Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Environmental safety is one of those concepts that does not make sense without its antonym. Or, what is the same, speaking of environmental security we are trying to protect ourselves from the insecurity created by the threats that the environment faces and, of course, also we as a species that depends on its environment for survival.
What is the environmental safety and why it is important? In the following ecologiaverde article we will provide information in this regard and help you clarify this concept.
Defend yourself from dangers
A first approach to the concept requires a brief historical review of the international perspective in which it is encompassed. Not surprisingly, the idea of environmental security is related to the way we live at the geopolitical level. Basically, starting from the division of the world into countries that, as is well known, have historically turned their military policy in armed conflicts, as well as in protection against different dangers.
Today, the enemy has changed and, above all, has multiplied. Both because there are more resources to combat them and because of the emergence of new objectives, in keeping with the new times.
Therefore, environmental security can be considered a global problem that is addressed both at the institutional level following national policies and from an international approach. It is inevitable that this will be the case, and not only because the threats to the environment are also threats, but also because the perspective of military security has given way to a broader vision that, together with the need for environmental security, add others. issues related to poverty, food insecurity, social instability.
It is difficult to cite a date or moment in which these social, economic, human and environmental aspects began to be related together, but as milestones we could cite the emergence of ecological awareness and the environmental movement in general, since the 1920s, between the dawn and mid-twentieth century.
Another key moment was the eighties, when the idea of environmental security began to become popular, including social, economic and human elements, although it was not until the 1990s when the FAO introduced the concept of "human security rights" as part of the universe that encompasses the very broad concept of human rights. And, along with this, environmental safety also acquired a universal meaning, as multidisciplinary as each specific case requires.
Environmental safety depending on the area
Indeed, each specific case has a myriad of factors that must be analyzed and, in short, they endow it with differentiating characteristics. Environmental security in the Mediterranean, for example, can cover topics such as:
- Mediterranean desertification
- The advance of climate change
- The extinction of species
- Overfishing
- Lack of water resources
- The forest fires
- Heat waves
- Chronic droughts
- Crop losses
- Economic and food security problems.
In areas where the situation can become dramatic as a result of extreme events or the same rise in sea level, for example, the measures can also be aimed at preventing food security problems and even large migrations. Human and environmental dramas are added to national and international security problems, for example, in the case of environmental catastrophes, such as radioactive leaks or oil spills, among others. urban areas with high pollution, as with many Chinese or Indian cities, are an environmental safety problem. And not only local, because very often the causes also cause major environmental dramas. This is what happens, without going any further, with the heavy dependence on coal and other fossil fuels in many Asian countries, such as those mentioned.
Yes OK U.S It also has a great dependence on coal, its environmental security problem has another profile. In all cases, however, they are major global emitters of greenhouse gases.
The casuistry, therefore, is enormous, but all problems require policies that contemplate the problem from an environmental safety perspective. And, of course, defending these dangers, logically, requires not only local prevention policies that attack the causes of the problem, but also globally.
What are these threats?
The above examples give an idea of what the threats could be that jeopardize environmental security. In general, the concept refers at the same time to the security problems caused by human societies in the environment like those others caused by the environment that affects companies.
On many occasions, the two causes are interrelated and end up causing problems of both types, creating vicious situations that are difficult to solve.
some of the most important environmental threats man-made are:
- Drought
- Deforestation
- Loss of biodiversity
- The degradation of environments
- The polution
- Toxic waste in armed conflict
- Issued after accidents occur
- When carrying out resource extraction activities
What environmental crises that affect man can be targeted, for example:
- Epidemics that cause extreme weather events (storms, tornadoes, etc.)
- The lack of electricity to meet the demands of heat or cold waves.
It is not necessary to aim much more to understand the importance of environmental safety to prevent both a significant impact on society and the effects produced by the human being's footprint on the environment. We are simply condemned to understand each other, and human action is as harmful as the force of nature. What does the future hold? Nobody knows, but with our mistreatment, there is no doubt that it will turn against us.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is environmental safety and why is it important?We recommend that you enter our Environmental Policy category.
