Military-Ecological Interface

Consultant to Indigenous Historical Knowledge Project at IDSA, Col PK Gautam’s article ‘Military-Ecology Interface’ has been published in the Journal of the United Service Institution of India (USI), Vol. CXLIX, No. 615, January-March 2019.

The threats to national security have both, widened and broadened. Threats are no longer just militaries invading and conquering a country as in the past. Today threats such as ecological degradation and adverse impact of climate change are to be catered for by adaptation with resilience. Joint military doctrine recognises emerging non-traditional challenges. This article traces contribution and interface by the military to ecological security. To understand contribution by the Indian military, a brief history of environmental stewardship with empirical examples of activities has been covered. The second part is about the way the United States (US) Indo-Pacific Command has institutionalised Environmental Security Forum. It achieves both, military to military cooperation and is a tool of military diplomacy. The article also recommends mechanism for addressing the present and future challenges.

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