Aiming for Inclusivity and Multilevel Approaches for Building Climate Resilience in the Mekong Region

Building climate resilience in the Mekong Region depends not only on advanced technical research or better policies, but on inclusive, trust-based partnerships and governance systems that address challenges at multiple levels and that include local voices. These were the key messages from SEI Asia’s Mekong Environmental Resilience Week 2025 held in Bangkok.

SEI Asia hosted the Mekong Environmental Resilience Week (MERW) 2025 in Bangkok from 18-20 November, bringing together representatives from government, research institutions, civil society, regional organizations and media.

The forum reflected on the future of the water-energy-climate (WEC) nexus. While the concept of nexus is widely acknowledged, its implementation is hampered by institutional silos, fragmented data, and a lack of inclusive processes.

By leading this annual regional gathering, SEI Asia emphasized its commitment to driving evidence-based dialogue and supporting inclusive policymaking in the Mekong Region.

In his keynote setting the scene for MERW 2025, Thanapon Piman, SEI Asia’s Senior Research Fellow (SRF) said:

“The water, energy and climate challenges in the Mekong Basin are deeply connected. And so are the solutions. Turning this nexus from a concept into action is now a practical necessity for building a resilient future.”

One MERW session on “Future Directions for Nexus Research and Policy” explored the region’s environmental policy challenges and the need for integration across water, energy, climate and development priorities.

The Mekong Environmental Resilience Week also featured a photo exhibition to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the SUMERNET program, honoring two decades of its contribution to sustainable development and research-to-policy engagement in the Mekong Region. The exhibition highlighted “20 stories of change” by SUMERNET partners from across the region.

The Mekong Environmental Resilience Week also featured a photo exhibition to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the SUMERNET program, honoring two decades of its contribution to sustainable development and research-to-policy engagement in the Mekong Region. The exhibition highlighted “20 stories of change” by SUMERNET partners from across the region.

The photo exhibition is now made available as an online link, please see here.

Continue reading on: Aiming for inclusivity and multilevel approaches for building climate resilience in the Mekong Region

Originally published on www.sei.org, this article was authored by Rajesh Daniel at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia Centre, Thailand.