Nature, Peace and Security: Too Important to Leave to Governments

Mar 2, 2026 | Doug Weir
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The message is clear, the UK’s spooks have consulted with experts and concluded that global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are a serious threat to UK national security. From food shortages and migration, to armed conflicts and nuclear exchanges, the collapse of six critical ecosystems poses a clear and present danger. The government didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, slipping the assessment out under a Freedom of Information release, after a little sanitisation, and as Trump was mulling an invasion of Greenland; nevertheless, it did acknowledge that ‘nature is a foundation of national security’. Environmentalists mostly welcomed the analysis but harrumphed that the message wasn’t anything new, even if the messenger was.