Najam Speaks in Geneva at the Luc Hoffmann Institute

Speaking at a special event hosted by the Luc Hoffmann Institute to introduce the institute’s new research strategy, Dean Adil Najam of the Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies, urged the conservation community to raise their ambitions and adapt to the new realities of a ‘post-truth’ planet where the need to link knowledge to policy is stronger today than it has ever been before.

Najam, who also serves as the current Chair of the Institute’s scientific advisory board, stressed that there is a great urgency of action but also enough knowledge to justify it. Yes, policy is stuck in doubt that is exacerbated by a global doubts in a ‘post-truth’ environment. He urged those working in the area of biodiversity and conversation to respond by setting their goals high and coming together to create strategies for action that match the scale of the challenges we face today.

The ‘New Horizons for the Luc Hoffmann Institute’ event was held at the headquarters of IUCN and WWF, near Geneva, on June 19, 2017, and brought together a large number of practitioners, policy makers and scholars of conservation and biodiversity. The event also included remarks from Lynda Mansson (Director General, MAVA Foundation), Jon Hutton (Director, Luc Hoffmann Institute), André Hoffmann (President, MAVA Foundation Board), and Marco Lambertini (Director General, WWF International).

The Luc Hoffman Institute was created by WWF and the MAVA Foundation in 2011 to create stronger links between biodiversity science and conservation action. At this event the Institute unveiled its new research strategy to launch the second phase of its activities. The focus will shift from a project base to developing solutions through convening, providing thought leadership for new conservation approaches, incubating emerging ideas, providing insights into new challenges and conducting rapid-response dialogues.

Adil Najam is the inaugural dean of the Pardee School and a professor of international relations and also of earth and environment at Boston 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. Najam was a co-author for the Third and Fourth Assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); work for which the scientific panel was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the public understanding of climate change science.