Saleem Ali

Saleem H. Ali (born, 1973) is a Pakistani American scholar who is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, where he has also served as Associate Dean for Graduate Education (2006-2008). For the 2008-2009 academic year, Dr. Ali is on sabbatical working on a sole-authored book pertaining to mineral resources and the environment. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts and how ecological factors can promote peace. He is also on the adjunct faculty of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. His research has focused on the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts and on how ecological factors can promote peace. He also is a current member of the visiting faculty for the United Nations University for Peace (Costa Rica), where he teaches a course on Indigenous Environment and Development Conflicts. Much of his empirical research has focused on environmental conflicts in the mineral sector. In September 2007, he was chosen as one of eight "revolutionary minds" by Seed magazine. Dr. Ali is also a regular columnist for Pakistan's Daily Times and has contributed op-ed pieces also for notable international newspapers such as The International Herald Tribune and the The Boston Globe.

Dr. Ali is also a member of the World Commission on Protected areas and the IUCN Taskforce on Transboundary Conservation. He has also been involved in promoting environmental education in madrasahs and using techniques from environmental planning to study the rise of these institutions in his ethnic homeland of Pakistan, under a grant from the United States Institute of Peace. In much of his research efforts, Dr. Ali involves a multi-media component, often involving his students in making video documentaries of their empirical work. From 2005 to 2008, he received two grants from the Tiffany & Co. Foundation to investigate the environmental and social impact of gemstone and gold mining. Two video documentaries were also produced through this effort and are available for viewing online.

Prior to embarking on an academic career, Dr. Ali worked as an environmental health and safety professional at General Electric. He also served as a consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Health Canada. Yet others of his projects included a mining impact prospectus for the Crow Nation and research assistance to Cultural Survival.

A professional mediator, he has also conducted workshops on consensus-building for private and public interests. In addition to that, he has been involved in conducting peer reviews of research publications for the World Bank, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Woodrow Wilson Center, Yale University Press, the Natural Resources Forum, and several scholarly journals.

His past research appointments and internships include field work at the Centre for Rainforest Studies in Queensland, a Baker Foundation Research Fellowship at Harvard Business School, and a parliamentary internship at the British House of Commons. He has taught courses on environmental planning, conflict resolution, industrial ecology, research methods and technical writing. Professor Ali earned a doctorate in environmental planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master's degree (M.E.S.) in environmental law and policy from Yale University, and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Tufts University.

References

*"Mining, the environment, and indigenous development conflicts", Saleem H. Ali, University of Arizona Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-8165-2312-2
*"Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution", Saleem H. Ali ed. MIT Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-262-51198-8

External Research Project Links

* [http://www.uvm.edu/~shali Saleem Ali's web site at UVM with links to online articles]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/~shali/Pakistan.htm Links to list of regular Daily Times articles authored by Dr. Ali]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/fijigold/ Tropical Gold: Reversal of Fortune in Fiji -- research site and documentary]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/gemecology/index.html Gems and the Environment]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog/madrassah.html Madrassa Research in Pakistan]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog/formslinks/Vermont%20Mining/Home.html Vermont Mining]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog/k2peacepark.htm Siachen Peace Park project]
* [http://www.uvm.edu/~shali/ecr.html Environmental Conflict Resolution Research Library]