Nexus between security and climate change explored by OSCE Academy alumni

Alumni of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek discussed the principles of a well-governed security sector with a specific focus on climate change as a risk-multiplier for instability in Central Asia at the Summer School on Human Security and Climate Change held from 1 to 5 July in Chunkurchak, Ala-Archa and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.   

Twenty participants from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan learned about practical tools related to Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) and how these can be applied in the Central Asian context. Sessions touched upon the holistic nature of SSG/R and addressed human security aspects specifically regarding climate and the environment, including in high mountain areas, which were identified as priority climate security hotspots in a report conducted by the OSCE and Berlin-based thinktank adelphi.

Mir Ahmad Daimirian, an alumnus from Afghanistan said: “There is a dire need for expanding the knowledge and best practices of good security sector governance in Central Asia, more particularly to emphasize and highlight the importance of good security sector governance in the face of the emerging environmental problems across the region”.

The interactive course offered analytical and problem-solving tools that were developed based on the experience of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance and the OSCE in SSG/R, climate, environment, and security. Building on the ‘Regional consultation on climate change and security in Central Asia’ report, participants also discussed key points for co-operation and youth engagement in high mountain areas. To demonstrate the direct consequences of climate change and environmental degradation in high mountain areas, the course included a multi-day strategic planning exercise as well as a field visit to the Ala-Archa National Park, where the participants witnessed the impact climate change can have on the natural ecosystems and consequences of human activities first-hand.

The summer school was co-organized by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC), the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek. The course was co-funded through DCAF; two OSCE extra-budgetary projects, the former being “Support, capacity-building and awareness-raising for Security Sector Governance and Reform (SSG/R) within the OSCE: Phase III”, funded by Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland and Slovakia; and the latter being “Strengthening Responses to Security Risks from Climate Change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia”, funded by Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.