Governments dance on the tightrope between national security and the environment

- Talk-Think-Shishir Ramavat

- The attitude of governments around the world is clear: people and border security first, everything else second. The news is that now many countries of the world are becoming a little conscious about the adverse effects of military operations on the environment. At least, true on paper.

First of all, take a look at these two or three events that happened in the recent past. one. Narendra Modi recently approved the construction of a 4.2 km long Shinkul La tunnel in Ladakh. Due to this tunnel, Ladakh will get year-round connectivity and movement of military vehicles to Kargil-Sia China will be faster and easier. Another incident. Last November, the Supreme Court gave the necessary environmental clearance for widening (ie cutting down trees) of the Himalayan roads leading to Char Dham. This road will enable military vehicles to reach the Indo-China border quickly in case of emergency. Now the third incident happened before that. In 2020, Modiji gave the green light to the construction of Atal Tunnel. The nine kilometer long Atal Tunnel connects Manali in Himachal Pradesh with Leh in Ladakh region.

Now, keeping these three events in the background, recall the recent sit-in by Ladakhi environmentalist, teacher and innovator Sonam Wangchuk. Sonam Wangchuk is a respected and genuine person who says that the icy glaciers of Ladakh region are melting at an alarming rate so please do not mine in the region and put a brake on construction and rampant commercial activities.

Obviously, mountains have to be carved to make tunnels, roads have to be widened, and many creatures, including trees, have naturally been lost. So why not develop infrastructure in Himalayan hilly areas like Ladakh out of concern for the environment? It is not only about tourism, the main thing is about national security. We have to be ready militarily when China and Pakistan are constantly making threats in the border area. As part of this preparation, tunnels have to be made by digging mountains and roads have to be made by cutting trees.

Until now, the military activities of countries around the world have been exempted, by default, from this concern when it comes to protecting the environment in general. The logic of the heads of the country and the army is very simple: who should be given priority now - national security or air-water-trees-leaves? Do we have to worry about the existence of living beings, their well-being or the sparrow-cat-leopard? Their answer should be clear: of course, the integrity of the country, its borders and the people should be given priority first... The number of water-air-land-non-human ecosystem is far behind.

The news is that this approach is gradually changing. Many countries of the world are now becoming more and more conscious about the adverse effects of military operations on the environment. At least, on paper. Now that Russia and Ukraine are at war, this war is likely, but according to the Global Risk Report, the biggest threat facing the world in the next ten years is - climate change and the resulting fragmentation of ecosystems.

The pressure of environmental awareness has fallen on all sectors. The army also came into it. The European Union has already formulated a 'Climate Change and Defense Roadmap', environmental policies have also been implemented in the militaries of European countries. The major drawback is that it is not known for sure how effective these policies have been and the exact difference they have made in military operations.

The military carbon footprint contributes about 5.5 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Understand this statistic in this way - suppose if the armies of the whole world were to be assembled into one country, it would have the world's fourth largest national carbon footprint. Greenhouse gases are gases such as carbon dioxide, methane that 'trap' the sun's heat, preventing it from escaping back into space. Mankind has polluted the environment, so the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is constantly increasing, due to which global warming is increasing.

Environmental pressures on the military sector are due to the fact that the Klamath crisis must be dealt with by all industrial and economic sectors, including the international military sector. Governments allocate a large share of the budget for defence. Militias also burn a lot of expensive fossil fuels. There is an international organization called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). All countries have to report to Dahyadmara. Now look at this fact - just ten countries account for 60 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. What ten countries? Listen to: China, America, India, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Iran, Canada and Saudi Arabia. It means that India's number is third in the world among the countries that produce the most greenhouse gases!

Have national security concerns been sacrificed to give preference to the environment? Let's recall the 'Trump Wall' in this context. Just as Pakistanis and Bangladeshis cross the border into India illegally, people have been illegally entering the US by crossing the land border of Mexico. Apart from illegal immigration, drug trafficking is also rampant here. The former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has already announced: Build a wall on the US-Mexico border! Trump's decision was implemented amid many controversies. The US-Mexico border is 3145 kilometers long, of which there was a plan to remove the old fencing and build a 30 feet high wall in one thousand kilometers. Alas, 724 kilometers of the wall was also bricked, but in January 2021, Joe Biden was elected as the President of the United States. As soon as he arrived, the first thing he did was to stop the construction of this wall. Opposition to the construction of the wall, known as the Trump Wall, included the opposition, civil rights groups, the Mexican government, immigrant rights groups, and environmentalists, among others. Environmentalists said that due to this wall, the natural ecosystem here will suffer a lot. Some of the animals that roam free on the poor US-Mexico border will have their very existence threatened. The wall will also obstruct the flow of naturally flowing water, creating a risk of flooding, etc. Joe Biden's number one reason for stopping the construction of the Trump Wall was not environmental protection, but his actions did stop potential environmental damage in the area.

Similarly, there have been bases of the US military on the island of Okinawa in Japan and on the island of Virex in Puerto Rico. In both places there is opposition from local people and organizations working for the environment. The US military has suspended operations on the island of Puerto Rico, but has not yet departed from the island of Okinawa.

The balance between defense and environment is a very complex issue. Exploit the environment only where absolutely necessary. Not to tamper with the environment for human indulgence, luxury or just for the purpose of making money. The sooner and better this balance is achieved, the better it is for all - man, air-water-land and animals.