James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA Law School and the UC Santa Barbara, School of Environment. He was the first scholar to address the legal and institutional aspects of creating markets for ecosystem services. He has worked with governments in Australia, Canada, China, India, New Zealand, and other countries to help design their payments for ecosystem services programs.
Salzman’s research ranges from drinking water and policy instrument design to conservation and trade conflicts. Author of over 90 articles and 10 books, his publications have been downloaded over 100,000 times. Active on environmental boards and in government policy bodies, he serves on both the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency of the US) and the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee.  His previous book, Drinking Water: A History (2012) is widely read.