.
In an excellent review of global water problems, Ken Conca first establishes that water is a global resource despite local variation in supply, demand, and quality. The impact of water on the food supply, human health, and biodiversity makes it an essential component of ecological security. With growing concern over expanding global water withdrawals, Conca calls for additional study of water distribution, allocation, and pricing systems to identify and address unsustainable patterns of use. Marc Cohen's chapter on food policy stresses that food shortages—the original concern of early environmentalists—proved to be a less significant problem than anticipated, whereas inequality and conflicts over food distribution now have the potential to create serious security threats. The chapter also emphasizes that adherence to principles of social justice is critical for achieving the goal of sustainable food production.
Two chapters in the volume are devoted to energy issues. Alongside growing energy demand and long-term resource depletion, Heather Conley and Warren Phillips add the problem of concentrated supplies to the list of energy concerns that are likely to create greater security threats in the future. The second chapter on energy focuses on technologies for replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, water, and biomass, focusing mostly on the United States. The authors are optimistic that these technologies will account for a growing portion of world energy consumption as they become more cost-efficient in the future.
Although The Global 2000 Report did not discuss climate change directly, the editors include two chapters on this topic, owing to the scientific evidence that climate change is already severely affecting living conditions in some regions of the world. Mathias Ruth examines variations in vulnerability and capacities to adjust to climate change by geographic region and economic sector. He also reviews policies designed to mitigate and adapt to climate change and offers lessons on decision making and institution building. Jacob Park adds in his chapter a detailed historical review of international policymaking on climate change,
The last two chapters of the book focus on deforestation and biodiversity. The authors discuss the ecological, economic, and security effects of deforestation and damage to ecosystems. Despite increased awareness of the importance of preserving forests and ecosystems, the consumption demands of a growing population and the absence of strong international institutions for fighting deforestation pose a formidable challenge to conservation efforts, especially in parts of the world where local political institutions are weak.
In their conclusion, Dennis Pirages and Ken Cousins argue that in order to reduce the risks of ecological insecurity, especially in light of the pressures of globalization on both human society and nature, we must develop policies to increase social equity and participation, and build more flexible, future-oriented institutions.
The strength of this book lies in its detailed treatment of current environmental problems and future sustainability trends. As in many edited volumes, not all contributions are of equal significance, but most chapters are well presented and serve the book's goal of reviewing major trends in the global environment. Some chapters also provide interesting insights into the potential effects of environmental degradation on ecological security. However, despite its security angle, the volume does not fundamentally revise our understanding of feasible solutions for global (or local) environmental problems. Readers would have benefited from a more systematic treatment of the concept of ecological security in the different chapters and more extensive analysis of the role of institutions in solving environmental problems. As the contributors discovered upon revisiting The Global 2000 Report, predictions are a risky endeavor when scientific uncertainty continues to limit our understanding of the relationships among various ecological problems. However, Pirages and Cousins convey an important message that researchers and policymakers must develop a comprehensive view of ecological risks to human society and integrate considerations of social empowerment and social justice in the design of public policy.
