Security and defence

The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) support a diverse variety of habitats ranging from ice fields and rocky islands to coral reef atolls and tropical forests. This POSTnote summarises the challenges to conservation management and halting biodiversity loss in UKOTs, as required under international agreements.

This POSTnote summarises the latest research on measuring national wellbeing, its components and causes, and examines some policy implications.

In the last 10 years, over 500,000 people have lost their lives and around 1.5 billion people have been adversely affected due to rapid-onset natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunami, floods and tropical storms. This briefing discusses the potential for science and technology to enhance resilience to such hazards in developing nations.

This briefing provides a background to explosive injury, explores developments in mitigation science, and highlights research priorities.

Cyber security refers to defences against electronic attacks launched via computer systems. This POSTnote looks at approaches to cyber security in the context of large-scale attacks, with a focus on national infrastructure.

After every general election, POST produces a special briefing highlighting some of the main science-based issues that the new Parliament is likely to encounter.

Military uses of space, December 2006. POSTnote 06/273.

Technological developments are continually improving the resolution of remote sensing from planes and satellites. Such techniques can provide 24-hour global surveillance in all weathers and are thus of crucial importance to national defence and military operations. But despite all the high technology, human operators remain of paramount importance in interpreting the data. This briefing note reviews the technical challenges and other issues facing the UK in maintaining this military ‘high ground’.

This POSTnote discusses the safe dismantling of nuclear weapons, what may be done with the materials resulting and related policy issues. POSTnote 35. POST. 1992.

This POSTnote reviews technical aspects relevant to improving international control over the spread of sophisticated weaponry. POSTnote 19. POST. 1990.