Environment and Security Initiative

(OSCE)

The Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative grew out of discussions at the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum. It was launched in May 2003, simultaneously at the Fifth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Kiev and the OSCE 11th Economic and Environmental Forum in Prague. Founded initially by the OSCE, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment, the partnership was later on joined by other organizations. Currently, it is a partnership of OSCE, UNDP, UN Environment, and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Its primary objective is to tackle environment and security risks through promoting environmental co-operation among and within the countries of four regions, namely Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Over the years, the ENVSEC Initiative has accumulated a good network of national stakeholders representing governmental agencies, civil society and academia as well as a rich knowledge and expertise in addressing issues that are at the interface of environment and security.

The ENVSEC Initiative delivers vulnerability assessments of environment and security risks. It strengthens the capacities of national institutions for more effective environment and security policies. It provides technical expertise for clean-up and remediation. It also increases knowledge and awareness of the linkages between environment and security risks and promotes participation of interested actors in activities that aim at preventing and reducing these risks. Based on the national and regional consultations conducted across four sub-regions, the ENVSEC Initiative focuses on five priority areas. These are:

Transboundary natural resources
Climate change
Disaster risk reduction
Hazardous substances and practices
Information and participation for environment and security

Mandate

The 2003 OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension and the 2007 Madrid Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Security refer to the ENVSEC Initiative and call for its further development. In addition, there are a number of OSCE Ministerial Council Decisions that make references to the work accomplished within the framework of the ENVSEC Initiative. For example, the value of ENVSEC in the context of water management and transboundary water co-operation is underlined by the 2007 Madrid Ministerial Council Decision on Follow-up to the Fifteenth Economic and Environmental Forum: Water Management, and the 2008 Ministerial Council Decision on Follow-up to the Sixteenth Economic and Environmental Forum on Maritime and Inland Waterways Co-operation, while the 2014 Basel Ministerial Council Decision on Enhancing Disaster Risk Reduction refers to ENVSEC’s use in the context of supporting participating States in disaster risk reduction.

The ENVSEC Initiative has resulted in drafting, endorsement and ratification of the Dniester River Basin treaty between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine; climate and security risk assessments in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus; reinforced community-based disaster risk reduction in South Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia; stakeholder engagement in the remediation of uranium legacy sites in Central Asia; and enhanced public awareness and environment and security matters and active citizen participation in decision-making.