Transboundary natural area protection: Broadening the definition of national security

Abstract

This paper looks at the definition and concept of national security, and examines how the environment is linked with national security. The traditional, state view of national security that guides most foreign policy includes the concepts of military power, sovereignty and geopolitical stability. This paper advocates broadening the definition of security to include protection of the environment. Access to natural resources, or their depletion and degradation, affects human welfare and can result in the breakdown of political stability. The assumption behind adding the environment as a dimension of national security is that conservation and protection of natural resources will not only sustain the productivity of the land, but will also preserve and sustain international relations. The destruction and depletion of natural resources in one country can do as much harm to neighboring countries as military aggression. Transboundary natural areas can play an important role in the concept of environmental security, as the conservation of the Earth’s plant and animal biodiversity may well depend on the protection of large, undeveloped natural areas. This theory paper attempts to challenge the traditional “state” view of impermeable borders and lead us to a broader concept of security.

Parent Publication

• Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium

Citation

Cook, Haven B. 2007. Transboundary natural area protection: Broadening the definition of national security. In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet; Dean, Liese, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium; September 30-October 6, 2005; Anchorage, AK. Proceedings RMRS-P-49. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 254-257