Environmental degradation, caused by climate change and land degradation, is a threat multiplier because of its huge impact on human security. It increases the conflict potential which is based on three conflict constellations: water scarcity; loss of land; and food insecurity. These conflict constellations can cause an increase of migration and deteriorate the governance of states and regional authorities which both have the potential to trigger or even increase violent conflicts. The main background drivers of climate change and land degradation are population growth and the rising living standards of large parts of the population.

This article describes four hot spot regions where environmental degradation has the largest impact on security: the Sahel; the Middle East; Central Asia; and the coastal zones of East, South and South-East Asia. It recommends that the European institutions and its member states should step up their support to these regions considerably by mitigating the environmental factors contributing to insecurity, notably land degradation and climate change. Climate change poses direct threats to security due to floods, decreasing agricultural productivity in the tropics and subtropics and as a consequence of its accelerating effect on extreme weather events.

On a more structural scale, it affects weather conditions, thus influencing the quality of soil and, consequently, the amount of fresh water and food it can supply. It thereby contributes to an ongoing process of land degradation, which is also caused by over-exploitation of land and other poor land-management practices. Land degradation is converting land even to desert on a large scale, especially along the margins of the deserts. According to first estimates, currently 12 million hectares of land per year are converted to desert (Brauch & Spring, 2009, p. 2).