Ecological Security Program

Ecological Security Program

The Council on Strategic Risks’ Converging Risks Labs is advancing an “Ecological Security Program” to elevate attention to an underappreciated security threat – the major ecological disruptions, including massive biodiversity loss, that are currently underway.

Our national security is inextricably tethered to the state of the natural world. Ecological degradation and exploitation have the potential to destabilize states, amplify conflict, undermine economic livelihoods and competitiveness, worsen natural disasters, increase the danger of infectious disease outbreaks, and exacerbate tensions over resources such as water, fish, timber, and arable land. Threats to biodiversity and the ecosystem processes that support human life—such as climate regulation, freshwater management, and pollination—are so consequential that they essentially constitute security risks for all nations. As such, international conservation efforts that enhance ecological security should rightly be viewed as essential elements buttressing national and global security writ large. 

See the Ecological Security Program’s reports and other features below.