Translator: soheila Jafari
Reviewer: Ivana Korom Today we hear a lot about
the term security. Nuclear security. Securing ourselves against
the threat of terrorism. Projecting military force, in order to
achieve security – or so we think. But what makes us feel secure? What makes you feel secure? What keeps us from harm? Today I’d like to talk about an idea
called Human Security. Given the extent and nature
and pattern of the threats that we really face on this planet, if you believe
what climate science tells you, if you believe
what we read in terms of the damage that we are doing to our planet, there is a real role for us
to be considering other forms of security. Ultimate forms of security. Now this idea – Human Security –
it’s not mine. It was popularized about twenty years ago by the UN Development Programme. But it is something
which I hope will be able to infuse you with a new sense
of how we ought to be treating the concept of security
when we hear about it on television or any of the other news feeds
that come to us and you hear that word security, security. So let’s unpack it a little bit, let’s talk about how
this concept of security differs somewhat from traditional
forms of security - which tend to emphasize the state, the institutions of the state, alliances, borders, territory, weapons. Leave that to one side and go beyond that, to where human security focuses: the individual – the well-being
of the individual. Whether a person has a job
to live in dignity. Whether a person can access
food that’s cheap enough, that’s accessible, that’s good quality. Can the person access a glass of water? Is there health in that person’s life? These are all elements of human security. Education – especially for girls – to give them choice and voice and thereby assure their own security. But most of all ensuring that we have
a safe habitat in which to live. A safe environment –
where our future generations can live and move comfortably and safely. We have tried on this planet, the community of nations
to look for goals. The last time
that we had a really big effort to make that connection between where we came from and security was when the United Nations
was founded about 70 years ago. At that time, rising from the smouldering
ashes of the Second World War – we as a community of nations – set for ourselves a goal
that had four elements. They are right there in the preamble
to the Charter, you can read them. They still inspire me to work
with the United Nations. Peace, Human Rights, Justice
and Development. All still relevant, especially
when you see what you see when you watch the news today. But if we could go back
and add another one – a fifth – I’d suggest that we add
securing our home on this planet. Making our environment safe,
because without that, pretty much all of those
other four goals become somewhat diminished
and perhaps less relevant, and if you believe that, then maybe we should start talking about the environment as an issue that related
to security to hard core security, not one of the soft green luxury
items on the national agenda – a hard core security issue. That’s what I believe. And I came to this realization
over a period of years. I had a tipping point of my own,
more like a tipping phase. For when I joined the UN back in 1987 I had a view of security
that was more traditionally cast. It looked at what I described earlier, and conscious of the need
for us to do something to protect ourselves
from what had happened before, I joined up. I became a drug control officer
for the United Nations and I spent many, many years in countries in Africa and Asia predominately. And during those years I was focusing largely
on variations on one issue. One issue. Slavery. Slavery of people to chemicals
and addiction and the damage and destruction that that causes
in people’s lives. And slavery of people to other people, through human trafficking – – which was another area of work
that we dealt with. I saw some pretty horrifying things
and tried to make a contribution. But as all that was happening
I started to wonder whether was in fact in some cases –
not all, but some – working with colleagues to deal
with a symptom of a problem rather than the problem itself. Why would I think that? I say this because when you consider
what drives people to extremes, what drives people to get up
and move and migrate and become vulnerable, those are the forces that allow others
to take advantage of them, to convince them to become drug carriers. To convince them that
they should migrate and come crashing into the lives of other people,
causing other problems. Some of the other drivers
that I observed – in various places on the planet – where over population –
the pressure of population – driving people to shanty towns, poor resource management,
driving people away from areas that they had lived in habitually
for centuries to find new homes, but in doing so, entering other people's
comfort zones, creating tension and creating pressure
and the possibility of conflict. So I saw all these connections
and I started to think maybe I should be looking at other dimensions. And that’s when I took my new job
and I look around within the country
that I’m privilege to serve in, and I see some of those dimensions here
as well as other parts of the Middle East. I see those dimensions
in the face of a gentleman like this one. This gentleman’s name is Hossein Keikha and he is a resident
of Sistan va Baluchestan, in the southeast part of Iran which is essentially a desert area on the border between Afghanistan,
Iran and Pakistan. But get this. Hossein is a fisherman. He is a fisherman
in the wetlands, called the Hamouns. These wetlands
have been there for centuries. They have allowed Hossein
and others like him, his family, relatives, and friends, to carry out a sustainable livelihood. But Hossein has a problem with security. He has a problem with human security. He cannot feed his family. Why can he not feed his family? For years he was operating
in an environment like this one – where there is bountiful water,
there are fish, there is a way of bringing life to people. But that is no longer the case, because upstream in Afghanistan
and part of Iran – which still feeds the Hamouns – the water has been siphoned off
for agriculture. This is what Hossein faces now. What you see on the screen
is a barren desert area with a lot of dead fish – fish that could have fed Hossein’s family. I was driving there
about three months ago. As we were going 30-40 kilometres
into what used to be wetlands, the vehicle was kicking up dust
in all of that the car so there was a massive cloud of dust
as we were driving. That is what made Hossein cry
when I saw him a year ago. That is the cause
and root cause of his human insecurity. Let me take you up into the sky
where the satellites roam and give you an impression
of the extent of his vulnerability. Image on the left is a shot
of the Hamouns – the blue area you see. The red is the border
and you see the country's name. Iran on the left.
Afghanistan on the right. This is what it looks like today. Water is gone. So a guy like Hossein Keikha
has to figure out what is he going to do. He cannot support his family. He gets a subvention from the government. But it’s not enough. He has to now consider moving his family and when he does so,
he becomes vulnerable. They becomes vulnerable. And this is happening in many parts
of the country and the region. And indeed the world. Let me take you now
to another part of the country. That’s where we were just talking about. The Hamouns. Let me take you to the northwest part
of Iran where Lake Urmia sits. Lake Urmia, once was the largest
saltwater lake in the Middle East, sits in a bowl fed by rivers, salt water in the middle. What happens to this type
of beautiful scenery when the water stops entering the lake because of farming? Twice as much farming now
as it was twenty years ago. But the type of plants
that are being used for farming require six times as much water. Eventually the water runs out. I took that photograph about a year ago. Waves used to crash against the jetty
that you see on screen. When I was there, the wind whipped up and I tasted salt,
as do all the citizens around that lake. What is their future going to be like? Are they going to consider migrating? Human insecurity. As I said, this you can find
in the Middle East where climate science predicts that we’re going to see
a hotter drier future. Hotter drier future. How will we adapt? I could talk about many other
types of threats we face, on this planet:
desertification, deforestation, loss of plants and animals, loss of the ocean, sea level rise. I come from a small island
in the Caribbean, called Barbados. And my family pretty much all live there, we have a heritage, a culture and we have a thought
for future generations. What will their future be like when a rise in sea level creates
storm surge that batters the coast where all of our economic
infrastructure lies? And sea pitch into
the sweet water aquifers contaminates the only source
of water we have. The island is 20 kilometers
by 30 kilometers. It’s a tiny place.
Where will we go? So, question is, for all of us here, what about our comfort zone? Are we at risk of this level
of human insecurity? So I’d like to suggest
that there are two takeaways from what I’m sharing with you,
in all humility today. The first is, we need to get moving
and fix this problem. And the second is that,
in order to fix it perhaps the best thing that we can do is change our mindset. Now looking at this, I’d like to take you up
into the sky again, to focus on the extent
of the nature of the problem. We have Lake Urmia in black and that’s what it looks like today. 90 percent of the water has gone. So we are in a fix. However, there are solutions. There are solutions,
right here for Lake Urmia. What’s happening? On the ground in this country, a number of partners are joining
to fix the problem and to fix it, what we do is we try to work with farmers,
the government is working, the provincial government
surrounding the basin are working, the UN is there, as well are a far-sighted donor from afar which is seeing that environmental
problems do not stop at borders. And they want to help too.
What we are doing? We are working with the farmers to make
the water use more efficient. Thereby, releasing some water
to flow back into the lake. Thereby over time, hopefully,
filling it back up. So the question then becomes for us,
what do we do? What do each of us do? There are going to be architects
and engineers in this hall. How can you contribute
to making a future greener? There are going to be politicians
looking at this form afar. Will you be able to negotiate among all those competing interests
to make a right choice and a correct decision
about the allocation of resources to make the future greener? Same thing goes for those world leaders that will be meeting later this year in New York and Paris to chart a course for future Sustainable Development Goals
and a secure environment. Businessmen, women are your
operations green? Can you be contributing
to a low-carbon economy? Can you find a way to make less of a footprint on this environment? You and me. Reduce, recycle, reuse. Plant trees. Talk to your kids over the kitchen table
about what’s going on on our planet. These are the things
that I believe are necessary from each and every one of us. When I was younger, I had a different way
of looking at security. But now, passage of time, seeing some of things I’ve seen, and the real drivers of the symptoms
we are trying to tackle, we need to get this together, folks. The extent and nature and pattern
of the threat is too extreme. We may think
that we are masters of this planet but I think in reality we have become
the terror of the eco-system. And in order to change that, let's mount a great heroic quest to change things and to focus
on a real security issue, which if we don’t get right, may threaten our civilization
into the 21 century. And in that great heroic quest, all are welcome. All hands count. (Applause)
