The term "flashpoint" has most often been used in reference to the potential for armed conflict between two hostile countries. Yet, the term can be applied to a wide range of conflict situations where military action is not involved. An environmental catastrophe can be a flashpoint with respect to social instability, a hurricane can lead to economic instability, or a drought can lead to migration, which can lead to socioeconomic and ethnic conflicts. For example, one might wonder about the influence that a multiyear drought in North Korea in the late 1990s had on changes in the political opposition of that country's leadership to improve relations with South Korea. What role might migration from drought conditions in one country contribute to drought-sparked population movements into an adjacent country? The term "flashpoints" has already been used to call attention to potential and actual transboundary water conflicts.

In an attempt to review the value of the notion of "flashpoints" for earliest warning of potential conflict situations from a climate perspective, NCAR and NOAA/OGP are organizing an Informal Planning Meeting (IPM), 4-5 April 2002, to be held at Columbia University's Earth Institute at the Morningside Campus in New York City. A number of participants will be brought together from different disciplines, countries, and government agencies to assess the application of the notion of climate-related flashpoints to real-world decision-making needs.