James David Fahn

Hi! I am a journalist and the executive director of the Earth Journalism Network, a new non-profit started up by Internews to work with environmental journalists in the developing world.

For nine years during the 1990s, I was based in Thailand, where I worked for a daily newspaper and hosted a TV show. Although I have written about a wide variety of subjects - including politics, business, international affairs and science and technology - my primary focus has been the environment, particularly environmental issues in developing countries. As a reporter and editor for The Nation, an English-language daily newspaper based in Bangkok, I traveled and wrote about issues all over Southeast Asia. Initially, I was hired as Science and Technology Editor, supervising the publication of a weekly science and computer section for nearly three years, but was subsequently appointed Environment Editor, a position I held for about five years. Along with reporting and writing all manner of articles, I oversaw the Environment Desk, a team of 4-5 reporters covering a wide variety of stories on how natural resources are used in Southeast Asia, and who gets to use them. I was a co-founder of the Thai Society of Environmental Journalists, and have also written several fortnightly columns for The Nation: one about the Internet called "Net Trek", and another, entitled "3D Vision", focusing on environmental and scientific issues.

In 1998-9, I switched over to work as a TV journalist, serving as host and scriptwriter for a program called Rayngan Si-khiow ("Green Report") — a weekly, Thai-language feature program about the environment which appeared nationally on the ITV network. To find out more about my work, you can look at my resume(26K PDF FILE) and some of my articles. Among the more important stories I've covered is an investigation into the dumping of mercury into the Gulf of Thailand by offshore natural gas producers Unocal and Total, and by petrochemical firms on Thailand's Eastern Seaboard. I have also written extensively about the Yadana gas pipeline, illegal logging scandals along the Burmese border and other forestry issues, such as the controversial "Man and forest" debate going on in Thailand. My colleagues and I have revealed how resort developers encroach on public land in national parks, for instance at Haad Chao Mai National Park in Trang province. Other interesting topics include wildlife issues, comment pieces on democracy and the environment, feature pieces on interesting people and places, coverage of global summits such as the WTO's first ministerial meeting in Singapore, where I wrote about trade and the environment, and the COP-2 and COP-3 climate change summits in Geneva and Kyoto, and much more. Unfortunately, many of my older pieces are not available on-line, but you can always email me. I enjoy getting feedback, and would love to hear about your views and experiences.

On a more personal note, I was born and raised in the US, where I received a bachelor's degree from Amherst College, majoring in Physics, Astronomy and History. I also have a masters degree in international affairs from Columbia University, have worked for Newsweek, and written articles for other publications such as The Economist. Most recently, I worked at the Ford Foundation as a program associate in the field of environment and development. Along with assisting in grant-making and coordinating Ford’s global network of program officers working in this field, I also focused on projects in community-based forestry and fisheries, sustainable tourism certification, payment for environmental services, coastal resource management and the conflict over conservation in the developing world. In 1987, I received a Watson Fellowship, during which I studied "International Cooperation in Physics" in Europe and North Africa. I arrived in Bangkok in 1990 after working and traveling for two years across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. So, yes, traveling is one of my major interests, along with sports: I play soccer, tennis, squash, volleyball, basketball, and in 1998 played for the Bangkok Soi Dawgz in the Pan Asian Ultimate Frisbee Tournament held in Hong Kong. I currently live in Chiang Mai with my wife and son and two cats, Itchy and Scratchy. My father and brother also have websites you can look up.