I have been writing about various issues that are emerging especially in the 21st century which create security challenges for humans, these are different and new from the historically existing ones thus called non-traditional security threats. Such threats are no less dangerous than the traditional ones.

Resource Scarcity is one of these threats which that states and nations are facing today and due to which there is a high possibility of eruption of violent conflicts in many regions.

Human beings have been dependent on the natural resources of the earth from the very beginning of history. We get our food, shelter, clothing, fuel, and all the luxuries we have at the expense of different resources. But, these resources are not infinite, they are limited and would end one day as Thomas Malthus argued in his 'Essay on the Principle of Population', back in 1798, he wrote,  “that the power of the population is indefinitely greater then the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man.”

Initially when there was less population of people and even lesser development the consumption of the resources was slow and probably just to fulfil their basic needs of food, shelter, safety, clothing, etc., but, over time the human population increased and so is the human development thus accelerating the rate of resource consumption.

The industrial revolutions one after another have led to enormous consumption of resource for sake of human luxuries. Now there is growth in the human population on the one hand and a decrease in resources on the other.

Globalization has created a strong interdependence between resources, humans and the economies. Any sort of changes in one might lead to variations in the other. Climate change is another factor that impacts the resources of different regions and it is also a very severe issue of the 21st century. Due to climate change, the environmental conditions of regions get affected and can cause damage to the resources on food, water, etc.

In the rapidly growing regions like South Asia and particularly in India and Pakistan where the population is growing at a very fast pace the rate of resource consumption is very high and also they share the same resources e.g., the water of the Indus river which is flowing from India to Pakistan and which is also a bone of contention between the two countries over the past several decades.

Another example is the process of urbanization due to which the population in urban centres of the countries like Pakistan increases, leading to resource scarcity in the cities. This phenomenon increases enormously during winters especially when people of the northern parts of the country move to the cities to spend winters.

Another resource is the glacier. Being a main source of water for countries like Pakistan glaciers are of very high significance. Not only do they provide water but our food and our climate depend on them.

Although human beings now are exploring the prospects of life on the other planets nevertheless being dependent on the resources we must use them wisely and sustainably because our lives and our next generations' lives depend on these resources. Otherwise, the consequences would be drastic for the inhabitants of the earth. Countries around the world spend billions of dollars to protect their territorial sovereignty by purchasing advanced weapons, defence systems and other technology but non-traditional threats like resource scarcity in the countries and regions cannot be stoped by armament rather it can be stoped through ecofriendly practices and efforts. This issue can give rise to other issues like the refugee crisis as well.