Geographical articles from February 2007

Geographical archives from February 2007

Mapping malaria risk.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... For the first time in more than 40 years, researchers from Kenya and Britain are creating a global malaria map to help individual nations tackle the disease, which annually claims more than one million lives worldwide. According to the...

Aboriginal remains to be returned.(Natural History Museum returns tasmanian aboriginals)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The Natural History Museum (NHM) is to return the remains of 18 Aboriginal people to Australia in line with new legislation introduced in 2005. After considering advice from its Human Remains Advisory Panel, the museum's board of trustees...

Indonesian haze set to lift.(smog control)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Indonesia's environment minister has introduced tough new measures to combat the problem of smog originating from the country. During the May-October dry season, farmers in Indonesia clear forest and shrubland for cultivation by burning....

Wetlands eco-park opens in Hong Kong.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Hong Kong's first dedicated environmental tourist attraction--a 59 hectare wetlands park has opened in the New Territories. The Hong Kong government hopes that the park will attract at least 500,000 visitors each year and it's already well on...

Top 10 biggest tourist spenders.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... TOP 10 BIGGEST TOURIST SPENDERS (US$million) 1 GERMANY 67,198 2. USA 60,592 3. UK 55,347 4. JAPAN 28,415 5. FRANCE ...

The tropical north Atlantic and Caribbean regions are expected to experience "high activity" during the June-November hurricane season this year, with 15 tropical storms forecast.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The tropical north Atlantic and Caribbean regions are expected to experience "high activity" during the June November hurricane season this year, with 15 tropical storms forecast. The predictions, made by London-based organisation Tropical...

Firefighters in the state of Victoria faced the worst wildfires in 70 years during December, reporting 14 major fires across the state.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Firefighters in the state of Victoria faced the worst wildfires in 70 years during December, reporting 14 major fires across the state. At the time of writing, more than 200,000 hectares of land had been burnt and the resulting smoke has...

Between 1.5 and 1.8 million people across the Horn of Africa are at risk of diseases such as cholera, measles and malaria due to major ongoing floods, according to the World Health Organization.(KENYA)
February 1, 2007... Between 1.5 and 1.8 million people across the Horn of Africa are at risk of diseases such as cholera, measles and malaria due to major ongoing floods, according to the World Health Organization. Since October last year, heavy rains in Ethiopia,...

Updating last month's Dossier on the looting of antiquities, in December, Greek police seized around 11,000 artefacts, including 9,500 coins and marble, porcelain and glass sculptures, in two separate raids.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Updating last month's Dossier on the looting of antiquities, in December, Greek police seized around 11,000 artefacts, including 9,500 coins and marble, porcelain and glass sculptures, in two separate raids. They arrested two men, one of whom...

Marijauna is now the most valuable cash crop grown in the USA.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Marijauna is now the most valuable cash crop grown in the USA, according to a report by DrugScience.org, which estimated that 10,000 tonnes of the drug, worth US$35.8billion, is grown each year.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has struck a deal with its Polish equivalent, OTOP, to contribute 400,000 [pounds sterling] to help buy 1,000 hectares of the Biebrza Marshes in eastern Poland.(POLAND)
February 1, 2007... The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has struck a deal with its Polish equivalent, OTOP, to contribute 400,000 [pounds sterling] to help buy 1,000 hectares of the Biebrza Marshes in eastern Poland. The marshes are home to 80 per cent...

Iraqi marshland recovery.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Almost half of one of the world's largest wetland ecosystems has been revived by an extensive UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) project. Damage to the marshlands, which, during the 1970s covered 20,000 square kilometres, was first...

Diamond mine damage to be restored.(De Beers Group S.A. donates for land restoration)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The world's largest diamond mining company has committed US$250,000 to help land restoration efforts around its South African mines. The De Beers Group donated the funds to the Namaqualand Restoration Initiative (NRI), which aims to restore the...

Brazil creates new protected areas.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... A swathe of Amazon rainforest the size of England has been placed under protection by the Brazilian government in a move that has been applauded by conservation groups worldwide. A total of more than 150,000 square kilometres in seven...

Urban development threatening Victoria Falls.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Victoria Falls, one of Africa's most popular tourist sites and ecologically important habitats, is under threat from uncontrolled urban development that has prompted UNESCO to assess its status as a World Heritage site. The falls,...

Tree planting not a carbon cure-all.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Attempts to mitigate global climate change by planting trees may be doing more harm than good, according to a recent study. Ecologists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Carnegie Institution and Universite Montpellier...

Arctic to melt by 2040.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... In 30 years time, the Arctic could be ice free in summer, according to scientists from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Washington and McGill University in Montreal. Their simulations suggest that within...

Tribal climate conference.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Last December, leaders from more than 50 Native American tribes joined politicians, climate scientists and NGOs for the first Tribal Lands Climate Conference. Held near the Lower Colorado River in Arizona, the conference provided a forum for...

Award for climate scientist.(Dr James Hansen awarded)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... One of the first scientists to recognise the threat of global climate change has been awarded WWF's Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal. Dr James Hansen, head of the NASA Institute for Space Studies, has been studying the Earth's climate since...

Flushing away the problem.(DynaMotive Technologies Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Turning the concept of dirty fuel on its head, human waste could soon be powering diesel engines and boilers. US biofuel group, Dynamotive, has already successfully transformed human sewage into a carbon-neutral fuel on a small scale. The...

North Korea.(foreign relations)
February 1, 2007... The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is arguably the world's most secretive country. With a population of 23 million and an area of 120,000 square kilometres, it became a republic in September 1948 after the end of the Second...

Literacy: although more people are learning to read and write than ever before, there are still 860 million illiterate adults worldwide.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Illiteracy is still widespread in many countries, and in almost all there are more illiterate women than men. In some, women make up 70 per cent or more of the illiterate population, reducing their opportunities for economic and social...

Mendip Hills: areas of outstanding natural beauty: an area that has been heavily influenced by its lead-mining heritage, the 198-square-kilometre Mendip Hills AONB rises above the Somerset Levels south of Bristol, providing views of the Severn estuary, Somerset and beyond.
February 1, 2007... Just a few strides into a late summer walk from Charterhouse in the heart of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to Black Down, its highest point, and confusion has already descended. According to my companions, the land...

In the field.(geographical research)
February 1, 2007... Fieldwork and good empirical or real-life observations are, quite simply, the key elements that make up great research. In recognition of this fact, and in support of geographical research, the Society funds a continuous range of fieldwork...

Lecture of the month: discovering people with Ben Fogle.(IN SOCIETY)
February 1, 2007... 27 February, 7 pm (INTERVIEW, LONDON) Join Sandi Toksvig in conversation with the popular BBC personality, travel writer and adventurer Ben Fogle as he talks about his life, passion for travel and recent adventures rowing across the...

Grant deadlines.(IN SOCIETY)
February 1, 2007... Slawson Awards: 16 February 2007 Awards of up to 3,000 [pounds sterling] are available for PhD students conducting overseas research on development issues. Thesiger-Oman International Research Fellowships: 30 March 2007 Two awards...

Forthcoming events in February.(IN SOCIETY)
February 1, 2007... For details, please contact the Events Office on 020 7591 3100 1 February, 10am INSET day (EDUCATION CONFERENCE, LONDON) Annual teacher in-service training day that includes workshops on current topics, policy updates and...

Royal Geographical Society with IBG: advancing geography and geographical learning.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Patron Her Majesty The Queen Honorary President HRH The Duke of Kent The Council President Professor Sir Gordon Conway Vice Presidents Andrew Linnell, Professor Sarah Metcalfe, Professor Keith Richards Honorary...

Henry George 'Gino' Watkins' wound plugs: wooden pegs used by the young explorer during an expedition to Greenland, where he disappeared while hunting seals.
February 1, 2007... Born on 20 January 1907, Gino Watkins was only 25 years old when he died on an expedition to Greenland, but despite his youth, he had already established himself as an explorer of note. Always interested in outdoor pursuits, Watkins had...

Life among the clouds.
February 1, 2007... It's believed that Asian settlers first arrived in what is now the Independent State of Papua New Guinea more than 50,000 years ago. The territory has since seen numerous struggles for ownership, including claims from Germany, Holland and the...

Lost and found: scattered around the English countryside are the remains of 3,500-odd so-called 'lost' villages, some more than 1,000 years old, others abandoned within the past 50 years. Leigh Driver set out across the country to visit these mysterious sites in the hope of understanding just what had consigned them to their lonely fate.(Book review)
February 1, 2007... The Lost Villages of England by Leigh Driver with photography by Stephen Whitehorne is published by Hew Holland Publishers and is available from all good booksellers, priced at 24.99 [pounds sterling] At 240 metres above sea level,...

Songs of defiance: the turbulence of Tibet's last half-century has had important implications for its rich musical culture. Leading an Oxford University and Royal Geographical Society expedition, Tom Hamilton set out to record and document the traditional folk music of one remote Himalayan community.(Travel narrative)
February 1, 2007... Every musician knows the feeling of being told to keep quiet. But while for most of us it's something that happens occasionally--when practicing gets too loud or goes on too late, last summer I met a man who was told to keep his music quiet for...

Sea change: the world's commercial fisheries are in terminal decline. And with the recent announcement of the latest EU Fisheries Council quotas drawing the usual condemnation from conservationists, a group of scientists is now suggesting that it's time to revolutionise the way in which our marine resources are managed.
February 1, 2007... For some time now, the world's oceans and the people who fish them have been a constant source of bad environmental news. Cod is effectively an endangered species now; every year, thousands of dolphins are drowned and fatally injured by Spanish...

Battling the banana plague: in Uganda, the average adult gets through a kilo of bananas a day--providing as much as a quarter of their daily carbohydrate intake. So when a virulent disease started working its way through the country's banana plantations, the nation held its breath.(Cover story)
February 1, 2007... Juliet Namuddu's face was a picture of despair. "This last year has been awful," she explained. "My family has been hit very hard since this disease arrived." We were standing in the dappled shade of Namuddu's banana plantation in Mukono...

Keeping up with the Khans: the Karakoram Highway is undoubtedly one of the world's most terrifying commutes, especially if you're doing it in a truck so intensely decorated that you're lucky to be able see out of the windscreen. Liz Scarff braves this rocky road to meet the drivers and admire their travelling art galleries.(Travel narrative)
February 1, 2007... Northwestern Pakistan is a remote, rebellious region of towering peaks and vertiginous cliffs. It's a hot, dry, barren land that almost seems to dare plants to grow in its monochrome soils. But moving among this mountainous moonscape is a herd...

Sanctuary in the sun: from the outside, Quilalea Island in northeastern Mozambique looks like just another playground for the wealthy--hosting a swish resort made up of nine beautifully decked out bungalows. But dig a bit deeper and you discover that it was also the germ around which an extraordinary conservation project was built.(Travel narrative)
February 1, 2007... Seven years. That's how long it's been since I last went scuba diving. Not that I'm worried: let's just all it mild apprehension: seven years is a long time. One final check and then we're underwater... breathing easily and calmly......

Afghanistan uncovered.(Royal Geographical Society)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Currently showing at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) headquarters in London, From Kabul to Kandahar: 1833-1933 is an exhibition of photographs, drawings and lithographs illustrating life in Afghanistan during the era of the Great...

Where did we come from?("The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story")(Book review)
February 1, 2007... The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story by Stephen Oppenheimer Constable, hb, pp534, 20 [pounds sterling] There will, Stephen Oppenheimer warns us up front, be the odd academic reviewer of his latest work who will disagree...

Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge and Hope.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge and Hope edited by Richard C Blum el al. National Geographic Books, hb, pp256, 19.99 [pounds sterling] Numerous books have been written about the Himalaya--the vast majority of them...

The Long Exile.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... In 1922, Nanook of the North, a film about the lives of the Canadian Inuit, was released to wide critical acclaim. Consistently hailed as one of the greatest documentaries of all time, the film, which was directed by Robert Flaherty, could also...

The English Year.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... The English Year by Steve Roud Penguin Reference, hb, pp496, 30 [pounds sterling] Ever wanted to try your luck in a cheese-rolling festival, enjoy a skipping orgy or celebrate Old Man's Day? If the answer is yes, then this is the perfect...

Top 10 writer's reads.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... Hilary Bradt founded Bradt Travel Guides in 1974, publishing guides to hiking in Peru and Bolivia. Since then, she has written 11 guidebooks and countless articles, won a handful of awards and chaired a seminar on travel writing for the...

A terrible case of itchy feet.("Burton Holmes Travelogues: The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952")(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... Burton Holmes Travelogues: The Greatest Traveler of His Time, 1892-1952 by Burton Holmes Taschen, hb, pp366, 29.99 [pounds sterling] According to his eulogy, Burton Holmes was the greatest "traveler" (sic) not just of-his own time but...

Envy? Extravagance? But it's only a fruit.("The Pineapple: King of Fruits")(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... The Pineapple: King of Fruits by Fran Beauman Vintage Books, pb, pp316, 12.99 [pounds sterling] It's always rather engaging to witness an author empathising with her subject, but you have to wonder where to draw the line--when Fran Beauman...

Not like other explorers.("No More Beyond: The Life of Hubert Wilkins")(Book review)
February 1, 2007... No More Beyond: The Life of Hubert Wilkins by Simon Nasht Birlinn, hb, pp346, 25 [pounds sterling] Early on in Simon Nasht's brilliant biography of Sir Hubert Wilkins, he says that his subject isn't like other great explorers, primarily...

The Sun King's Garden.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2007... The Sun King's Garden by Iain Thomson Bloomsbury, hb, pp384, 30 [pounds sterling] Most people either adore or detest the sprawling gardens of Versailles. Are they absurdly grandiose or the pinnacle of refined 17th century French taste?...

Geographical classic #39.("Crimean Journal")(Book review)
February 1, 2007... Crimean Journal by Fanny Duberly First published in 1855. Most recent edition: Classic Travel Books, pb, pp198, 9.99 [pounds sterling] There is hardly an account of the Crimean War that doesn't mention Fanny Duberly, a British Army...

Sand, sweat and tears: essential gear: the Marathon de Sables, a 243-kilometre foot race through the Sahara, isn't for the faint of heart. Mark Gillet survived it and has returned with a selection of top kit tips.
February 1, 2007... My introduction to the infamous six-day desert marathon known as the Marathon de Sables (MdS) was a video recording of the 2004 event, in which adventurer and television presenter Ben Fogle took part. He suffered terribly from blisters and...

Ten of the best: even if you're not planning on competing in the Marathon de Sables, you're still sure to find some great tips on kit for hot, extreme expeditions in our regular round-up of the best gear currently on offer.(Buyers guide)
February 1, 2007... 1 Sleeping bag PHD Minim 400 195 [pounds sterling]/670 grams This sleeping bag is an absolute delight. It's extremely light and has no zip, so it's failsafe. Most importantly, it packs down to a tiny size. This is the nearest you can...

New name for Snowdon centre.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The new 8.3million [pounds sterling] visitor centre planned for Wales's highest peak is to be named Hafod Eryri. The first half of the name, which was chosen from more than 400 suggestions from all over the world, has no direct translation from...

BMC's latest DVD release.
February 1, 2007... The British Mountaineering Council has released a new DVD entitled Alpine Essentials. The bulk of the disc is taken up by a 40-minute documentary-style film that follows the progress of two mountaineers in the Swiss Alps. Along the way, viewers...

No more axes to grind.(Grivel)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Grivel first began life in 1818 as a family of blacksmiths making farm tools. Production gradually changed to satisfy the needs of a new breed of wealthy tourists who, for one reason or another, wanted to climb mountains. The ice-axe was one of...

Buried in an avalanche?(AvaLung )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Many savvy mountain-sports enthusiasts are well aware of the changeable weather conditions at altitude and prepare accordingly, but when it comes to the great white force of an avalanche, how many can claim to be equipped to survive one? Many...

Snap up a pair of kids' Crocs.(OUT AND ABOUT)
February 1, 2007... Crocs'--the makers of last summer's must-have shoes has now created a rugged yet colourful slip-on boot--the Georgie. George boots are available in sizes ranging from UK kids'5-6 right up adult sizes in a range of bright colours. And...

New shelter opens in Nepal's 'death valley'.(Machhermo Porter Shelter and Rescue Post)(Community Action Nepal )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... A new shelter has officially opened in a notorious valley in Sagarmatna (Mount Everest) National Park to help reduce the number of porters dying from exposure and Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). The Machhermo Porter Shelter and Rescue Post,...

Weil's disease: medical advice from Jason Gibbs, head pharmacist at Nomad Travel stores and health clinics.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Officially known as leptospirosis, Weil's disease has several colloquial names, including swamp fever, caver's flu, swineherd's disease or sewerman's flu, because of its symptoms and the many ways in which the disease can be caught. ...

Explorer's essentials: Andy Kirkpatrick, Alpinist, photographer, writer and speaker.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... 1. Patagonia Das Parka. A big synthetic duvet with arms that has saved me from a frosty death countless times. * www.patagonia.com 2. Nikon FM3A SLR camera. Digital is great for holiday snaps, but a--50[degrees]C it's just dead...

Rough guide phrasebooks.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... What are they like? Compact, with a simple A-Z layout that includes pronunciation guides, travel scenario dialogues and menu readers, these phrasebooks should have you conversing with the locals in no time. Available in 21 languages, including...

Borderline decisions: Geo photo: cameras are often forbidden at border crossings, but sometimes these sensitive sites invite photographic attention.
February 1, 2007... Whenever you join the queue for passport control and security checks at the airport, you're more than likely to spot a sign marked 'No photography'. It's a blunt, uncompromising edict that is enforced in just about every airport in the world....

Not quite convinced.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... On the one hand, Greenpeace is praising supermarkets for their efforts to address destructive fishing (Worldwatch, January 2007), but on the other, they're still selling prepared fish products such as langoustines that have been shipped from...

Visa error.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... I very much enjoyed reading the article on Turkey in the January edition of Geographical (From the cradle to the grave). Over the past ten years, my wife and I have been frequent visitors to the south and southwest of this very interesting...

Time to ditch the lilacs.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... I was delighted to see your article on women's gear (Equality goes outdoors, December 2006). Finally, manufacturers are waking up to the fact that, yes, women are a different shape and size to men. What a revelation. As a five-foot...

Extremely interesting.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... I must admit that at first I thought that the recent run of kit articles focusing on 'extreme' pursuits such as climbing 8,000-metre-plus mountains (Hit the heights, October 2006), adventure racing (The pain event, November 2006) and walking...

A Newar writes.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... The Archive images from Nepal in the December Geographical (Capturing Kathmandu) really caught my eye. For a Nepatese ex-pat such as myself, who has lived in the UK for far too many years, this photographic portrayal of my home country's...

What future for our museums?(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... I can't argue with the sentiments of Charlie Furniss's insightful Dossier about the looting of antiquities (Plundering the Past, January 2007). And clearly the damage done when artefacts are ripped out in haste instead of being properly...

Natalie Hoare in conversation with ... Sir Ranulph Fiennes.(North and South poles explorer)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 62, the first man to reach both North and South poles by land, is to climb the 3,970-metre Eiger Mountain in the Swiss Alps in March to raise 1.5million [pounds sterling] for the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme....