Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2002
Ensuring sustainable livelihoods:
challenges for governments, corporates, and civil society at Rio+10
8 - 11 February 2002, New Delhi

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Mr James Gustave Speth
Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Professor in the Practice of Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development

In its century-long history, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has been fortunate to find leaders of distinction. The new dean of the School, James Gustave Speth, is a worthy successor to that tradition. In the words of Richard Levin, President of Yale University, Dean Speth’s ‘experience and global credentials could not be stronger.’

Dean Speth comes to Yale’s environment school from the United Nations, where he served from 1993 through 1999 as Administrator of the Development Program (UNDP), the principal arm of the UN for the funding and coordination of technical assistance and development. Prior to his tenure at the UN, he founded the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 1982 and served as its president until January 1993. Based in Washington, D.C., WRI is a center for policy research and technical assistance on environment and development issues. Following his tenure at WRI he served as senior advisor to President-Elect Clinton’s transition team, heading the group on natural resources, energy, and the environment.

Before founding WRI, Dean Speth chaired President Carter’s Council on Environmental Quality, and then went on to teach environmental and constitutional law for two years as a professor at Georgetown University. From 1970 to 1977, he was senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an organization he co-founded. Prior to NRDC, Dean Speth was law clerk to Supreme Court justice Hugo Black.

Dean Speth graduated summa cum laude from Yale College and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar earning a M.Litt. in economics. He holds an J.D. from Yale Law School, and recently received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Clark University. He is married to Cameron Speth and they have three adult children.

Dean Speth was decorated by the governments of Morocco and Senegal for his work in the United Nations and has received awards, principally for his environmental work, from the UN Environment Program, the National Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Law Institute, the Keystone Center, and the Natural Resource Council of America.

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies was founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot to educate a corps of professionals in proper management of the forests and wilderness areas of the United States. Today, the School is a graduate and professional school engaged in the interdisciplinary study of the environmental and natural resource issues. Its mission is to provide leadership, through education and research, in the management of natural resource systems and in the solution of environmental problems.

‘The challenge we face as we enter the school’s second century is extraordinary, for never has the need been greater for a new generation of environmental leaders and for new ideas and insights,’ Dean Speth said. ‘Environmental challenges are growing daily more serious and increasingly linked to subjects we once thought remote from our field. Environmental leaders must be prepared to understand the international context in which many issues arise and to integrate environmental, economic, and development concerns.’ To again quote Yale’s President Richard Levin, ‘Gus Speth’s qualities and background equip him admirably for leadership in the School and the wider University.’