Climate Change as a Security Issue in North Cyprus: Securitization of Water Resources and Agricultural Lands

In the arid landscape of North Cyprus, a group of environmental organizations has been working to apply this very concept to the island's future. A recent study by Hıfsiye Ruh of Rauf Denktas University examines how these groups have framed climate change not merely as an environmental inconvenience, but as a direct threat to the nation's survival. The research focuses on the years between 2021 and 2026, a period during which organizations like the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, the Biologists Association, and the Green Action Group began to speak about water resources and agricultural land in urgent, alarmist terms. By analyzing their public statements, press releases, and interviews, the study reveals a deliberate effort to move the conversation from standard political debate into the realm of security, where the stakes are framed as life or death for the island's ecosystem.

The researchers found that these organizations acted as "securitizing actors," using specific language to describe the drying of ponds, the loss of forests, and the rising heat as existential threats to the island's water and soil. They did not simply ask for better policies; they declared that the current situation was a crisis that demanded emergency measures. For instance, leaders pointed to the fact that the region is becoming hotter and drier, with one association president warning that without immediate intervention, the island could become uninhabitable within a decade. They highlighted specific dangers, such as the potential for half of the island's beaches to disappear due to rising sea levels—a warning issued by a climate scientist—or the severe reduction in the production of essential crops like wheat, barley, and olives due to prolonged droughts, as noted in external research. By labeling these environmental changes as security threats, the groups argued that the government must bypass normal bureaucratic delays and take drastic, immediate action to protect the island's future.

Crucially, the study shows that this framing was accepted by the relevant audience. For a security threat to be real in this context, the audience must accept the warning. In North Cyprus, the audience included the government and political parties. The research documents how political leaders, including the President and Prime Minister, began to echo the language of the environmental groups. They signed agreements to address the climate crisis, acknowledged that the weather had shifted from a natural cycle to a genuine emergency, and promised to transition toward green energy and stricter land-use planning. This acceptance by the political elite validated the environmental groups' claims, effectively turning water scarcity and agricultural decline into recognized security priorities. The study notes that this shift has already led to tangible outcomes, such as court cases where environmental groups successfully blocked construction projects that lacked proper environmental assessments, proving that the new security framing has real power to change policy.

The findings suggest that the securitization of water and land in North Cyprus is driven by a deepening fear that the island's natural resources are reaching a breaking point. The organizations argue that relying solely on water pipelines from Turkey is not a complete solution and that the island must develop its own sustainable strategies to retain water and protect its soil. They warn that without a comprehensive plan to manage these resources, the consequences will extend beyond the environment, leading to food shortages, economic instability, and even social unrest. The study concludes that by successfully framing climate change as a security issue, these groups have forced the issue onto the highest levels of the political agenda, compelling the state to treat the protection of nature with the same urgency it would apply to a military defense. The work underscores that in a warming world, the safety of a nation may depend less on its borders and more on its ability to secure its water and its soil.