Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Customary environmental policy regimes tend to be siloed and single-system in perspective. Present-day environmental security issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss, however, have become more complex, with no respect to traditional, political and geographic boundaries. The level and extent of our environmental security issues today are more composite, as they are transboundary and do not occur in isolation. Environmental problems have become increasingly dynamic interconnected set of systems.

Our current knowledge of the environment requires a deeper grasp of the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological systems, thus requiring a departure from the conventional cognitive-level of perceiving nature as a unitary system. As environmental risks and threats are interrelated, societal decision-making should be fully-informed and take a non-linear direction. How we manage ecosystems and transboundary resources should also take into consideration competing interests of stakeholders involved.

This study argues that much of the conventional environmental policy regimes remain sector-specific, with little consideration on the interlinkages of each sector. With focus on climate vulnerability and resiliency, the study presents an examination of policy and governance approaches that have demonstrated little understanding on the complex interrelationship among resource systems. Further, the study uses a case analysis, looking at the climate-vulnerable emerging economies surrounding the Mekong River Basin in the Southeast Asian region to illustrate the risks and how threats to their critically interlinked resources, mainly, energy, water, and agriculture, is a policy and transboundary governance issue. As resource-crisis in the Mekong region goes beyond traditional forms of security, the study applies the framework of systems thinking and nexus approach to policy-making and governance to enhance climate resiliency and develop a more integrated environmental security measures for the region. The study further posits that enhancing knowledge and capacity through systems and nexus thinking will enable states and sector stakeholders to cooperate and help them understand the interrelatedness of resource-systems, thus resulting to a better management of conflicts and competing interests.

Systems thinking and nexus approach help shape integrated environmental security policy and governance. While the study also recognizes that it is not a panacea to the increasingly complex nature of environmental security, it suggests that an adoption of such thinking and approach contributes to enhanced stakeholders cooperation and political commitments. A departure from silo-thinking towards cross-sector synergy-building offers an optimal mix for policy and governance, rather than resulting to a zero-sum game.