Rate My Professor James Watson

Professor James Watson is a Professor of Conservation Science at the University of Queensland in the School of the Environment. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, which he completed as a Rhodes Scholar with research focused on developing conservation plans for endemic bird species in Madagascar’s remaining littoral forests. Watson leads the Green Fire Science research group, whose mission is to conduct applied research directly linked to large-scale conservation practice, and the Research and Recovery of Endangered Species group, which concentrates on Australia’s rarest and least-studied species in collaboration with on-ground practitioners.

His work centers on understanding human influences on landscapes and climate and their implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services, with applications to environmental policy and management. Watson has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and reports. He served as global president of the Society for Conservation Biology from 2015 to 2017 and as founding chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Climate Change Specialist Group. He has been a member of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Data and Knowledge Task Force, a Research Fellow for the United Nations Environment Programme, and a Senior Technical Expert for the United Nations Development Programme’s Global Programme on Nature for Development. Watson sits on the scientific committees of BirdLife Australia and SUBAC and is affiliated with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the University of Queensland.