המכון לחקר ביטחון סביבתי ואיכות חיים
In the framework of the Institute for Environmental Security and Well-being Studies, we provide services dealing with various subjects, such as: environmental security in the developing world, environmental policy, environmental education, religions and the environment, well-being and more. We use the terms environmental security, well-being and environmental psychology a lot. We believe that these three terms must be an inseparable part of the concepts of human security and national security. This short document is aimed at defining these terms and showing how we use them in our work.
In the recent decades, security is not only associated with the military but also with the people's human security. The concept of human security was defined in the United Nations Development Program's 1994 Human Development Report as including: economic security (an assured basic income for individuals); food security (all people at all times have both physical and economic access to basic food); health security (guarantee of a minimum protection from diseases and unhealthy lifestyles); environmental security (protecting people from the short and long-term ravages of nature, man-made threats in nature and deterioration of the natural environment); personal security (protecting people from physical violence), community security (protecting people from the loss of traditional relationships and values and from sectarian and ethnic violence); and political security (assures that people live in a society that honors their basic human rights). For example, the COVID-19 articulates even more the reality in which we live. Therefore, the concept of security is a very comprehensive one and relates to all walks of life. As a result, the environmental security concept includes both traditional national securities associated with the military and defense of a country’s borders and people as well as human security and the security of the natural environment.
There are several definitions to environmental security, but we define the term as:
-
The relationship between human beings and the natural environment – how do changes in the environment, that some of them are caused by human activity, affect human beings and their sense of security.
-
The relationship among human beings – the social environment in which the people live.
-
The relationship between armies and security forces and the natural environment – preventing damages to the environment as a result of military and security activity and protection of the environment.
According to our definition, environmental security must be an inseparable part of the national security concept of every country.
The concept of environmental security includes the following components: water security, food security, energy security, population density, well-being, air and water pollution, sea level rise, urban innovation, etc.
The term environmental security appeared for the first time together with the term sustainability in the Bruntland Commission report titled "Our Common Future" which was published in 1987. However, this concept existed from ancient times although not under the title environmental security. It appeared in the writings of the famous Greek philosopher Plato and it is incorporated in the different religions.
Well-being
The term well-being has several definitions. The common ground of all these definitions is that people feel life is going well for them in all walks of life, including but not limited to: presence of positive emotions and moods, absence of negative emotions, satisfaction with life, fulfillment, positive functioning, etc. In other words, well-being is dependent on the following determinants: physical well-being, economic well-being, social well-being, development and activity, emotional well-being, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, domain specific satisfaction, engaging activities and work. Therefore, well-being can be understood both from an objective and from a subjective point of view.
There are various indices aimed at tracking, measuring, improving and preserving the people's general level of well-being in the personal and national levels. According to the Harvard Business Review, although “policymakers and economists often treat GDP as an all-encompassing unit signifying a nation’s development, combining its economic prosperity and societal well-being”, they don’t seem to realize that the GDP “merely measures the size of a nation’s economy and doesn’t reflect a nation’s welfare” and the regular person’s well-being.
The Kingdom of Bhutan was the first country that determined its policy according to the well-being of its people by the introduction of the Gross National Happiness Index in 2008, measuring psychological health, living standards, community vitality and environmental and cultural resilience. New Zealand followed Bhutan's lead and is the first western country to design its entire budget around well-being priorities. The OECD has also a special Framework for Measuring Well-Being and Progress, which is built around three components: current well-being, inequalities in well-being outcomes, and resources for future well-being.
Additionally, well-being is also closely connected to environmental security. Human well-being is dependent on the ecosystems’ ability to function and to provide its services. If these functions are damaged, it will significantly harm human well-being. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, significant harm to human well-being also includes within it human security.
Furthermore, good health and well-being is the third goal within the Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We see well-being as an inseparable part of environmental security, of human security and of every country's national security.
Environmental psychology
The term well-being has several definitions. The common ground of all these definitions is that people feel life is going well for them in all walks of life, including but not limited to: presence of positive emotions and moods, absence of negative emotions, satisfaction with life, fulfillment, positive functioning, etc. In other words, well-being is dependent on the following determinants: physical well-being, economic well-being, social well-being, development and activity, emotional well-being, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, domain specific satisfaction, engaging activities and work. Therefore, well-being can be understood both from an objective and from a subjective point of view.
There are various indices aimed at tracking, measuring, improving and preserving the people's general level of well-being in the personal and national levels. According to the Harvard Business Review, although “policymakers and economists often treat GDP as an all-encompassing unit signifying a nation’s development, combining its economic prosperity and societal well-being”, they don’t seem to realize that the GDP “merely measures the size of a nation’s economy and doesn’t reflect a nation’s welfare” and the regular person’s well-being.
The Kingdom of Bhutan was the first country that determined its policy according to the well-being of its people by the introduction of the Gross National Happiness Index in 2008, measuring psychological health, living standards, community vitality and environmental and cultural resilience. New Zealand followed Bhutan's lead and is the first western country to design its entire budget around well-being priorities. The OECD has also a special Framework for Measuring Well-Being and Progress, which is built around three components: current well-being, inequalities in well-being outcomes, and resources for future well-being.
Additionally, well-being is also closely connected to environmental security. Human well-being is dependent on the ecosystems’ ability to function and to provide its services. If these functions are damaged, it will significantly harm human well-being. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, significant harm to human well-being also includes within it human security.
Furthermore, good health and well-being is the third goal within the Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We see well-being as an inseparable part of environmental security, of human security and of every country's national security.
Basic Definitions
January 20021
Environmental security