The New Diplomatic Methods: Environmental Diplomacy

Traditional Diplomacy is not sufficiently focused in solutions to most issues outside of the high political field. It has begun to be understood in the last half of the 20th century that this situation is a major deficiency for many humanity problems that need solving. This deficiency has created the emergence of the Public Diplomacy, a more civilian method based on reinterpreting of hard military and economic power. Public Diplomacy and other methods which are very close to the principles of Public Diplomacy have been an alternative diplomatic language of governments in the 21st century by leaving from traditional diplomatic practices in many points. Environmental Diplomacy is one of the diplomatic methods that called with different names by topic, as like Cultural Diplomacy, Humanitarian Diplomacy, Digital Diplomacy. Environment Diplomacy, a rather new diplomatic method is about diplomatic contact that are seeking solutions to environmental problems on an international scale and within international legal boundaries. Governments focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of the concept of Sustainable Development in general, in their international contacts within the field of Environmental Diplomacy. Because, Sustainable Development is offers solution formula in three way to the main reasons of environmental problems in various parts of the world. These three topics are listed in general titles as economic, ecological and social factors. The economic factor deals with issues such as production/comsumption chain, justice in income distribution, levels of development of the states, develop methods compatible with nature in carrying out economic activities. The ecological factor is about issues such as, if mankind continues to produce / consume in this way, what will be the fate of natural equilibrium, what methods and how much human beings should continue to produce/consume in order to keep the natural balance at the required level. Finally, the social factor is about issues such as income inequalities, inequalities around world in accessing opportunities, inadequate education on environmental problems and issues to solve of problems arising from the structure of society. These factors, each of which belongs to a separate field, present the interdisciplinary direction of Environmental Diplomacy studies, which not only deal with Social Sciences but also with the various engineering sciences of Natural Sciences.In this context; The government must attach special and technic importance to the Environmental Diplomacy which formed by studies towards sustainable development concept. For this cause, governments should benefit from the cooperation of NGO’s, and should make good plans for the pedagogical dimension of sustainable development studies.