Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services as Public Policy in South East Asia, from Theory to Practice

Ecosystem Services (ES), a pro-conservation paradigm often linked to a Western planning and development approach, has been applied in Asia but has yet to be mainstreamed by policy-makers and practitioners for decision-making within the region. In this chapter, we explore notable achievements, as well as barriers, to mainstreaming ES within the environmental public policies of Southeast Asia. A detailed case study examination of four Southeast Asian nations (Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) revealed that inclusion, or even consideration, of ES in public policy has been uneven throughout the region, ranging from essentially no consideration to quite sophisticated ES policy underpinnings; and even within a country there can be considerable difference in ES uptake. In general, we conclude the concern that ES concepts are too western-centric have been overcome in Southeast Asia, although some barriers to the mainstreaming of ES into public policy still faces barriers. The principal barriers common across Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam are related to mandate and policy fragmentation and insufficient human and finance capacity. On the other hand, Singapore has successfully included ES concepts within it planning structure due to a number of factors, including a less fragmented policy-making approach, public-private partnerships and buy-in, and visionary leadership. Singapore’s economic status also provides some flexibility to ES policy implementation. Interestingly, however, Singapore has not relied on monetization approaches to support implementation of ES concepts. Finally, we recommend potential ways forward for the three not-yet-so-successful nations by highlighting the roles of academies, government, and major international agencies, (e.g. World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) or Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)) in furthering efforts to mainstream ES in policy-making.