ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to locate environmental issues in South Africa's post-apartheid, long-term security policy concerns. It explores the state of the debate to include the environment in security policy. The chapter deals with the impact of environmental resource scarcities on security within the region. It discusses the redefinition of security to include an environmental dimension as well as a selection of environmental issues in the region – of which water is considered to be the most crucial issue. The end of the Cold War has contributed significantly to the imperative to redefine approaches to national, regional and international security to take cognisance of environmental issues. Traditional security concerns in Southern Africa ignored the impact of environmental resource scarcity. The chapter concludes with a prognosis for regional security by presenting a number of policy options of which environmental collective defence seems to be the solution.
