International Security, Peace, Development, and Environment is a component of Encyclopedia of Institutional and Infrastructural Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.

The Theme on International Security, Peace, Development, and Environment deals, in seven parts and two volumes , with a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: human, social, gender and environmental security; the transition in earth history from the holocene to the anthropocene potentially causing disasters and increasing resource scarcity; limits to growth, use of natural resources, sustainable livelihood and productive system through technology; rise of conflicts due to scarce and polluted resources and the concentration of humans in limited spaces of big cities; the gender violence; peace education and peace teaching as mechanisms to strengthen citizenship and to improve the understanding of cultural diversity; mechanisms to strengthen the resistance against monopolist interests in the present global world and whistle blowing as a phenomenon to protect social peace and civil resistance. The presentation culminates with a discussion on the means of active nonviolence to reinforce democratic behavior and to reduce tensions and violent outcomes in a complex world. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Editor(s) Biography

Úrsula Oswald Spring, was a full time professor and researcher during 28 years at the National University of Mexico, in the Regional Multidisciplinary Research Center (CRIM). During 1992 to 1998 she was the first Minister of Ecological Development in the State of Morelos and former General Attorney of Ecology in the same state. She is trained at university level in anthropology, ecology, medicine, philosophy, psychology, modern and classic languages. She has coordinated 25 multidisciplinary studies and 12 disciplinary one. From 1998 to 2000 se was President of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) and is founder member and Secretary General of CLAIP (Latin- American Peace Research Association) 2002-2006; President of Green World Association; President of the Scientific Commission of International Environmental Law, member of the Universal Movement for Scientific Responsibility, and Latin-American’s Coordinator of Diverse Women for Diversity and coordinator of the Adviser Committee of the Peasant University in South Mexico.

She has written 37 books; 8 Technical Reports for UN; 198 scientific articles and chapters of books, published in different languages, about issues related to development, sustainable model of the world, peasants, food security, peace research and conflict resolution, genetic psychology, environmental education, integral water, sewage and waste management, organic agro systems, water conflicts and hydro-diplomacy, bioremediation, nitrogen fixation from the air to the soil, micro propagation of plants, biological control of pests in agriculture and forestry. She has developed an integral concept of security: Human, Gender and Environmental Security (HUGE). During the last 35 years she was adviser of rural and urban grass-root organizations, ecological and governmental dependencies, interested in sustainable development and culturally diverse development models.