The Institute for Environmental Security (IES) is an international non-profit non-governmental organisation established in 2002 in The Hague, in order to increase political attention to environmental security as a means to help safeguard essential conditions for peace and sustainable development.
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NEW: The current crisis in the eastern part of DR Congo can never be solved if household energy problems are not addressed. As people struggle for firewood and charcoal, the rates of deforestation in and around Virunga National Park are very high. This situation of energy scarcity will further contribute to the humanitarian catastrophe in the region... unless alternatives are developed soon. » Read more

NEW: With the current crises in finance, trade, environment and foreign policy, the US Presidential election result seems more important than ever to those in the rest of the world without a vote. What will the implications be for foreign policy and transatlantic relations? The IES co-organised a seminar in Brussels on 12 November 2008 to examine such issues. » Read more about this event

One of the great untold stories of environmental success is the role of the military in assuring the success of the Montreal Protocol. Today, the military are focusing on what they can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This workshop, scheduled to complement the EU Member States Defence Environmental Network (DEFNET) meeting, will be held in Paris on 3-5 Nov 2008. » Read more about this event

On 6 October 2008 over 50 representatives from the 'worlds' of conservation and security met at the Roundtable Workshop on Environment and Security at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. There was a consensus among the participants that cooperation on environment and security must go beyond reduction of the environmental impact of the military... » Read more about this event

For any new climate agreement to operate effectively there will have to be changes to the way the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund work. This seminar examined the climate-friendly changes needed by these organisations to underpin an agreement at the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties (COP) in December 2009. » Read more about this event

The IES Pathfinder Project on Combating Illegal Trade in Natural Resources focuses on using domestic legal systems of importing countries for the protection of natural resources in fragile states. The aim is to promote new legal mechanisms to block the import of illegally obtained natural resources and to 'dry up' funds that are used to finance conflict. » Read more about the IES Pathfinder Project

The IES EnviroSecurity Assessments focusing on the Matavén forest, Colombia, the African Great Lakes region and Kalimantan, Indonesia are available on this site. Meanwhile, the IES is working on an EnviroSecurity Assessment for the Lake Télé / Lake Tumba ecosystem in the Congo Basin. Case study reports, legal analyses, recommendations, maps, posters and the latest news are available here. »Environmental Security for Poverty Alleviation