The Certain Uncertainty: The Political Ecology of Environmental Security

Abstract

Aligning with the effort to establish warfare ecology as a disciplined bridge to advance ecological science to inform policy decisions and implementation and offset negative environmental consequences, this chapter suggests linking two propositions. The first is that the praxis of security should be understood as extreme efforts within a state's larger management of uncertainty about the future. By focusing on a motivation for government action rather than a locus of bureaucratic activity, such an approach may open the possibility for a more nuanced discussion about the idea of security. Within this wider frame, it is possible to recognize relationships among sources of uncertainty and alternative responses. Further, there is the conceptual flexibility for issues to be escalated when great uncertainty is identified and de-escalated as the means to address an uncertainty are developed and incorporated into normal routines of public administration. The second proposition is that the planning, design, and use of the environment are fundamental aspects of a state's response to uncertainty and vulnerability. We examine military lands and their surrounding regions as sites where the management of multiple uncertainties are negotiated for the needs of national defense and ecological sustainability. Equally, for military operations themselves, we also give brief consideration to the environments where military forces are adapting themselves for future engagements and their implications for warfare ecology. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011.