James Fahn and the Green Beat

JEFF RUTHERFORD/INTERNEWS The Earth Journalism Network’s James Fahn, in pink shirt, and Cambodian journalists take shelter from a rainstorm at Kirirom National Park.

James Fahn is a journalist focused on environmental issues in developing countries and Executive Director of the Earth Journalism Network, a project of Internews Network. He has worked for the Ford Foundation in the field of environment and development, was a reporter and editor for The Nation, an English-language paper based in Bangkok, and hosted a TV show there. Fahn’s book, A Land on Fire, covers environmental issues in Southeast Asia. He is based in Thailand.

How did you first get drawn into environmental reporting?

When I was based in Bangkok and working at The Nation, I became more and more interested in environmental issues, because it’s a real mix of science, society, and politics. I broke some big stories in the region, and learned a wonderful lesson in the potential impact of environmental journalism.

How are environmental issues different in developing nations from those in more industrialized nations?

In the West, the environment is often portrayed as a middle-class “luxury” issue. In the developing world that’s clearly not the case—it’s an issue largely taken up by farmers, fishermen, and forest dwellers, because it directly impacts their livelihoods. If fish stocks are depleted, fishermen have no jobs; if watershed forests are cut down, farmers may see their water supply disrupted. The whole “environment vs. jobs” debate is in most cases a false dichotomy, and particularly in the developing world, a good environment and sustainable livelihoods go hand in hand. Also, especially with the rapid pace of change in Asia, the environmental movement is growing here at the same time as the processes of democratization, globalization and urbanization. It makes the environmental movement more about rights—it’s not just about how resources are used, but who gets to use them.

What are the unique needs of environmental journalists in the developing world?

In most of these countries, environmental reporting is still in its infancy. One of the most glaring problems we address in our workshops is the common practice of “red envelope journalism,” which is when reporters receive bribes to produce favorable stories. Also, they tend to rely heavily on government sources; we encourage them to go beyond those and seek out scientists, academics, and NGOs.

What is the secret to good environmental reporting?

Media are generally good at covering breaking news and crises, like Hurricane Katrina. They are not very good at documenting slow and incremental change, which tends to be the nature of environmental change. The key to effective environmental journalism is to draw people in through obvious points of interest, for instance, charismatic megafauna like whales and wolves, and then explain the underlying environmental issues.

What is your vision for Earth Journalism Network?

If we can develop a core group of dedicated environmental journalists and networks, they can have a big impact. One story by one journalist can change the viability of a resource base, and can change the way a country views its environment.