Opening address

by Jean-François Bureau, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy at the NATO Security Science Forum on Environmental Security

Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure to welcome you all to this second NATO security science forum on environmental security and I want to thank you for your interest in this working day which we hope will prove to be fruitful. I can tell you that it will help us a lot to look at what we have to do in the coming years.

I would like, first, to underline that public environmental awareness is becoming a key factor of  public behaviour:
we see a growing concern from the public about environmental changes.

The public looks at the development of public policies which require inclusive attitudes from governments, private actors, including the citizens, and international organizations.

In this context, environment and security develop an even stronger relationship:

• the number of issues related to environment which are also linked to security challenges is growing: it will be one of our major themes today; it is one of which our public opinions begin to be aware. As will be said by General King, “environmental security is a component of our strategic defence analysis”.
• the number of circumstances where our defence and security policies have to take into account the environmental factor is obviously developing in the same way; it becomes a key factor of military efficiency and will, no doubt, increase its importance in the years ahead.
• As their mission is to provide peace and security, NATO nations are eager to do so with respect to the human environment, which is also a means of protecting our populations, and especially future generations.

Public awareness and increasing links between environment and security are binding international organizations whose responsibilities have to be defined in order:

• to be efficient: the end-result has to be a key factor in the decision, because we know that time is precious and that people do not expect words but results;
• to coordinate among themselves, because the required efforts – scientific, financial, human – cannot be spread in so many directions that nothing would be improved.

Being efficient and coordinated raises a question for every organization: what is its added value?

It is a question we are facing every day because NATO is not primarily an environmental organization: it’s a defence and security one, and as such we are facing it in many ways:

• when NATO defines its operational concepts, those which imply the use of military means to fulfill the mission, it deals with the environmental dimension of its operations;
• NATO faces it when it plans its future and coming military means, which require new technologies: it is important to note that major developments in military observations and surveillance capabilities (like satellites and UAVs) also provide capabilities to monitor environmental issues; those examples show that when we look at the relationship between environment and security we mainly deal with dual technologies, those which can be applied to civil as well as military purposes;
• when NATO develops its partnership programmes, environmental security is a major item: many examples will show that NATO and NATO nations have developed a wide spectrum of activities with caucasus, central asia, western balkans and mediterranean nations, but also, as you know, with russia and ukraine. environment has become a key dimension of our partnership policies.

Those major trends provide the background of our NATO science activities in the field of environment.

• I would like to tell you which are our decision criteria: the NATO science activities have to be selected according to their added value: from my point of view, they must enhance the security of NATO nations and of our partners; they must deal with items which need a dual technology component or development; they must be organized in a way which will transfer the scientific knowledge and activities in order to promote local ownership, in a “take off” effect (cf. south caucasus – transboundary water issues), or to talk like chemists, to provide a “catalytic” effect;
• they have to be a key component of our public diplomacy: environment and security are together shaping the living conditions of the coming generations. As such, they deal hugely with public awareness and our science activities must increase public knowledge of how NATO works and fulfills its missions, and – let me say frankly – public confidence towards NATO: NATO has demonstrated its ability to take care of human needs; it does it with environment and I think it is legitimate that the public knows that.

Last but not least, they must fit the NATO priorities when dealing with future challenges. Terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber-defence, maritime awareness and energy security are among the most challenging. NATO nations are deciding whether and how NATO should be a key contributor in these fields which will shape our future security. Decisions have been made to deal with most of those threats and challenges; some of them are still under consideration: the forthcoming Bucharest summit will define what has to be the NATO added-value in this domain which is expanding every day and, for those reasons, will be very demanding with regard to human, technological and financial resources. The NATO Science for Peace and Security programme will be shaped according to these decisions, as it has to contribute to the implementation of these priorities.

* * * * *

Ladies and gentlemen,

Environment and security are common goods which will decisively shape our citizens’ living conditions, especially those of the future generation. As they relate to human security, they are of major importance for NATO nations, which share the values of human rights, rule of law and democracy.

The challenges linking environment and security are numerous and need to be dealt with through scientific efforts. 

The NATO Science for Peace and Security programme (SPS) provides the forum for dialogue and for conducting cooperative projects responding to critical environmental security needs of NATO, Partner and Mediterranean Dialogue countries. I strongly support the idea that NATO SPS continues to cooperate and coordinate its activities with other international organizations in order to develop synergies, prevent duplication and achieve concrete and useful results.

The main objective of the security science forum is to cover key environmental issues which are also global security concerns (such as transboundary water issues, global climate change or natural catastrophes) in order to play a forward-looking, horizon-scanning role to propose a road map for future projects that will contribute to security and stability in the euro-atlantic zone and beyond.

I wish you all the greatest success in your deliberations today. you, participants, you are sharing your experience and your recommendations with us. I appreciate it and I am certain they will yield the seeds of new approaches and new programmes to help secure our shared future and to help the vital cooperation between allies and partners to continue to provide significant achievements, which merit public trust.