Security Implications of Nature & Biodiversity Loss: A Strawman

This briefing note, by CCIP’s Damien Plant, argues for the urgent elevation of nature and biodiversity loss as independent, existential security threats distinct from - but interlinked with - climate change. While climate security has increasingly entered mainstream defence and policy discourse, the parallel risks from ecosystem degradation, species collapse, and biosphere destabilisation remain marginalised. Damien challenges the prevailing anthropocentric focus that treats nature-based solutions as subordinate tools in climate mitigation. Drawing on military, ecological, and geopolitical perspectives, the briefing note presents a strawman model to distinguish and visualise the unique (in)security dimensions of nature and biodiversity loss. It highlights critical but underappreciated threats, including the collapse of pollinator services, soil degradation, zoonotic pandemics, and the exploitation of global commons. Damien also critiques the siloed international governance architecture - namely the imbalance between the UNFCCC and the underpowered UNCBD and UNCCD - and calls for a more integrated response to environmental breakdown. As climate disruption intensifies and ecological tipping points approach, the paper concludes that security institutions -especially the military - must better understand, anticipate, and prepare for the destabilising effects of nature loss. Environmental security must move beyond climate to encompass the broader polycrisis now threatening the foundations of global order. Full briefing note here.