Najam Speaks to the UN General Assembly on “Living Indus”
On July 19, 2022, Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations and Earth and Environment at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, spoke to the United Nations General Assembly at a special event entitled “Moment for Nature” hosted by the President of the 76th UN General Assembly.
The special session was held to highlight the urgent need for large-scale action to bridge the gap between climate commitment and action. Delegates from all member states and institutions of the UN were in attendance. Described as a “Super Session for Nature,” the event highlighted key initiatives from around the world exemplifying innovative policy approaches to address the great sustainable development challenges of our times.
Najam spoke in the session on tackling “Interlinked Planetary Crises” and presented work he is leading in Pakistan on “Living Indus,” an integrated policy plan for revitalizing the health of the Indus River Basin. In his remarks, Najam stressed that for more than 5,000 years, the Indus has cultivated civilization and prosperity in what is now Pakistan; however, today we cannot be sure that we will be able to maintain the health of this great river for even 100 more years. As he said, “it is time that we start listening to what the river is saying to us. The river is telling us that it is not its own future but our very survival that is at stake.”
For more information, visit the UN General Assembly’s website.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). 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 Najam on his faculty profile.