Realizing ecological security in a world of sovereign states: The identification of Environmental Security Building Measures (ESBMs)

The world community must now contend with two incongruent realities: the primacy of national sovereignty and the urgency of the deepening environmental crisis. Addressing the challenge presented by the sovereignty-ecology 'mismatch' is fundamental to realizing genuine "ecological security" and requires that the world community (1) be aware of the nature of the challenge and (2) apply this understanding in attempts to identify environmental security enhancing measures that can be employed within the context of state sovereignty. This study seeks to contribute to the accommodation of this dual imperative. The study begins by examining the challenge presented by the sovereignty-ecology 'mismatch' and argues that strong environmental regimes can act to reconcile aspects of the incongruity. Applying this understanding to an analysis of several environmental problem case studies, the paper then identifies several 'Environmental Security Building Measures' that can be employed immediately and within the context of the sovereign state system.