WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CONFLICT?

There are no specific meaning of conflict, any had defined the concept of this theory, some defined conflict as the structural roots of antagonistic interests, others arguing conflict as incompatible goals perceived as such by the actors. But for this paper defined conflict as dispute between individuals to wars between states. 1 For this paper focus that is environmental, so it will be more focus about environmental conflict, the quarrels between radical environmentalist and industry could be called as

environmental conflict as wars over fresh water stocks. Besides, the environmental conflict is actually can bring wars, so how actually a conflict can bring to war, an environmental conflict can bring to war when this issue being a mean and become a threat to the states, it will be more potential if the conflict is a serious environmental degradation. However in some senses actually the environmental conflict is only an addition to the issues that already happen between the parties that gain more intend to go to war. The stage of war that happen because of environmental conflict can be concluding as; first conflict and then bring to crisis if the crisis not been solve it will become grave crisis and in the end the war between the parties will happen.2 HOW DOES ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRARATION LEAD TO VIOLENT CONFLICTS? This question can be break up into two independent questions, first , what are the important social effect of environmental change and second, what type of acute conflict, if any, are most likely to result from these social effect.3

For the first question, this paper would like to take the four principal that been use by Thomas Homer-Dixon as the principal social effects that happen because of the environmental change:4
1 2

See Stephan Libiszweski, What is an Enviromental Conflict?,( Centre for Security Studies. 2004),p.7. See Stephan Libiszweski, What is an Enviromental Conflict?,( Centre for Security Studies. 2004),p.9. 3 See Stephan Libiszweski, What is an Enviromental Conflict?,( Centre for Security Studies. 2004),p.11. 4 Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, On the Threshold, Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies ,University of Toronto International Security, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Fall 1991), pp. 76-116.

1. Decrease in agriculture decline. 2. General economic decline. 3. Population displacement. 4. Disruption of institution and social relation.

And for the second question as mention by the same person, the possible conflict that resulting from the social impact that bring by the environmental degradation can be divide into three conflicts:5 1. Simple scarcity conflicts, thats is conflict over limited renewable resources between states. They are particularly likely to break out over resources that are essential for human survival and can be physically seized or controlled like river water, fisheries and agriculturally productive land. 2. Group-identity conflicts, that is hostilities between ethnic or cultural groups provoked by circumstances of deprivation and stress. They are likely to occur within multi-ethnic or multi-cultural societies or between states as a result of environmentally caused migrations. 3. Relative-deprivation conflict, this is the deepening of class cleavages or of general social discontent within a society resulting from the economic impacts of environmental degradation. They are likely to occur in polarized societies with weakly legitimated political institutions.

By the types of conflicts that been listed, it have cover the causes of violent conflict that bring to war. But, the environmental degradation is usually become an addition causes for the conflict to happen.

Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, On the Threshold, Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies ,University of Toronto International Security, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Fall 1991), pp. 76-116.