Adil Najam named as new President of WWF International

MASSACHUSETTS: Dr. Adil Najam, the inaugural dean (2014-2022) of Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and now Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations and Earth and the Environment has been named as the new President of WWF-International, one of the largest and most respected environment and conservation organizations in the world.

WWF, recognized globally by its much-loved panda logo has been a global conservation leader for over 60 years and is one of the world’s largest independent international environmental organizations. It has over 6 million members, working in over 100 countries on over 1200 conservation projects worldwide. An announcement released by the WWF’s international secretariat in Switzerland said that “globally renowned academic and policy expert, Dr Adil Najam, has been named as the new President of WWF International” and will begin his new role as WWF President on 1 July, 2023. Previous WWF Presidents have included Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh; Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; Rudd Lubers, three time Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and others. Professor Najam will continue teaching and research at the BU Pardee School while assuming this office.

The WWF Announcement (read in full, here) describes Dr. Najam as “a leading public scholar whose teaching, research and public engagement focuses on issues of global public policy especially those related to conservation and environment, sustainable and human development, and climate change in the Global South.” It includes the following quote from WWF’s Director General Kirsten Schuijt:

“Adil’s vast experience, knowledge and passion are crucial to WWF’s mission to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature. I look forward to working closely with Adil and the Board to serve the needs of our network and to deliver true conservation impact.”

Neville Isdell, the current WWF President ad interim, said:

“Adil Najam is an outstanding individual to take on the role of President of WWF’s International Board. He is well-known as a pioneering thinker and highly influential expert amongst global policy makers. In addition he has a deep understanding of the WWF network, having previously served as a trustee on the International Board for eight years. With his return, I have no doubt that WWF will continue to benefit from his invaluable knowledge and experience.”

Dr. Adil Najam added the following comment:

“I am greatly humbled to be invited to become the next President of WWF at a time when its long-standing mission of working to heal and sustain the natural world and its life-supporting systems has become more urgent than ever. I am deeply honoured to be able to work again with dedicated ‘pandas’ all across the world – members, partners, experts, and colleagues – whose dedication and commitment to creating a just, fair and sustainable planet for all its people and for nature has always been a source of great inspiration for me.”

Speaking to BUToday (April 5, 2023), Najam made a link between the career Boston University and the BU Pardee School have helped him develop and this new assignment at WWF (read BUToday article here):

“This appointment is, of course, a great personal honor for me, but I realize that it is also a testament to the type of career that Boston University and the Pardee School have enabled for me and so many others—bringing together rigorous scholarly research, with focused policy engagement, and active participation in improving the lives of people and the state of our planet. This, I think, is the common link between how we work on environment and conservation here at BU and how the WWF also sees it.”

Adil Najam first joined Boston University’s then department of International Relations in 1997 and served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies from 2014-2022. He is also a former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Currently, while on sabbatical, he is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University. His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Professor Najam on his Pardee School faculty profile.

Courtesy: www.bu.edu/