Environmental Security: Bangladesh Essay

Abstract trance reading outside(a) Relations I got acquainted with art objecty modern issues which ar re all toldy important to deal with for the competitive survival of Bangladesh in this age of internationalization. Bangladesh is a adopting state of matter. It has to perform very cargonfully in launch to continue a healthy and delayable stinting system. Bangladesh injures from to a greater extent or slight(prenominal) internal and external panics which ar both military and non-military. Among them purlieual trade protection (ES) is a matter of coarse importance. Because milieual calamities are great threat to economic maturement and are means of creating dependency on the giver countries. It is in addition controlling relation in the midst of severalizes and also creating tension mingled with them. So, date has come to contemp modern this issue more signifi dissolvetly and film necessary steps accordingly. This research fount contains how environment is having spot everywhere the matters of our country creating balance of relationship with the donor countries and what Bangladesh should do in order to overcome the problems to establish better economics.AcknowledgementIn order to fork over a valid research paper, I make water taken nurture from the lecture shits given by the de break outment of multinational Relations. Internet has been a great source of information which I oblige mentioned in the part of bibliography. Moreover I have taken information from BANGLADESH Non-traditional protection, By Jyoti M. Pathania, and employ speeches of George Kennan, Collin Powell in close to relevant area. I am grateful to Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed (Chairman, judicature Council, Dhaka School of Economics (DScE) Chairman, Governing Body, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation). He has given me close to clear view of the issue of Environmental protection. I have utilise some information in this research paper from his presentation on T he Outcome OF Cancun Climate Change Conference (COP-16) and Bangladesh. My work has also been back up by Dr. jashim Uddin, General Manager, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation, who has great experience in the field of view of development in Bangladesh.1.0 IntroductionThere have been two approaches to Security Studies 1) handed-down Approach, i.e., Realist Approach and Non-traditional Approach, i.e., i) Widening Approach and ii) Deepening Approach. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been renewed interest in what is now called non-traditional state of contendranter issues. Among the non-traditional approach to earnest studies, the widening approach includes that states are functionally like units states are not like units in terms of capability/ government agency. any(prenominal) are weapons-grade and some are weak. Inter-state relationship is governed by this power differentiation. As a depart, anarchy is the ordering principle of internationalist politics.States are s et to conciliate to this anarchic system for their survival. However, in widening approach the referent intention of security is state state wants to secure state sovereignty, physical rack of state (territory, resources and creation) and political system. It simply includes a wide range of non-military threats to state security both external and internal and military and non-military. The Environmental Security git be referred to this non-traditional approach of security, which is an internal and external non-military threat to a state that causes huge loss to the physical base of a state, demolishes economic situation and threats the sovereignty of state in this age of globalization.Hence the Environmental Security has become a matter of great importance in todays serviceman. Environmental security involves assessing the ways in which the property of environmental systems relate to or impact the overall health and well- creation of a state or society. It also refers to the relative protection of the environment from injury or degradation by manmade or inhering processes collectible to accident, negligence, ignorance, or design from causes that cross national borders and endanger the livelihood or health of pieces, the functional integrity of a state, or the stability of the international community.Most environmental threats to national and international security can be traced to mans activities interfering into natural processes or the natural ecosystem. Some serious threats, however, may have natural origins, but become exacerbated from mans activities. Examples of these include hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.Environmental Security (ES) is a matter of great importance since it also controls international relations amidst states. As late as 1985, the old cold warrior George Kennan Wrote in foreign affairs personal matters concerning international relations and national interests in foreign countries. , identifying the threat to the innovatio n environment as one of the two supreme dangers facing mankind. tho it was really in the post Cold War era that the world saw a dramatic increase in international natural process around environmental issues. The United Nations Environmental Program has reported that virtually 170 treaties have been negotiated in recent geezerhood on mixed issues of the global environment. (1)2.0 Importance of ES can be unders besidesd raise by the following statementFew threats to peace and survival of the human community are greater than those posed by the prospects of cumulative and irreversible degradation of the biosphere on which human life depends. True security cannot be achieved by mounting buildup of weapons (defence in a narrow sense), but and by providing basic conditions for solving non-military problems which threatens them. Our survival depends not just on military balance, but on global cooperation to ensure a sustainable environment. Brundtland Commission Report, 1987In 1999, C ollin Powell stressed the importance of ES sayingsustainable development is a compelling moral and humanitarian issue, but it is also a security imperative. Poverty, environmental degradation and despair are destroyers of battalion, of society, of nations. This disgustful trinity can destabilize countries, even entire regions.We are subject upon the globes life-supporting eco-systems generating water, food, medicine, and clean air etc, but we actually did vigor to maintain this ecosystem. As a chair the current and future generations depart confront severe environmentally induced changes. The change has already started and is interrogation our traditional concepts and understandings of security, both national and beyond boundaries. In many cases conflicts are direct results of environmental degradation. Another important dimension of Environmental security is that it knows no state boundary. It considers humankind and its institutions and organizations anywhere and at anytim e, which cannot be defended by any means of military defense or political negotiation.3.0 heterogeneous INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS international relations, study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations include diplomacy and diplomatic history, international law, .. bounder the link for more information.THEORIES ON ENVIRONMENTA number of International Relations Theories can be applied to the issue of environment. Many of these theories all deal with the environment indirectly, yet it is useful to review the expanding literature of international-relations surmise as it relates to the environment.Realism The two central concepts of Realist theory are power and the national interest. The international society is an anarchical state-system. The system is therefore a self-help one. Realism assumes that states and their populations need natural resources to survi ve. There is a competition between states for these scarce resources. War is often the result of such competition and conflict. It leads to the repugn for power and peace, as Hans Morgenthau put it.(7)Extreme versions of Realism such as the geopolitical some see President George Bushs noise in Iraq as an attempt to secure the oil resources of the Middle East.3.1 Malthusianismdoubting Thomas Malthus, an 18th century English cleric, countd that because population grew in geometric overture and food production followed arithmetic progression, there would come a time when population growth would inevitably outstrip and ordain cause starvation. indeed it pull up stakes threat the socio-economic security of a nation.3.2 LiberalismLiberalism centralisees on cooperation. While liberalism sees deal and states competing for scarce environmental resources, it does so in a more hospital attendant way. and then, a liberal philosophy applied to global environmental politics tends to tre at states as competitive participantsnot unlike corporationsin markets they have established among themselves. (8)Private enterp summon and the market produce efficiency and keep up nature. For example, the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 forbids states from inflicting environmental damage on each(prenominal) other, because this would be a violation of the states sovereignty.3.3 InstitutionalismThis approach also focuses on cooperation. Here the states have a broader sense of self-interest. They focus on the in the public eye(predicate) good. Their enlightened self-interest includes norms, values, principles and expectations which are the ingredients of International Regimes. The states seek plebeianly acceptable compromises through international negotiation. The building of International Regimes can benefit the global environment. The Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is a good example of international regimes.3.4 EcoanarchismThis philosophy is huma nistic and leftist, and Murray Bookchin is its leading proponent. Ecoanarchists believe that the state and big capital are inimical to the autonomy of public and nature. (9) Thus to preserve nature it is necessary to break society into small, relatively self-sufficient units. To help nature these units must practice altruism and mutual aid.3.5 Social NaturalismThis view sees culture and nature as bound together in a kind of societal community. Community is utilize in a very broad sense that includes people, animals, plants, ideas, language, history and the ecosystems. Cooperation between humans and nature is a given. The objective of social naturalism is the intromission of a cooperative ecological society found to be grow in the around basic levels of being. (10) This philosophy hardly resembles the worldview.3.6 Sustainable harvest-homeThe growth of incomes results in economic development. As the 1990s mankind rim President Barber Conable put it market forces and econom ic efficiency were the take up way to achieve the kind of growth which is the best antidote to poverty. (12) So according to the neoclassical economists dictum a rise tide lifts all boats is associated with the idea that improvements in the general economy will benefit all participants in that economy. The proponents of this theory believe that when the low of the develop countries become richer then it will reduce pressure on the environment. For example, they will be more able and willing to pay the costs of holding air and water clean. (13)3.7 Sustainable DevelopmentThis phrase first appeared in a 1980 report issued by the International Union for the Conservation of genius International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) or World Conservation Union, international organization founded in 1948 to encourage the preservation of wildlife, natural environments, and living resources. (14) This approach focuses on the needs of the worlds poor and call s for a sufficient fare of wealth from the rich countries to the poor, so that the developing countries can deal with the problem of poverty and environmental damage.3.8 The Steady-State EconomyHerman Daly proposed this choice approach which focuses not on more goods, but on the specialty and longevity of goods. More goods are wasteful and cause environmental degradation. It calls for cycle and the minimal exploitation of biological and physical resources. Dalys unit is the nation-state, and each country must seek to be self-sufficient and spend only its own natural resources. (15)3.9 Radical RedistributionThis theory believes that environmental degradation is the result of excessive wealth, the injustices of capitalism and the income inequality between the rich and the poor nations. In 2005, a typical American consumed 51 times as very much energy as a typical Bangladeshi. (16) Consequently, two things need to be done. First, the rich must drastically reduce their consumption s o as not to burden the earths resources and environment. Second, the rich much transfer massive amounts of capital and technology so that the poor countries can grow economically and preserve the environment.3.10 Ecosocialism and Eco-MarxismNot surprisingly, ecosocialists and ecomarxists blame capitalism for environmental degradation. capitalist economy is seen as inherently anti-ecological and anti-nature. For seeking cheaper raw materials and fatter profits they impose wastes onto nature. Thus the mode of production matters for the environment. They emphasize peoples collective power as producers, which directly involve local communities (particularly urban) and increase democracy, which enlist the tug movement and which are aimed particularly at economic life. (17)3.11 EcofeminismAlthough many ecofeminists are not Marxists, they are all leftists or liberal in their philosophic orientation. For ecofeminists the domination of women and nature are inextricably linked. (18) Feminin e suffering is universal proposition because wrong done to women and its ongoing denial fuel the psycho-sexual abuse of all Othersraces, children, animals, plants, rocks, water, and air. (19)3.12 EcocentrismEcocentrists believe that humans cannot survive without nature. Many ecocentrists are advocates of wilderness or wildness. As Henry David Thoreau noted In wildness is the preservation of the world. (20)3.13 BiopoliticsThe origins of biopolitics can be found in the writings of Michel Foucault. According to Mitchell Dean, a attendant of Foucault, biopolitics is concerned with matters of life and death, with birth and propagation, with health and illness, both physical and mental, and with the processes that sustain or retard the optimization of the life of a population. (21)These are some of the basic environmental philosophies that take to mean the global environment and social organisation practices and policies. Many of these conflict with one another and have diverse defini tion of the reasons for environmental degradation.4.0 A case of BangladeshThe first part of this research paper dealt with the security agenda and the philosophies involving ES. Scarcities of renewable resources can generate civil personnel and conflict the degradation of renewable resources causes environmental insufficiency powerful groups take over precious resources while trivial groups move around to ecologically sensitive areas. Moreover environmental scarcity proves the difference between social groups. such situation affects governmental institutions and states by making it economically weak. so far environmental scarcity can cause ethnic conflicts. Accordingly the International community can be indirectly affected by these conflicts produced by environmental scarcity. (22)In the second part I will focus on Bangladesh regarding the issues of environment security. Ours is a country which has to face both external and internal, and military and non military threats. Banglad esh achieved its independence through a devastating war against Pakistan which resulted millions of death and around ten million refugees to India. Even after the war Bangladesh has been facing military threat from the Shanti Bahini of Chittagong Hill Track (CHT).Guerrilla war between the rebels and arm force of the government in CHT and civil conflicts between the Bengali and Non-Bengali residents of this place continue till today. The most recent armed conflict between the Bengali and Non-Bengali residents happened on 19th January 2011 where 6 (six) were killed. Such situation threatens the stability of a state. Circumstances become more vulnerable when environmental degradation doubles the pain. The independent Bangladesh has been facing environmental incident since 1974. In 1974 famine raged over and was further aggravated by a flood. Later on, the degradation only increased and in recent years Bangladesh has seen devastating cyclones and floods.The security of Bangladesh must depend on sustainable environment in many ways. Environmental degradation will badly affect economic development, erode social cohesion. Even political institutions face threat. race growth and lack of economic opportunity will cause demographic displacement both within the country and outside. Migration in other country can cause bilateral conflict Bangladesh is also bearing the result of environmental problems of neighbor countries.Such situation in water welkin is already exacerbating regional tension with India. It can lead to calumnious progress towards regional security and can instigate regional cooperation on the other hand. We have to remember that the linkage of environment and security in Bangladesh is through economics and politics. The greater the environmental degradation in Bangladesh the greater will be the political and economic deterioration, thus leading to more national and international insecurity.5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN BANGLADESHBangladesh posses a h orde of security problems, which are no longer of conventional nature but have non-conventional nature i.e. Non-traditional security issues which are in the state of constant evolution. These are economic, environmental, political and territorial threats.5.1 PopulationThe greatest problem that Bangladesh faces is an unusually commodious population in a small land area. The population grew from 42 million in 1951 to about 147 million in 2005. (23) It is projected to make believe 166 million in 2015. (24) The population density is 1019 per uncoiled kilometer. When one compares this with 2 persons per sq. km. in Australia, 3 in Canada, 31 in USA, 191 in Pakistan and 324 in India, one becomes aware of the tremendous crush of population in Bangladesh. The quick the population increases, the more would be the negative effects on its environment. goose egg population growth could serve for the environment in Bangladesh.5.2 Land and demesneAs noted earlier, Bangladesh covers a small a rea of only 144,000 square kilometers, but 63% of the total land is arable because it is located in the largest delta in the world. Formed by the three mighty riversthe Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Meghnait is also the youngest and the most active delta in the world. (27) Although Bangladesh is a unconditional alluvial plain, it does have intricate soil condition and land pattern.Erosion of land by rivers is a serious problem in Bangladesh. Every year due to strong summer winds, powerful waves and shifting rivers thousands of acres of land are eat at away, leaving thousands of families homeless and contributing to the pattern of wholesale migration towards the urban areas, generally to the capital city Dhaka. But it only creates instability in the society.5.3 de plantationMany decades ago Bangladesh had rich tropical forests. But due to population growth and the need for firewood and timber, the forests have become rapidly depleted. Currently the forest area comprises 13,000 squ are kilometers, about 10.2% of the total land space, which is much less than the universally accepted minimum of 25%. (28) Located in the southwest of Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is a mangrove, large tropical evergreen tree, genus Rhizophora that grows on sluggish tidal flats and along protected ocean shorelines. It is the home for of the famous lofty Bengal Tiger as well as other rich phytology and fauna.The United Nations has declared the Sundarbans as a world heritage settle because of its rich biodiversity. Besides, the tropical rain forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, home to laid-back value timber, rich vegetation and wild animals. Many animals are being rapidly depleted due to demand from both agriculture and industry. The Chokoria Sundarbans in the southeastern part of the country near the port-city Chittagong were completely destroyed in the 1980s and 1990s in order to facilitate shrimp farming.5.4 drouth & FloodsIt is ironic that during the monsoon era Bangladesh has too much water and during the winter months too little water when no rainfall occurs. Thus the country is subject to both floods and drouth. Barendra Bhumi of the northern part of our country is an example for drought affect. Because of drought people are unable to continue agricultural work and suffer from monga (unemployment). It also causes huge migration towards the capital city and other cities. Heavy drought also causes desertification in this area.On the other hand, in the rainy season Bangladesh suffers from too much water. About 1360 billion cubic meters of water is discharge annually through the GBM system, 93% of which flows through Bangladesh. If all the water did not flow into the sea, the country had been under 32 feet of water. The 230 rivers with their numerous creeks and rivulets attempt to beetle off the water into the Bay of Bengal But the situation of rivers, the low river gradients in the flat plain and strong backwater effects slow the passage to the sea , giving rise to the overflowing of the riverbanks. Every year there are floods, in some years it becomes extreme due to extra heavy rainfall.5.5 Storms & CyclonesBangladesh faces huge wipeout due to storms and cyclones. The cyclones mainly hit the coastal region. Several severe cyclones pop out from the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The funnel shape of the Bay increases the intensity, often blowing in excess of 240 km per hour and creating tidal bores 9 km high. single of the worst cyclones occurred on November 12, 1970, killing an estimated 300 hundred thousand people in addition to major damage to livestock, poultry, crops and vegetation. (30) The most recent examples can be SIDR (2007) and AILA (2009).