Environmental Securitisation of the Hindu Kush Himalayas: A Study of South Asia’s Regional Organizations

Abstract

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is enduring the wrath of the Anthropocene. Reports of unprecedented glacial melt, loss of biodiversity and interference in the watershed resulting from unguarded developmental projects, constructions, mining and tourism activities reveal how this geologically young landscape is under grave threat. Since transboundary environmental management is primarily a regional problem, this article problematizes South Asia’s regionalism and its institutions that deal with the HKH region. It analyses the securitisation of HKH as an ‘ecological’ threat by examining the ‘processes’ associated with two South Asia’s regional organizations—the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The argument that this article advances is that South Asian regionalism has fallen short to accommodate the unique ecological interests of the HKH region because of the politically fraught origin and evolution of regional organizations in South Asia. These organizations exhibit an ‘intentional distance’ from the ecological concerns of the HKH. Finally, the article delineates a trans-Himalayan regionalism––a distinct socio-historical and institutionalized regional identity––from South Asian regionalism. Given the dismal political cooperation over the HKH thus far, the article presents a case for further research on the dynamic and dialectic regional-planetary relationships, and for cooperation and collective action in the region to ensure a sustainable and resilient future for the HKH and the planet.