A previous study of environmental security by the Millennium Project, found uncertainty in the international community about when the UN and related international organizations should have leadership responsibility for addressing transborder environmental security threats (including those within a country that have potential transborder consequences).

The purpose of this study is to identify existing UN military doctrine on environmental security, to analyze the ways United Nations forces and related non-military international organizations (IOs) can address current and emerging environmental security issues and threats, and to speculate about future arrangements. The UN’s role in both addressing environmental security issues that might lead to conflict and its role in addressing the environmental effects of conflict are explored.

In order to identify preventive, responsive, and remedial environmental security roles for the UN and related international organizations, a review of international conventions, protocols and treaties was performed, including the charters of the UN and its related international organizations. Senior UN officials were interviewed to explore current and potential UN doctrine for managing environmental issues in UN peacekeeping operations.

The research reveals that there is only one formal environmental security guideline in UN doctrine for military action. The UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin of 6 August 1999 entitled "Observance by United Nations Forces of International Humanitarian Law" states:

Environmental security is more than just preventing environmental damage from war, as addressed in the above four international instruments. Environmental security threats can also come from ignorance and/or mismanagement of socio-economic activities, terrorism, migration, and natural disasters.

The following chart illustrates a range of environmental security threats and how they may be classified.

Examples of Environmental Security Threats
Figure 1

	By Ignorance and/or Mismanagement	By Intention	Mix of Natural and Human Actions
Within a Country	C.1 Oil spills in Ogoniland Nigeria Aral Sea depletion in Russia Indonesian fires Ground water contamination and fresh water scarcity Hazardous wastes Soil erosion Human settlement and development patterns	C.2 Sarin gas attack in Tokyo subway Chemical attacks and draining marshes in Iraq Poisoning or diversion or misuse of water resources	C.3 Floods Famines Salinization Earthquakes Introduction of exotic species
Trans-border	C.4 Rain forest depletion River usage in (Jordan, Nile, Tigris, Euphrates) Chernobyl nuclear accident Diminishing biodiversity Ozone depletion Fisheries depletion Global climate change Acid rain and air pollution Poverty Radioactive waste	C.5 Burning oil fields in Kuwait Poisoning water Dam construction and water diversion Biological weapons Water and soil pollution due to military activity	C.6 Solar radiation changes Global warming New, emerging, and drug-resistant diseases such as AIDS and others affecting plans and animals Desertification Population growth Rich-Poor gap

 

A NATO study suggests an alternative typology. In the report Environment & Security in an International Context, four general types of environmental conflict are identified:

• ethno-political conflicts
• migration conflicts (internal, cross-border and demographically caused migration)
• international resource conflicts
• environmental conflicts due to fundamental global environmental change

The following chart can help illustrate the range of potential roles for the UN in addressing environmental security:

Range of potential UN environmental security roles
Figure 2

UN’s role in addressing environmental effects of conflict within a country or transborder	UN’s role in addressing environmental causes of conflict within a country or transborder
By UN force: How the law binds the UN forces and their action By non-UN force: what UN mandate might prevent or punish other's illegal actions	Through intervention before the conflict Through intervention during the conflict Peacekeeping and/or other UN or related IOs after the conflict

 

Key articles of international treaties, conventions, and protocols that might be used to address these circumstances are discussed in Chapter 2 and listed in Volume II of this report, along with relevant articles of International Organizations.

Although the interviews found little attention is currently being given to environmental security at the UN, there was great interest expressed in exploring this possibility in greater detail and an understanding that such threats are increasing and require more attention. As a result, it is likely that greater awareness and acceptance within UN circles will be created for the need to factor environmental security into the planning and implementation of peacekeeping operations and to explore how the UN and related organizations might intervene to prevent conflict due to environmental stress.

This new awareness is likely to express itself in the development of standards and guidelines governing in-theater operations.

Eventually, some kind of UN-authorized mechanism will have to be established to send teams to document environmental security threats within one country that would affect another country. Following the findings of such teams, an additional mechanism will have to be established to act on the findings. One such mechanism was suggested in 1997 by US Ambassador John McDonald, Executive Director of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy. Ambassador McDonald recommended the establishment of a UN Environmental Mediation Program to train environmental mediators, establish national environmental mediation centers, assist national research programs, and set up an international panel of environmental mediators to be on call to help resolve transboundery disputes (see Appendix C).

The following chart (Figure 3) can act as a framework to help think through the broad nature of environmental security and related issues throughout this report.