Saleem Ali

Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment
University of Delaware
United States

Aug 28, 2018

Saleem Ali is Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware, focusing on issues of environmental conflict resolution, energy diplomacy, and environmental peacebuilding, especially involving the extractive industries. He is also a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Queensland (Australia) and a senior fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. After receiving his B.A. in Chemistry and Environmental Studies from Tufts University, he pursued a M.E.S. focusing on environmental law and policy at Yale University and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from MIT. Saleem’s combined background in natural sciences and environmental policy has led him toward a science-based but socially relevant approach to environmental conflict, and he has worked with governments, industry, and other academics to create ecological peacebuilding solutions. He has previously held positions as Chair in Sustainable Resource Development and Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at the University of Queensland, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, and founding Director of the Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security. Saleem has published widely on environmental conflict and environmental peacebuilding, as well as more generally on ethno-religious conflicts and conflict resolution in South Asia.

Saleem’s work covers a broad range of topics, combining field-based personal journeys with academically rigorous research and policy analysis. He credits coming from Pakistan as leading to his initial interest in peacebuilding and transboundary cooperation, saying, “Peace was aspirational for me coming from Pakistan. It was always on the horizon, and I was constantly interested in finding a way to improve relations with our neighboring countries and help to build peace.” This has led him to study environmental peacebuilding in an instrumental cadence whereby ecological factors can promote cooperation between adversaries. One of his current projects explores how resource efficiency can positively mitigate climate change, and thereby help to create international cooperation. Saleem is a member of the United Nations Environment’s International Resource Panel, created to advise member states on resource scarcity and find peace dividends in environmental activities, such as recycling and resource efficiency. This work expands the ways in which peace can be built beyond traditional peacebuilding efforts. It also builds on Saleem’s work researching and writing about environmental conflicts and consequences in the mineral sector. The Panel’s report will be presented in mid-2019 to G7 member countries and then broadly before the United Nations Environment Assembly.

Much of Saleem’s work is in partnership with industry, government, and civil society. A recent publication entitled “Use Environmental Diplomacy to Resolve to Sir Creek Dispute,” published by the Stimson Center, demonstrates this combination of academic and policy approaches to focus on ways to de-escalate conflicts and promote peace in South Asia, specifically in the Indus Delta region using environmental cooperation and joint environmental conservation and management. The piece also combines Saleem’s research on conflict resolution in South Asia with his work on environmental peacebuilding, highlighting the ways in which environment, conflict, and peace intersect in the particular context of the Indus Delta.

For Saleem, the Environmental Peacebuilding Association provides an important means for focusing attention on the intersection between environmental science and policy, and for encouraging cross-generational engagement across scholars and practitioners on building environmental peace. He notes that, “It’s wonderful that there’s a group of scholars and practitioners that have an umbrella to share ideas, further education through initiatives like the MOOC on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace, and work with funding agencies to spur further interest. Peace should always remain a goal, even if it’s beyond our reach at that time. Even if we feel as though we cannot solve the problem in our lifetime, that should not stop us from trying.”