TABLE OF CONTENTS STAGE SET FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MARCHI, WIRTH TELL CGCP SYMPOSIUM READERS WRITE CGCP NOW THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY LAND-USE AND LAND-COVER CHANGES: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADA SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON PROBLEMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT: A RENEWED CANADIAN PRESENCE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND HUMAN SECURITY PROJECT STARTS UP GECHS — AN OVERVIEW MONTREAL — GREENHOUSE GAS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT IMAGES OF A TIGER*: HELP FOR THE ACRONYMICALLY- CHALLENGED CCP INFO THE CANADA COUNTRY STUDY: CLIMATE IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE - HIGHLIGHTS THE EARTH SYSTEM: GEOLOGY LESSONS FOR OUR FUTURE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM "ELECTRICITY PRODUTION AND GREENHOUSE GASES : FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES" May 4-7 1997, Montreal, Québec RECENT PUBLICATIONS EVENTS CALENDAR

GECHS — An Overview Research on what has been termed "environmental security" has generally focused on issues of resource depletion and violent conflict. As many authors note, the root of most violent conflicts in history was competition for territory and resources, and such conflicts are likely to intensify as resources become increasingly scarce. What is new in this area is the acceptance that environmental stress caused by global environmental change may be a cause of conflict and insecurity. Because the term "environmental security" has been seen as too vague to have any analytical value, much of the research focus has been on assessing the relationships between environmental degradation and conflict. We are now moving towards what some call a "third wave" in research on environmental security. This will be characterized by improved methodological approaches, more empirically-based and participatory research, and better collaboration among scholars from interdisciplinary perspectives from both the North and the South. There is an urgent need for a project which will assist in the coordination and facilitation of this research. Goals The overall goal of the Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) research project is to promote international cooperation in research on environmental security by assisting in linking researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders; identifying research needs; providing a focus for interdisciplinary research; and facilitating the dissemination of research results. Activities To address the general goal noted above, GECHS will focus on two distinct, but related, sets of activities. The first set of activities will be directed towards the general need to facilitate links among researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders working on environmental security. These activities will be coordinated by a Working Group or Core Project Planning Committee, and will be ongoing. The second set of activities will promote international cooperation on one specific research activity within the broader environmental security framework. This specific research activity will run for two years, after which time it will be replaced by another specific topic. The specific research project will be coordinated by a separate Project Committee. Topics will initially be selected by the Working Group members, based on recommendations from researchers. Each topic will be selected from 6 to 12 months before research activity begins (except in the first cycle), and each special topic will have a similar set of activities. Two topics have been suggested as themes for the first two years: Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Security; and Environmental Change, Adaptation and Security. Deliverables The general project activities are expected to generate the following: a workshop on Global Environmental Change and Human Security — March, 1997, in Toronto, Ontario edited volume on Global Environmental Change and Human Security (papers commissioned for above workshop) newsletter/Web site development preparation of a detailed research plan international conference Specific research activities are expected to: facilitate international research organize and carry out a set of empirical studies disseminate research Key partners in the GECHS project to date include the Canadian Global Change Program, the Netherlands HDP, the International Peace Research Institute (Oslo), the International Consortium for the Study of Environmental Security and the Woodrow Wilson Center. Phase I of the project was in mid-1996, and is expected to be complete in 1998.