
Articles by James Fair
James Fair is an experienced reporter and editor specialising in wildlife conservation. Now freelance, for 18 years he was a writer and commissioning editor for BBC Wildlife Magazine, where he covered a wide range of issues ranging from the illegal wildlife trade to the impacts of farming on wildlife. He also acted as the magazine's travel editor, and has been on assignment to places as far afield as China, Tasmania, Svalbard, Gabon and the wild, wet and windy west coast of Scotland. Before taking up this role with the BBC, James lived and worked in Bolivia, where he worked on a project to reintroduce an orphaned Andean bear cub into the wild, and Ecuador, where he managed a cloud forest reserve. He lives in rural Gloucestershire with his partner, two young sons and a small black cat who brings no end of shame on the family in her fondness for killing local wildlife. He now writes for a number of BBC publications and other environmental news outlets. He tweets at @jamesfairwild


Study fails to find link between increased deforestation and COVID lockdowns

Casinos, condos and sugar cane: How a Cambodian national park is being sold down the river

Turtle conservation hits the SPOT in North Cyprus

Study suggests the Tasmanian tiger survived into the 21st century

Probe begins into alleged deforestation by Olam, ‘world’s largest farmer’

COVID-19 lockdown precipitates deforestation across Asia and South America

Rescuing orangutans ‘doesn’t work’ for apes or forests, studies find

Coronavirus is a crisis for South Africa’s captive lions, campaigners warn

Palm oil giant Olam under scrutiny again over Gabon plantations

Conservationists in peril: Scientists, campaigners risk their lives for their work

Going the extra mile (Insider)

Campaigners push for reform of outdated CITES wildlife trade system

Forestry companies warned over environmental policies

The heat is on: Amazon tree loss could bring 1.45 degree C local rise

Lift-off for thermal-imaging system to estimate wildlife populations

U.S. companies implicated in illegal timber trade from West Africa

Investors warn soy giants of backlash over deforestation in South America

Activists fighting to save orangutan habitat from dam unfazed by legal setback

US senators warn fund managers over palm oil

Asian banks give billions to firms linked to deforestation, study finds

Studying human behavior to protect orangutans: Q&A with Liana Chua

Investors told to wise up over cost of environmental crime

Christmas ad conundrum: Is a palm oil boycott the way to save apes?

Illegal wildlife trade’s ‘dirty money’ targeted by big banks
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Large-scale logging in Cambodia’s Prey Lang linked to politically-connected mining operation
- Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area
- Deforestation on the rise as poverty soars in Nigeria
- Refuge of endangered ‘African unicorn’ threatened by mining, poaching, deforestation

Oceans
- In Sierra Leone, local fishers and foreign trawlers battle for their catch
- For reef mantas, Indonesia’s Komodo National Park is a ray of hope
- Easing of crackdown sees Vietnam boats encroach into Indonesian waters
- Indonesia cancels fisheries infrastructure projects in Maluku region amid lack of funds

Amazon Conservation
- Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area
- Ecuador’s Pastaza province, Indigenous groups collaborate on forest conservation
- ‘Giving up’: Amazon is losing its resilience under human pressure, study shows
- Pharmaceutical water pollution detected deep in the Brazilian Amazon

Land rights and extractives
- Draft-Push for potash mine in Brazil’s Amazon looms over Indigenous people
- Tale of two pandemics as mining thrived while communities faced restrictions
- Open-pit mining ban lifted in Philippine province, clearing way for copper project
- Ousted anti-mining mayor heads back to Philippine city hall after landslide win

Endangered Environmentalists
- Citizen participation: a key achievement at the first COP to the Escazú Agreement
- “We are on the front line”: Q&A with Indigenous land defender Adiela Jineth Mera Paz
- Death threats and friction with military force Guatemalan rangers to flee
- Amazon mining threatens dozens of uncontacted Indigenous groups, study shows

Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- From Flores to Papua: Meet 10 of Indonesia’s mangrove guardians
- Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
- Reforesting a village in Indonesia, one batch of gourmet beans at a time
- Restoring Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, one small farm at a time

Conservation Effectiveness
- In prioritizing conservation, animal culture should be a factor, study says
- Young forests can help heal tropical aquatic ecosystems: Study
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?

Southeast Asian infrastructure
- In Laos, a ‘very dangerous dam’ threatens an ancient world heritage site
- Bali’s new highway project sparks concerns about agriculture and conservation areas
- Deforestation notches up along logging roads on PNG’s New Britain Island
- Plantations and roads strip away Papua’s forests. They’re just getting started
