Environmental Stresses and their Security Implications for South Asia

In discussing the dynamics of contemporary conflicts, scholars, over the last decade, have focused on the ‘interconnectivity’ between environmental factors and violent conflict—for example between migration and environmental mismanagement, debt and violence and between ethnic conflict and resource disputes. Such an approach corresponds to the post-Cold War reexamination and redefinition of security in more comprehensive conceptual terms. Environmental cooperation is seen in this new environment as a non-threatening vehicle of engagement and a useful confidence building mechanism among states. One of the positive outcomes has been the growing legitimacy for military-to-military cooperation in environmental protection and the meaningful and practicable role militaries can play in overcoming some of the environmental challenges in South Asia.