The term "Environmental Security" refers to a range of concerns that can be organized into three general categories: (1) concerns about tile adverse impact of human activities on the environment, seen as an asset to be inherited by tile next generations; (2) concerns about the direct and indirect effects of various forms of environmental change (especially scarcity and degradation), which may be natural or human-generated on national and regional security; (3) concerns about the loss of security individuals and groups (from small communities to humankind) experience due to environmental change such as water scarcity, air pollution, global warming, and so on. In order to provide sustainability, environmental security represents the intersection between social and political systems with ecological systems. All individuals should have fair and reasonable access to environmental goods, and mechanisms to address disputes/crises/ conflicts exist or should be created. The activities encompassed by environmental security may also be pollution prevention, environment conservation, compliance with existing regulations and norms, and environmental restoration. This advanced research workshop was developed due to recognition of the environmental security challenges faced by transition countries and in the hope that together we can identify practical approaches to prioritizing, assessing, and correcting significant environmental problems, which make the best use of limited financial and other resources.
