Dr. Adil Najam, a renowned Pakistani academic and policy expert, has been designated the new president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, succeeding Neville Isdell.
Hammad Naqi Khan, director general of WWF-Pakistan, stated, “Adil Najam is an exceptional candidate for the position of president of WWF’s International Board. It is a moment of great pride for Pakistan that Dr. Adil now leads the world’s largest environmental conservation organisation. Throughout the years, he has been a genuine friend of WWF-Pakistan, and I am confident that he will provide the necessary leadership in these difficult times.”
As he accepted his new position and responsibilities, Najam stated, “I am deeply honoured to have been asked to become the next President of WWF at a time when the organisation’s long-standing mission of working to heal and sustain the natural world and its life-supporting systems has become more imperative than ever. I am deeply honoured to be able to work again with dedicated ‘pandas’ from all over the world – members, partners, experts, and colleagues – whose commitment to creating a just, fair, and sustainable planet for all its people and nature has always been a source of great inspiration for me.”
Dr. Najam was the vice chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and a renowned public scholar whose teaching, research, and public engagement focused on issues of global public policy, particularly those pertaining to conservation and environment, sustainable and human development, and climate change in the Global South.
Najam is also the dean emeritus of Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and a professor of international relations, earth, and environment. Additionally, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
In addition to being the main author for the third and fourth assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he has authored more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters.
He is a former trustee of the International Board of WWF International (2011-2019) and a frequent advisor to international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and governments around the globe.
In 2010, the president of Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), one of Pakistan’s highest civil honours.