Central Asia Environmental Security Technical Workshop: Responding to the CENTCOM Vision

摘要

Environmental security is not formally classified as a ''vital mission'' in the USCENTCOM ranking of priorities in its area of responsibility. Rather, it is ranked as an ''other/important'' mission in Central Asia, thereby supporting the war making efforts in the region by improving stability of the regimes in the region. Environmental security is, however, the USCENTCOM primary mechanism for engagement in the region. USCENTCOM sees environmental issues as among the most destabilizing issues in the region; anything that can be done to ameliorate them, works to enhance stability. By environmental issues, USCENTCOM includes: water access, quality, and control, transboundary resource competition, migration of pollutants, land use, public health/HIV/Famine, and industrial pollution. Objectives of USCENTCOM work in Central Asia are: improving resource use, disaster response, international cooperation, and civil-military cooperation, particularly with the local military and between the local civilians and the U.S. military. Activities to date include assistance, education, and military-to-military contacts, bilateral and multilateral conferences on the issues, and interagency coordination in the region. The Comprehensive Threat Reduction program has been the backbone of its Central Asian funding.