Back in January a report was published by the UK government covering the national security risks posed by biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. When you think of national security normally you think of threats from other nation states or terrorist organisations.

However, there are other threats to national security which are not as immediately obvious. The introduction on the website reads as follows:

“This strategic assessment explores how global biodiversity loss and the collapse of critical ecosystems could affect the UK’s resilience, security and prosperity.

It shows how environmental degradation can disrupt food, water, health and supply chains, and trigger wider geopolitical instability. It identifies 6 ecosystems of strategic importance for the UK and explores how their decline could drive cascading global impacts.

This assessment, which was developed by analysts and experts across HM Government, supports long-term resilience planning. Publishing the assessment highlights opportunities for innovation, green finance and global partnerships that can drive growth while safeguarding the ecosystems that underpin our collective security and prosperity.”

The link is here: Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security – GOV.UK

There are PDF and HTML versions, I recommend the PDF as it has some interesting graphics. The HTML option is a text-only accessible version. The report is only 10 pages long, but contains a lot of interesting information.

There are a few case study items covering the possible knock-on impacts of ecosystem failures in places remote from the UK, but could be the start of cascade events. An excerpt below: