Arjen Wals is a Professor of Social Learning and Sustainable Development. He also is a UNESCO Chair in the same field. Wals has worked at Wageningen University since 1992 in various departments. His research focuses on learning processes that contribute to a more sustainable world. Wals obtained his PhD in 1991 with a Fulbright fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His dissertation tackled the interface of environmental psychology and environmental education.

He has (co)published and (co) edited over 150 articles, chapters and books on topics like: action research & community problem-solving, whole school approaches to sustainability, biodiversity education, multi-stakeholder social learning, and sustainability in higher education. Popular books include: 'Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability (Kluwer Academic, 2004) and Social Learning towards a Sustainable World (Wageningen Academic, 2007). He was responsible for the midterm review of UNESCO's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). Wals serves on the editorial boards of: Environmental Education Research, The Australian Journal of Environmental Education, The Journal of Environmental Education, The Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, Tópicos en Educación Ambiental, and The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, Ethics and Action. He is a past-president of the Special Interest Group on Ecological & Environmental Education of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Wals also is a co-founder and past-president of the NGO Caretakers of the Environment International.