James Rice left the UK in 2002 to pursue a career in conservation. He has worked on sea turtle conservation in Malaysia and Australia, served as an apprentice wildlife photographer and filmmaker, conducted wildlife trade surveys for TRAFFIC, and assisted on numerous biological field studies in Thailand and Singapore. Recently, he assisted WildAsia with responsible tourism assessments, which inspired him to take action and create a publicly accessible assessment of conservation projects.

James’ years in Southeast Asia have given him the contacts, resources, and skills necessary to make WildPlanet a reality. He is excited to bring WildPlanet to life so that decisions about conservation become accessible to everyone.

James on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

While studying reproduction of frogs at Sakaerat Environmental Research Station in Thailand, Jen and her team discovered that one of the resident frog species sits on its eggs until the eggs hatch. This was an exciting discovery because relatively few frog species are known to do this–and it’s really cute to see!

Chiromantis hansenae sitting on eggs.

The full description of this behavior can be found in the journal Copeia.

Wild Planet is the brainchild of James Rice. An idealist at heart, James was constantly frustrated by conservation projects that didn’t seem to be achieving any real goals, yet continued to get funding and attract volunteers, while other projects that were making a difference went unnoticed. In talking to people at home and abroad about wildlife and conservation, he found that many people wanted to contribute but didn’t know how–how to decide which project to donate to, where to volunteer their time, or how to evaluate a project’s crediblity. Thus was born the idea for Wild Planet.

Currently, we are compiling an evaluation form for conservation-related projects, which will include conservation biology projects looking for volunteers, eco-tourist ventures, and direct conservation projects such as wildlife rescue. Our aim is to present detailed information on, among other things, stated project goals, results to date, what volunteers can expect, and how donations are spent.

We appreciate your support of Wild Planet and look forward to connecting you more closely to conservation. We hope to translate your enthusiasm for conservation into actions that preserve our wildlife and wild spaces.