ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses environmental security and ways in which problems of security may be resolved at the international scale. The emerging importance of environmental concerns to international security was emphasized in a January 1992 statement by the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, declaring that “non-military sources of instability in the economic, social, humanitarian and ecological fields have become threats to peace and security”. Despite the recent emergence of the concept of environmental security, the challenges it poses are not new to the international legal order. Indeed, the legal issues facing the international community today in relation to the environment are remarkably similar to those addressed 100 years ago. Rio declaration and Agenda 21 advocate the integration of environmental considerations into all development activities, thus creating an enormous new agenda for international environmental law. The number of environmental disputes undoubtedly will rise as the international community seeks to reconcile the conflicting demands of economic growth and environmental protection.
