ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY

The literature on 'environmental security' struggles with conceptual a nd methodological shortcomings, questioning the analytical value of th e concept. Lodgaard and Westing claim that linking the environment to security - and thereby to 'high politics' - has created the political awareness and sense of urgency required to resolve environmental probl ems and increase our security. Despite the positive political effects, Buzan, Waever & de Wilde warn against such linking, saying it represe nts an undesirable 'securitization' of the environment that restricts the range of means available for resolving environmental problems. In the long run, environmental security is more likely to be achieved if it is made part of the daily political debate, they argue. The environ mental conflict perspective, focusing on the circumstances under which environmental degradation or change may lead to violent conflict, rep resents an effort to overcome some of the methodological problems of t he security-environment linkage. This review also discusses how a mult ilevel approach to environmental security, involving global, regional, national and subnational decision-making levels according to the subs idiarity principle, would provide a more dynamic framework for action than the state-centred approach which still dominates security thinkin g and policy.