Defining Environmental Security: Implications for the U.S. Army

Abstract : In 1998, the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU) conducted a two-questionnaire survey for an international environmental security study. The first questionnaire asked about existing and proposed definitions of environmental security, potential threats, and policies to address these threats. The second questionnaire asked who should provide policy leadership for the various threats to environmental security identified in the first questionnaire. The Project also held an informal meeting of military attaches on June 9, 1998 for further input. Appendix A (p.30) lists study respondents. The study found little consensus about environmental security definitions, threats, and policy leadership around the world. However, the responses to the questionnaires did suggest some common elements a definition of environmental security should possess.