Water Scarcity, Mass Migration & Security: A Brave New World?

Nature Reports has published a must-read article on the potential impact of environmental changes on security.

Unfortunately, most mainstream media focus on changes to the environment has centred around senseless debates as to the degree of human involvement in sparking such changes. Little long-term assessment as to what the overall impact such changes could have on security has been shared with the public, if such analysis has been commissioned and conducted at all.

Environmental changes have been gradual, but marked. Indeed, it is unlikely that the environment will be altered drastically over night. However, with time we could find ourselves living in a very different environment than the sort we are in today. The good news is that this gives us time to look towards possible outcomes and prepare as a result. As the article in Nature Reports suggests, this will entail finding solutions to mass migration and water scarcity. Such preparation will also necessitate more proactive planning around food security, including preparations for introducing crops more suited to the new environment and increasing local food production.

Whether or not such preparations are underway is hard to say. Preparing for such incredible possibilities is not a human forte. Strategic vision is very much required if proper planning is to be first created and then successfully implemented. In most countries, economy trumps security making many measures (especially those that are intended to prevent long-term fallout) unfavourable.

Here’s to hoping that the human race enjoys a monumental shift in perspective before it suffers a cataclysmic shift in environment!

This entry was posted on October 9 2007 at 00:35 and is filed under Water Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.