Sun Bear Expert Team Co-chair

Brian is Regional Director of Free the Bears, overseeing programme activities in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Brian has 15 years’ experience working on wildlife conservation in Southeast Asia, starting with a bear release project in Northern Laos. With a strong belief in the need for evidence-based conservation, Brian has spent much of the past ten years implementing research projects designed to improve understanding of Asiatic black bears and sun bears in the region. Currently, for his PhD, Brian is evaluating population monitoring techniques as a key component of adaptive conservation strategies. Working closely with the Bear Specialist Group, he conducted the first nationwide surveys of bears in Vietnam and played a lead role in developing the Sun Bear Conservation Action Plan – the first range-wide action plan for a terrestrial bear species, integrating in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts. Brian has a keen interest in the role that ex-situ research can play in improving animal welfare and species conservation, and is actively involved in facilitating student research at Free the Bears sanctuaries. To help combat the major threat posed by illegal trade, Brian coordinates pioneering social science research designed to more effectively change behaviours in order to reduce demand for bear bile and secure a sustainable future for bears in Southeast Asia.