The Ecosystem Approach in military operations: no security without ecological security, no stability without sustainability

This paper describes a recently developed training module on the “ecosystem approach”, with the military as target group. Initiated by NATO-affiliated Civil-Military Co-operation Centre of Excellence (CIMIC COE), the module fits into a multidisciplinary new training approach, in which the military learns to integrate specific concepts into their missions, such as environmental issues. In developing the training module, a combination of the Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques has been formed into a stepwise approach for military to enable them to quickly scan and analyse important environmental issues in their mission environments. The result of the training module is an instructive publication and an attached instruction card, the latter being a tool commonly used by military