The global economy and our "human security"

By Samuel A. Worthington, CEO of InterAction - 07/08/11 03:19 PM ET

Prospective 2012 U.S. presidential candidates who want to limit our engagement abroad and those lawmakers who propose cuts to the 2012 foreign affairs budget have forgotten a basic budgeting rule. It is often less expensive to preserve something than it is to restore or replace it later. Instead of cutting U.S. foreign policy investments, why not focus on making them more effective? Integrating global development and conservation policies would be a good start. By doing this, America would protect its current investments and ensure success over the longterm. And no, this would not burden U.S. taxpayers. In fact, such an approach could create jobs in America by opening up more markets for U.S. exports. Last year, 48 percent of our exports went to developing countries. Estimates are that this percentage will increase as those economies get stronger. Healthy ecosystems are critical for economic growth in the developing world. They filter drinking water, replenish soils, pollinate crops and provide the materials for economic activity. More than half of the workforce in the developing world is employed in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The growth of U.S. businesses and jobs are increasingly dependent on developing economies and rely on global supply chains for goods and services. National security of the human kind also threatens economic growth. Human security includes access to food and water, protection from disaster and freedom to determine ones own use of natural resources. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in 2008 that,I believe the most persistent and potentially dangerous threats will come less from ambitious states than from failing ones that cannot meet the basic needsmuch less aspirationsof their people. Food price hikes were in part responsible for igniting the political turmoil in the Middle East recently. Violent conflicts fueled by a shortage of natural resources, or the lack of control over them, have occurred in Pakistan, Somalia, Darfur and Iraq during the past decade.

A common thread in conflicts tied to natural resources has been water scarcity. In just under 15 years, the United Nations says nearly 2 billion people will be short of water. This list includes Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, the top-half of China, a portion of India, and a number of states in the U.S. Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and the western half of Texas. Americas natural resource commodity base will remain strong despite predictions that some states will face water shortages. The same cannot be said for many developing countries where, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, natural resources account for 26 percent of their base assets. In the U.S. that figure is about 2 percent. Rather than turn a blind eye to fishing vessels sailing into places like Somalia and raiding their fisheries creating space for the Somali pirates who were menacing enough in 2010 for us and other developed nations to spend roughly $2 billion to protect our shipsour assistance should help countries protect their own ecosystems. A majority of U.S. lawmakers support foreign assistance programs, but many still view environmental concerns as secondary to development. They often put trade and economic policies at odds with environmental and conservation policies. Yet, aligning conservation and development policies and programming is one element that would improve the effectiveness of foreign aid. For U.S. policy to have the greatest long-term benefit to families in the developing world, it is imperative for policymakers, government agencies, foundations and NGOs to move to forward with a comprehensive policy integration. The great challenge of the 21st century will be to lift 3 billion people out of povertyand provide a livelihood for billions moreagainst a backdrop of severe resource degradation. Those of us who work in development know our current system of foreign assistance will not pass this test. Its time to try something different. Samuel A. Worthington is the president and CEO of InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.based international nongovernmental organizations working abroad. The Nature of Development, InterActions new paper about integrating conservation and development policies, is available at www.interaction.org/conservation-development
Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/170461-the-global-economy-and-our-qhumansecurityq