New International Security Paradigm related to Water and Environmental Security

Security is constantly changing, which means security professionals need to be proactive, says a former US military Chief Information Officer. Water security has become a central feature of the global policy agenda. Climate change, population growth, and pollution are altering the distribution of water resources and the political control of these resources is becoming increasingly contested. These and other water security threats are a source of conflict not only within countries but across international boundaries. Security is a multidimensional issue, because individual welfare is more central to policy-making than it was fifty years ago. Individual security can no longer be satisfied only through military measures; it needs a multidimensional understanding. Security is elusive; more than ever, it is embedded in the interaction of localizing and globalizing forces. The axes of conflict in the shadow of the Cold War and under the impact of 9/11 are already proven to be more complex, not less, and more difficult to manage, not easier. The Word is in a very fast changing prosess including international security paradigm. Indeed, everything has not changed - but what has changed did so faster than we ever expected.The Cold War superimposed on the international security agenda a political and conceptual framework that simplified most issues while magnifying some and obscuring others. During this period, almost every western government defined national security in excessively narrow military terms. That meant there was an enduring acceptance of the need for a balance of terror, with mutually assured destruction ensuring a stable international system. The end of the Cold War revealed a different set of threats and dangers, not really new but previously kept outside the Cold War context. These new threats are again global in scope, persistent in nature, and potent in their implications [12]. It’s easy to equate “national security” or “global security” with military defense against rogue states and terrorism, but a leading U.S. military expert says that view is far too narrow—and could lead to catastrophe if not changed. The environmental matters had little overall public concern before. It was a reflection of how limited and unstrategic our thinking about security. Environmental change, in general, can lead to a decrease in the quality of life and increased tension, competition, instability and conflict. In parallel to climate change, water security is an issue today closely linked to environmental security. Natural resources, such as water, show a number of threats and risks that may contribute to the amplification of a conflict. Perhaps if we were to pay more attention to the documented effects of particular conditions and events, rather than to the threat-worthiness, we could see the world differently-and more accurately. The question of the water and environmental security is more ominous than that of peace and war.