GECHS

The Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) project is a core project of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Change (IHDP). The goal of GECHS is to conduct research into, and promote a recognition of, environmental change as an issue of equity, sustainability, and human security.

GECHS considers human security to be a state that is achieved when and where individuals and communities have the options necessary to end, mitigate or adapt to threats to their human, environmental and social rights; have the capacity and freedom to exercise these options; and actively participate in pursuing these options. As with most definitions of human security, the focus is on security for individuals and communities, rather than on states.

Most definitions of human security are based on the concept of freedom from fear and freedom from want, however, the GECHS definition focuses specifically on freedom to take action on one’s own behalf in response to changing environmental conditions. In particular, it focuses on the ways that environmental changes contribute to (or exacerbate) pervasive threats and critical situations, while at the same time undermining the capacity to respond to these threats. It interprets environmental change in the context of ongoing social changes, which together may affect the security of some individuals and communities.

Visit our collection of links to explore the breadth of human security research and practice.