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
Scotland changes course to save its last native wildcats
Can celebrities and social media influencers really ‘rewrite extinction’?
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Campaigners push for reform of outdated CITES wildlife trade system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
- Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
- Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation
- Poverty and plantations: Nigerian reserve struggles against the odds
- Logging, road construction continue to fuel forest loss in Papua New Guinea
Oceans
- Huge new no-fishing zones give Antarctic marine predators and their prey a break
- Madagascar takes key step toward improving transparency of its fisheries
- Report: Rising slaughter of small whales and dolphins threatens ocean balance
- Stalemate: WTO talks again fail to end overfishing subsidies
Amazon Conservation
- Fanned by El Niño, megafires in Brazil threaten Amazon’s preserved areas
- Brazil’s Amazonian states push for court reforms in bid for justice
- Squeezed-out Amazon smallholders seek new frontiers in Brazil’s Roraima state
- Study points to which Amazon regions could reach tipping point & dry up
Land rights and extractives
- New report details rights abuses in Cambodia’s Southern Cardamom REDD+ project
- Phantom deeds see Borneo islanders lose their land to quartz miners
- Indonesians uprooted by mining industry call for a fairer future amid presidential vote
- Indonesian nickel project harms environment and human rights, report says
Endangered Environmentalists
- Vietnamese environmentalist sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion
- Son of slain Quilombola leader will still strive for community’s rights
- Video: Five Tembé Indigenous activists shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
- Indigenous activists demand justice after 5 shot in Amazonian ‘palm oil war’
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
- After 20 years and thousands of trees planted, Kalimantan’s veteran forester persists
Conservation Effectiveness
- The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
- Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
- Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
- How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
- To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest