Saliem Fakir is the Head of the Living Planet Unit at the World Wildlife Fund South Africa. The Unit's work is focused on identifying ways to manage a transition to a low-carbon economy.

He was previously (2007-2008) a senior lecturer at the Department of Public Administration and Planning and Associate Director for the Center for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at the University of Stellenbosch where he taught a course on renewable energy policy and financing of renewable energy projects. Saliem previously worked for Lereko Energy (Pty) Ltd (2006) an investment company focusing on project development and financial arrangements for renewable energy, biofuels, waste and water sectors. He also served as Director of the World Conservation Union South Africa (IUCN-SA) office for 8 years (1998-2005). Prior to the IUCN he was the Manager for the Natural Resources and Management Unit at the Land and Agriculture Policy Center.

Saliem served on a number of Boards. Between, 2002-2005, he served as a chair of the Board of the National Botanical Institute. He also served on the board of the Fair Trade in Tourism Initiative and was a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Reporting Initiative, based in Amsterdam. He currently serves on the advisory board of Inspired Evolution One – a private equity fund for clean technology.

He is also a columnist for the South African Center for Civil Society where he writes regular columns on a range of issues and Engineering News.

Saliem's qualifications are: B.Sc Honours molecular biology (WITS), Masters' in Environmental Science, Wye College London, and did a senior executive management course at Harvard University in 2000.