“Gross abuses of human rights, the large-scale displacement of civilian populations, international terrorism, the AIDS pandemic, drug and arms trafficking and environmental disasters present a direct threat to human security, forcing us to adopt a much more coordinated approach to a range of issues.”

“Human security, in its broadest sense, embraces far more than the absence of violent conflict. It encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfill his or her potential. Every step in this direction is also a step towards reducing poverty, achieving economic growth and preventing conflict. Freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy natural environment -- these are the interrelated building blocks of human – and therefore national – security.”

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The proliferation of peace in the world is dependent on human security, the primary goal of which is the protection of individuals. Threats to human security can ultimately mean instability and this is particularly so in our own neighbourhood amongst the nations of the Asia Pacific region, where more than 700 million people live in poverty on less than $1 a day. Threats to human security include extreme poverty, health crises, environmental degradation and climate change and ultimately a failure to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. www.caritas.org.au

Climate change, one of the most pressing global issues at the moment is a problem created by rich countries and transferred to the poor ones. Poor communities are those most vulnerable to climate change despite the fact they have contributed least to it. In Bangladesh for example, mangroves are dying off due to higher sea levels, putting those that live on the most vulnerable land, the only place they can call home, at extreme risk. Arable land is receding due to increases in salinity. Traditional fishing grounds are dying off as the coral succumbs to the climate chaos.

In India, small scale farmers are killing themselves by the score as they succumb to another year of drought – little food, no money, limited education for their children and limited access to health services. This is the human face of climate change. People, the world’s most vulnerable, dying of starvation.

Caritas works within many developing nations facing the consequences of climate change, assisting those affected to mitigate and prepare for the future as well as making a difference to their lives today.

Education is the first step. In the Asia Pacific region, Caritas is working with local farmers as they face the impacts of trade agreements, genetically modified foods and intellectual property rights of seeds. Although having used these seeds for centuries, the farmer’s access to them is under threat from large agricultural companies.

Implementation is the second phase. In places like Bangladesh communities are being assisted to replant mangroves lost to deforestation, climate change and the quest for progress. This simple task can protect vulnerable communities whose land is threatened and improve their nutrition through better crop diversification and efficiencies.

In Nepal, crop yields have improved more than 200% in areas where Caritas is working, results achieved by improving land use, maximizing crop growing periods, rejecting chemicals and using organic fertilizers. This work is also bringing communities together, strengthening them through education and training, nurturing their own path to development.

While the developing world has a role to play, rich nations, who have benefited from 200 years of industrialization must take the lead. They must reduce their emissions of CO2 immediately or the poor world will pay the cost. What is required is at least a 50% global reduction on 1990 levels by 2050. Developed countries must reduce their CO2 output by 30% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050 based again on 1990 levels.

Developing nations must also be able to chart their own paths to development based on the pace of their economic growth, their country’s development objectives, and the capacity of their economic and social sectors.

Food security must be a crucial goal, preventing the loss of livelihoods, and competition from foreign corporations and products should be exempted from trade liberalization, the process of reducing barriers to trade such as quotas and tariffs. In the Asia Pacific region for example, tens of millions of people are vulnerable to food insecurity.

Smaller and weaker economies require more time to build-up their domestic markets. Rapid trade liberalization, without adequately preparing developing countries’ economies, has resulted in adverse effects for the large section of the regions population – especially the poor and the marginalized.  Products and services of strong countries have taken over and flooded the markets of weaker members with huge effect.

The flooding of markets in the Philippines with foreign produce, particularly non-traditional staples such as potato, illustrates this. Swamping these markets at such cheap prices has meant a reduction in demand for traditional staples such as rice. This puts farmers in an untenable position. If these farmers can’t sell their produce, they can’t pay their rent and they are forced off their land.

These situations also contribute to significant shifts of population from rural areas in to cities, and also across borders, as people seek work and opportunities. In many countries, the movement of urban populations places a strain on health services. Infections can be transmitted to large numbers of people in a short period of time.

HIV AIDS and the resurgence of tuberculosis and malaria are currently posing the greatest immediate health threats on the planet. Long-term control and management of these diseases require effective preventative measures through education.