United States and environmental security: Deforestation and conflict in southeast Asia. Master's thesis

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:6865093

Greenwald, P T

In the post Cold War era, the East-West conflict may be succeeded by a new confrontation which pits an industrialized North against a developing South. In June 1992, world attention was fixed on the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This event marked a milestone in global environmental awareness; but just as the end of the Cold War has provided new opportunities for the US, the world is now faced with new sources of conflict which have advanced to the forefront of the national security debate. Among the new sources of conflict, environmental problems are rapidly becoming preeminent. Within national security debates, those environmental problems which respect no international boundary are of particular concern. Worldwide deforestation, and the related issues of global warming and the loss of biodiversity, represent a clear threat to national security. Two percent of the Earth's rainforests are lost each year; one 'football field' is lost each second. Deforestation has already led to conflict and instability within several regions of the world including Southeast Asia. The United States must recognize the character and dynamics of these new sources of conflict in order to successfully realize its policy aims in national security. The US should preempt conflict through cooperation and develop a shared concern for the environment throughout the world. The US military may play a key role in this effort. Rainforest, Deforestation, Tropical timber, Logging, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Japan Cambodia, Vietnam, Human rights, Plywood, Pulp, Paper, World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development.

• Research Organization: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6865093
• Report Number(s): AD-A-258057/9/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
290301* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety-- Regional & Global Environmental Aspects-- (1992-)
ASIA
BURMA
CAMBODIA
CLIMATIC CHANGE
COMMERCIAL SECTOR
COOPERATION
DEFORESTATION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DYNAMICS
ECOLOGY
ECONOMICS
ENERGY POLICY
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
FORESTS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDONESIA
INDUSTRY
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ISLANDS
JAPAN
LAOS
MALAYSIA
MECHANICS
NATIONAL SECURITY
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PAPER INDUSTRY
PHILIPPINES
RAIN WATER
RISK ASSESSMENT
SECURITY
THAILAND
TROPICAL REGIONS
USA
WATER
WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY