fueling the future - Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Resolving Environmental Conflictsin Pakistan’s Energy PolicySaleem H. Ali“Civilization is in no immediate danger of running out of energy or even just outof oil. But we are running out of the capacity of the environment to absorb energy’simpacts without risk of intolerable disruption.”— John Holdren, 2003 1A Global Perspective on Energy and IndustrialInfrastructurePakistan’s development predicament is emblematic of many countriesthat are undergoing rapid growth in energy demand from demographicpressures as well as more intense industrialization. While such growthcan certainly be a sign of progress and potentially a means of povertyalleviation, it can also lead to errant euphoria and rash decision-makingby policy-makers. At such times of ambition and anxiety, environmentalconcerns are regrettably relegated to “low politics,” and dismissed withpleasantries as short-term gains are calculated on the basis of prestigeprojects such as large dams and sky-scrapers.Saleem H. Ali is associate professor of environmental studies at the Universityof Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, and on the adjunct facultyof Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. His researchfocuses on the causes and consequences of environmental conflicts andhow ecological factors can promote peace. He is also on the visiting faculty forthe United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. In the springof 2005, he received a two-year grant from the Tiffany Foundation for a comparativestudy of the environmental and social impact of gemstone mining inMadagascar, Brazil and Myanmar. He is the author of Mining, the Environmentand Indigenous Development Conflicts.| 185 |