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Five Urgent Questions on Ecological Security
Summary
This paper poses five urgent research questions on ecological security, including antimicrobial resistance amplification, physiological consequences of pollution including microplastics, loss of nature's contributions to wellbeing, ecological tipping points, and cascading security risks.
The increasing pressure of ecological disruption on people and on security means that ideas and policy on peace and security must increasingly address the need for ecological security. This paper poses five research questions concerning: (a) amplification of anti-microbial resistance (patho-gens that are increasingly drug-resistant); (b) the physiological consequences of pollution; (c) the loss of nature’s con-tribution to people’s well-being; (d) local and regional eco-logical tipping points; and (e) detri-mental organisms and pro-cesses that thrive in the rapidly changing planet. Each question has a human health dimension, with likely socio-economic impacts and effects on behaviour, as well as potential effects on security and political stability. Under-standing these issues is essential if appropriate responses are to be developed. More research is needed in both the natural and the social sciences, with interdisciplinary work that is in close contact with the policy world. The situation is urgent and policy responses cannot wait until all the answers are known and uncertainty has been fully eliminated.
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