Environmental Security Complex in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas: A Regional Perspective

The Hindu-Kush Himalayas (HKH) mountains that sustain billions of livelihoods are facing transboundary environmental threats including climate change, natural disasters, air pollution, and food and water insecurity that transcend political borders. Environmental threats have, however, remained at the periphery of security discourse. By employing the ‘Theory of Regional Security Complex’ the article looks at the evolution of a security complex in the environmental sector and how it is projected to evolve further in the backdrop of increasing environmental insecurities. It argues for interdependence among States concerning transboundary environmental threats and situates the relevance of the environmental sector in the heavily politicized and militarized HKH.