Mekong Environmental Resilience Week 2025: Learning from the Past, Shaping Inclusive Futures for Mekong Resilience

Building on success and shaping the future 

Following the success of the Mekong Environmental Resilience Weeks (MERW) in 2023 and 2024, the Mekong Thought Leadership and Think Tanks (MTT) Network Program funded by Mekong-Australia Partnership of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, in cooperation with the Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) funded by the Embassy of Sweden, and Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute (CUSRI), will once again convene diverse actors from across the Mekong region. MERW serves as a platform to strengthen collaboration and advance equitable solutions for the inclusive and resilient Mekong Region. 

A milestone year 

MERW 2025 holds special significance as the MTT Program approaches the conclusion of its implementation cycle. This week will provide a significant opportunity to reflect on and showcase three years of achievements and learning, particularly in: 

1. Building a regional alliance of think tanks. 
2. Co-producing knowledge among knowledge-based policy influence organizations (KBPIOs). 
3. Enhancing the capacity and networking of early career professionals.  
4. Mainstreaming gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI). 
5. Influencing policies on the water–energy–climate change nexus at regional, national, and sub-national levels. 

Collectively, these efforts have contributed to more inclusive and robust policy processes and actions in the Mekong region, benefiting especially marginalized and vulnerable communities. 

Beyond a platform – building a legacy 

MERW 2025 is not only a venue for knowledge exchange and lesson-sharing but also a space to highlight the legacy and future pathways of the MTT Program. The event will continue to explore water–energy–climate interlinkages while addressing interconnected regional challenges. By fostering transboundary learning and partnerships, it aims to strengthen collective responses for long-term climate resilience. 

Celebrating 20 years of SUMERNET 

This year’s event will also celebrate the 20th Anniversary of SUMERNET. Over two decades, SUMERNET has grown into a regionally owned network of more than 900 members, strengthening evidence-based policy processes for sustainable development in the Mekong Region. MERW 2025 will highlight SUMERNET’s stories of change and launch its new phase: SUMERNET PLUS  – “Partnership for a Long-Term Climate-Resilient Mekong through Just and Sustainable Transitions.” 

Objectives of MERW 2025 

1. Strengthen and sustain regional partnerships: Provide a platform for MTT Alliance members, SUMERNET partners, knowledge-based policy influence organizations (KBPIOs), and young professionals to exchange experiences, explore strategies for sustaining collaborations, and chart pathways for long-term partnership impacts beyond the MTT program cycle. 
2. Showcase achievements and validate lessons: Highlight and reflect on the key results and impacts of MTT-supported grants and other relevant activities, particularly in knowledge co-production, policy engagement, and inclusive research-to-policy processes. Validate collective lessons and models to guide future scaling and adaptation. 
3. Advance inclusive and equitable policy influence: Promote practical approaches for mainstreaming gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI), and demonstrate how MTT contributions have shaped more inclusive, evidence-based policies in the water–energy–climate nexus at regional, national, and sub-national levels. 
4. Celebrate and launch future pathways: Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of SUMERNET by highlighting two decades of stories of change, while launching its new phase, “Partnership for a Long-Term Climate-Resilient Mekong through Just and Sustainable Transitions (SUMERNET PLUS)”. This objective emphasizes the continuity of knowledge networks and active engagement with policymakers, practitioners, think tanks, young professionals, and the private sector to support a just, inclusive, and sustainable transition toward enhanced climate resilience in the Mekong region.