Environment and Environmental Activism from the Security Perspective

On the one hand, polluted air endangers water resources and soil degradation, non-transparent or harmful mining and infrastructure projects, as well as insufficient enforcement of regulations, are increasingly affecting people’s health, local development, safety of the communities, and citizens’ trust in institutions.

On the other hand, citizens are increasingly engaging, organising, educating themselves and defending their right to a healthy environment. The resulting conflicts have intensified in recent years and now encompass an entire range of security challenges, including violence, threats to life and property, legal pressures, and media and other forms of attacks. In these conditions, environmental security must be viewed not only as the ability of the society and the state to recognise, prevent and mitigate risks to the environment and health, but also as finding models that ensure that citizens participate in decisions that affect the conditions in which they live.