The environment is a topic of continuous discussion by various government entities and international meetings around the world, with the purpose of conserving natural habitats and caring for the biodiversity of species. To do this, they have established different definitions that will guide the search for this continuous balance, below we will refer to Environmental Safety and its impact on today's society.
Environmental Safety and its Importance
The word security is defined as everything that offers us carefreeness, encompasses everything that generates peace and tranquility. It comes from the Latin word “securitas”. Every living being seeks to develop his life in an environment that gives him security, it is an adequate way to be able to reproduce and evolve healthily. It is a very broad term that can be used in different fields, such as personal, work, sentimental and many more.
Over time, man has established new ways of perceiving security, emphasizing that it is not only a feeling of the personal environment but also encompasses elements of sovereignty, values of interests and common relationships that also provide global and local security. Observing all these aspects, a new factor emerged to consider according to the planetary need, known as environmental security, encompassing national and global security.
Environmental safety is related to how to protect yourself from all the risks caused in the environment. It is a term that emerged officially in the World Charter for Nature in mid-82, with the aim of all participating nations in having a global commitment to possible threats that can influence the environment and need treatment or support. for their respective restoration, in addition to granting quality of life and peace to all the species that interact in said habitat.
The rhythm of daily life has been influenced by geopolitical elements that have changed drastically in recent centuries. According to studies, one of the main dangers that society must face is its own military policy that has generated various armed conflicts, causing conflicts and resource consumption for their confrontations. Currently, other enemies have emerged that represent a global problem such as the scarcity of drinking water, destruction of ecosystems, increased deterioration of the ozone layer, massive accumulation of garbage, among others.
The emergence of all these environmental problems has led to the innovation of new technological advances to be able to combat and counteract them, such as the creation of engineering for the use of renewable energies such as hydraulic dams for the creation of energy from the fall of the bodies of water, wind farms for the benefit of air currents, among others. Also applying simple methods that guarantee safety to the environment, such as recycling for reuse of products.
Therefore, environmental security is considered as a part of protection worldwide, arising from the small actions of man to government decisions. Institutional issues must be addressed with a national and international approach, respecting the policies of each country and taking into account the geographical aspect of each nation, since each one will have its own environmental crisis depending on the resources that compose it.
Environmental perspectives must be developed in their respective country, existing regulations and laws focused on the conservation of resources and national security, which is why military security arises, representing specialized training to meet environmental needs and offering solutions to food insecurity, social instability, poverty, scarcity, among others. Therefore, it is an aspect that encompasses social, human, economic and environmental terms, guaranteeing a balance between the development of today's society and the environment; maintaining an ecological vision for the conservation of the planet and life.
The development of environmental safety has a key importance in the 80s, since awareness of this perspective was raised and it became popular in various parts of the world, emphasizing that it is impossible for man to develop his life excluding the different economic, social, political and environmental. In the case of the 90s, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) evaluated these and introduced the term human security law, which includes the importance of human rights in the environment to coexist with sufficient harmony.
Defend Against Dangers
When talking about environmental security, it is inevitable not to highlight the historical details that allow an international perspective to be encompassed, demonstrating that it is a definition that encompasses the geopolitical aspect (study of human and physical geography together with international relations), based on the division of the world in each of the continents that are classified by their respective countries.
Man has been characterized in turning military policy in numerous armed conflicts since ancient times, always with the intention of defending their territories from possible dangers that alter the well-being of their region. For example, from the beginning when man hunted to obtain resources for consumption, such as the defense of border lines, among others.
Currently, there are changes where the enemy is no longer just the consumption of resources or military confrontations between governments, but also silent crises that are increasingly present such as the deterioration of the ozone layer, loss of biodiversity of species, habitat destruction. natural, total annihilation of ecosystems, among others. Motivating society to work on international agreements for the conservation of the environment and recovery of natural resources, emerging objectives according to the current crisis and with visions for future generations.
Therefore, environmental safety is considered a global problem, which must be addressed by institutions, government entities, specialists and professionals with national and international approaches. The threats to the environment are becoming more and more latent, taking into account the different political problems that influence the environment of each nation.
The evolution of ecological terms in the mid-20s began to highlight the importance of the balance between man and the environment, demonstrating that it is inevitable to exclude human actions such as politics, economy, cultures, society, among others, from the natural environment; each one is connected to each other and altering any of them will affect the harmony of nature and therefore human and environmental safety.
Another key moment was in the mid-80s when environmental security was defined as a latent crisis of importance for the ecological development of society. In the mid-90s, the importance of human security rights that encompasses human rights and the environment emerged, highlighting that it is a multidisciplinary aspect to consider for the conservation of humanity.
Environmental Safety by Zones
Environmental safety is a factor that depends entirely on government entities and the geographical position of each region, taking into account all laws in the economic, political, social and environmental spheres.
Each region on the planet is made up of natural and unique resources, there are even some that are endemic (native) to that place, such as the presence of red kangaroos in Australia, abundance of rivers on the African continent, great biodiversity of flora and fauna in South America, among others. Each country has developed methods for the acquisition of resources for national development, over time mass consumption has aroused interest in the type of environmental security, encompassing the following topics:
Desertification of green areas
Man has always sought ways to obtain the greatest benefit from natural resources, leading to constant evolution in all areas of society. Highlighting the urbanizations that are constantly growing and displacing natural resources, to carry out this practice destroys the vegetation cover and increases soil erosion, altering the biological cycles of nature, lengthening the periods of drought that generate desertification and loss of biodiversity.
Climate change advances
Climate change refers to the variations of the terrestrial climate system affecting the living conditions on planet earth, since ancient times there have been climatic alterations becoming gradual and abrupt. Since industrial development, man has collaborated with the exponential deterioration of the ozone layer, affecting the global climate. In this case, some geographical areas most affected by this fact stand out, such as the Mediterranean regions that are attacked with constant droughts that increase the temperatures and result in soil erosion.
Species extension
There are regions rich in biodiversity of species between flora and fauna, developing in specific sectors to offer the natural conditions to maintain their development in these habitats, due to the desertification of green areas, climatic variations and alteration of the environment by man, has caused a significant loss of the biodiversity of its natural ecosystems, resulting in the extinction of many species and the danger of many others.
overfishing
Fishing is considered one of the main sources of food for society and is par excellence for some regions such as the Asian continent. The overpopulation of urban areas has led to an increase in the rate of fishing, which is higher than the regeneration of local species. Generating an imbalance in the food chains of the oceans and the extinction of the most demanded species. Not counting those that are captured by accident, leading to the decline of species in the seas.
Lack of water resources
Water is one of the main demands of society, highlighting the fact that the planet is made up of 80% water (salt and fresh), for the development of life it is necessary the presence of fresh and drinking water (optimal for the human consumption). Highlighting climatic changes, bringing periods of drought with frequency and intensity, causing the loss of water currents in various regions.
Forest fires
Due to the fact that the average temperature of the planet presents greater intensity and frequency, they bring as a consequence very long periods of drought, causing forest fires in various regions of the planet, coupled with long periods of heat. These fires are one of the main causes of the massive loss of ecosystems and animal species, reducing local biodiversity and therefore the extinction of species.
Heat waves
Heat waves consist of those episodes with abnormally high temperatures for several days, these changes generate drastic changes in the local geography, altering the normal conditions of natural habitats, these episodes are very pronounced in summer seasons.
chronic droughts
Due to meteorological changes, rainfall has decreased drastically, periods of drought are much more pronounced, causing water scarcity and dryness in the land; This factor is very relevant every year, influencing different factors in society.
crop losses
Crop losses are a direct consequence of the different combined effects, mainly highlighting the increase in temperatures that will lengthen the times of drought, increase in heat waves and meteorological changes (rains and floods); will lead to the loss of crops and crops.
Economic problems and food security
Changes in the environment will influence the benefits of man from natural resources, where the human will seek to supply the demands of society.
Economic, Environmental and Social Problems
Environmental crises have affected all regions of the planet, there are areas where conditions are dramatic and this is attributed to the presence of extreme phenomena that increase the condition of the sea, causing large migrations of animal and human species, in addition to decreases the chances of humanitarian aid. Motivating social problems bringing problems in national and international security; Some prominent examples are radioactive leaks, oil spills, tsunamis, among others.
It should be noted that the regions that are victims of these events are those accused of air pollution, such as China, India, the United States, among others; They are countries with major environmental security problems.
Environmental Security Threats
The problems of environmental security are the societies raised by the human being, displacing the environment from its own natural habitat over time tends to affect the cities and areas built by man. Causing situations that are difficult to correct and harming the lives of thousands of people, such as:
- Loss of plant species
- mass deforestation
- prolonged droughts
- Ecosystem degradation
- Pollution from air currents
- Accumulation of toxic waste causing armed conflicts
- Accident Insurance
- Extraction of resources that cause human beings such as epidemics, lack of electricity, among others.
The importance of environmental safety lies in preventing the negative impact on future societies due to the human footprint on the environment, in addition, the link between countries is necessary for the conservation of planet earth.
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