Geographical articles from October 2004

Geographical archives from October 2004

Photographing the world.
October 1, 2004... Last month, it was my great pleasure to chair the panel of judges for the Geographical Photographer of the Year competition--a job that I found a lot more difficult than I'd expected for a number of reasons. First, there was the sheer number of...

Railway memories.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... It was of interest to see the story about the Eritrea railway (Eritrea gets back on track, September 2004). Fifty years ago I was there and the piece brought back quite a few memories--the train trips to Massawa from Asmara, from Asmara to...

Lost links.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... The profile of Sir Halford Mackinder (Worldwatch, September 2004) surprisingly made no mention of his links with the Geographical Association (GA), the geographical body with which he was most closely associated. Concerned to see geography...

Crossed lines.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... Regarding the photo used to illustrate the Quizzical question 'How many countries does the equator pass through?' (May 2004), I would like to point out that the equatorial line through Ecuador indicated in the photo is now considered incorrect....

Amazing travel, great prizes.(letters)
October 1, 2004... Put your best travel experiences into words and you could win a Rohan jacket or a host of other prizes thanks to Geographical and amazingtravelexperiences.com. Watching the sun set over Uluru layers Rock), entering the ancient city of...

A case of history repeating itself?(Letter Of The Month)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... I've just read Justin Marozzi's piece on Tamerlane, which appeared in the September issue of Geographical (Tamerlane: Rerturn of the sword of Islam). The article struck a chord with me because I travelled to Uzbekistan as part of an...

Consumption question.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... There is a very clear distinction between the standards of living in relation to energy consumption in different pars of the world. For instance, the April issue of Geographical quotes the USA as accounting for only five per cent of the world's...

Lost in the post.(Letters)
October 1, 2004... Founded in May 1902 by settlers who mostly came from Switzerland, Germany and Italy, the dry depicted In this stamp is renowned for its architecture and stunning lakeside setting. The city Is surrounded by impressive peaks and the latter part...

Prize crossword.
October 1, 2004... First five correct entries win this Victorinox Jelly-Light Classic and Cross Pen Set, worth 29.95 [pounds sterling] ACROSS 1 "Yam" and "rag" translated into Finno-Ugric language of Hungary (6) 4 After one cup, cola explodes here...

Five members of the British Antarctic Survey have been awarded the Polar Medal by HRH the Queen at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... UK Five members of the British Antarctic Survey have been awarded the Polar Medal by HRH the Queen at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace for "service in support of the acquisition of knowledge of polar regions".

The AIDS crisis has cut life expectancy in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa to less than 40 years.(Africa)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The AIDS crisis has cut life expectancy in seven countries in sub Saharan Africa to less than 40 years. According to the UN Development Programme, the crisis is the biggest factor in the dramatic decline of human development indicators in the...

The New Forest is become England's eighth national park.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The New Forest is to become England's eighth national park--and the first to be designated in almost 50 years.

The Tree Council is celebrating its 30th anniversary.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Tree Council is celebrating its 30th anniversary by inviting people to join its Seed Gathering Sunday on 10 October.

Satellites spot new species.(Global)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Scientists studying chameleons in Madagascar may have stumbled upon a technique for pinpointing areas that host undiscovered animal and plant species. The team, led by Christopher Raxworthy of the American Museum of Natural History, used a...

Ice Age legacy buckling North America.(Global)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... More than 18,000 years after the last ice age reached its peak, the legacy of the ice sheet that once coveted the North American continent is posing a threat to cities in the northwestern USA, according to a group of US and Canadian geologists...

Whale threat from oil project.(Russia)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Environmentalists are calling on Royal Dutch Shell to suspend the Sakhalin oil project In eastern Russia pending a full review. The outcry comes in response to an International Whaling Commission (IWC) resolution that calls for a halt In...

First Arctic site added to World Heritage list.(Greenland)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... An icefjord in Greenland has become the first truly Arctic site to be inscribed on the World Heritage list by UNESCO. The Ilulissat icefjord, Located on the western coast of Greenland, 250 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, is the end point...

Rare bird found in Myanmar.(Myanmar)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A large population of the critically endangered Gurney's pitta has been found in forest near the proposed Lenya National Park in southern Myanmar. Ornithologists on a joint Myanmar and BirdLife International (BI) expedition to the...

Musk deer populations in parts of Russia and Mongolia are rapidly dwindling as a result of poaching for traditional Asian medicine.(Russia)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Musk deer populations in parts of Russia and Mongolia are rapidly dwindling as a result of poaching for traditional Asian medicine. In Russia, art estimated 80 per cent of all musk deer killed have been poached, according to findings published...

The EU has renewed its pledge to the IUCN-inspired Countdown 2010.(Europe)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... EUROPE The EU has renewed its pledge to the IUCN-inspired Countdown 2010 initiative to halt the loss of biodiversity in Europe by the end of the decade. * Info: www.count down2010.net

Countries with the highest percentage of forested land.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF FORESTED LAND TOP 10 forest cover (%) 1 Cook Islands 95.7 2 Suriname 90.5 3 French Guiana ...

Bardsey Bird Observatory in Wales has caught Europe's oldest known razorbill.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Bardsey Bird Observatory in Wales has caught Europe's oldest known razorbill, which was originally ringed as a chick in 1962, making it 42 years old. The previous record, held by another Welsh razorbill, was 28.5 years.

The cross-party House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has recommended that the UK government puts pressure on the USA and Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The cross-party House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has recommended that the UK government puts pressure on the USA and Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. "The government must do everything in its power to persuade both...

Ernest Giles (1835-97) Explorer Ernest Giles 'discovered' more land in Australia than anyone else, covering a distance of more than 8,000 kilometres.(Late Great Geographers #48)(Biography)
October 1, 2004... What was his background? Born in Bristol in 1835, Ernest Giles was educated at Christ's Hospital in London. His parents migrated to Australia in 1850 and the following year Giles joined them in Adelaide. Spending his first few years...

Geographical Magazine, October 1984.(20 Years Ago Today ...)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The cover story of the October 1984 issue looked at the shipping industry. While steel-hulled, motorised ships, introduced at the end of the 19th century, ended the more romantic era of sail, perhaps the largest impact came from...

Rio Grande survey success.(Bolivia)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Scientific Exploration Society has just completed the first scientific exploration of a gorge filled 400-kilometre stretch of the Rio Grande in Bolivia The ten-week Kota Mama V expedition, led by Colonel John Blashford-Snell, ended at...

Afghanistan.(Geographical / Flags Of The World)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Afghanistan Description Black, red and green stripes have been present on almost all Afghanistan flags during the past 40 years. The gold central design is Afghanistan's emblem--a mosque and its mihrab, a niche in the wall that faces Mecca...

Fauna & Flora International (FFI): helping to conserve the world's plants and animals.(Geographical Organisations Of Note)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... When was FFI founded? Founded in 1903, FFI is the world's oldest international conservation organisation. A century ago, the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Lord Kitchener, enthusiastic hunters who saw Africa's big game dwindling, realised...

The Countryside Agency is racing against time to rediscover and record the ten per cent of England's rights of way that don't appear on definitive maps kept by the highways authorities.(UK)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Countryside Agency is racing against time to rediscover and record the ten per cent of England's rights of way that don't appear on definitive maps kept by the highways authorities. Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael said," Historic routes...

The world's oceans are absorbing an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide, increasing their acidity and threatening the long-term survival of many marine species.(Global)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The world's oceans are absorbing an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide, increasing their acidity and threatening the long term survival of many marine species, according to research presented at a recent UNESCO symposium. According to the...

Weather can give you a migraine, say scientists.(USA)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Weather can give you a migraine, say scientists. Over two years, Dr Patricia Prince and colleagues from the New England Center for Headache in Stamford studied 77 people, more than half of whom proved to be sensitive to the weather, with the...

October: as the storm season approaches, Helen Willets explains how the great storm of 1987 has changed forecasting.(Weatherwatch with Helen Willetts)
October 1, 2004... "And to the lady from Wales who rang to say she'd heard a hurricane was on the way, don't worry, there isn't, but it will be extremely windy, particularly across the south..." So said Michael Fish in a BBC broadcast on 15 October 1987 and thus...

Greenpeace calls for North Sea closure.(Global)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Around 40 per cent of the North and Baltic seas must be closed to fishing, dredging and mineral exploration if they're to be saved from destruction, says Greenpeace. The conservation group proposes seven marine reserve areas in the North Sea...

Global population watch.(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The world population at the time of going to press was according to: the United Nations 6,463,255,398 the CIA 6,403,073,547 the US Bureau of the Census 6,395,935,316

Has Sealand been officially recognised?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... S Thompson, Wrexham. ANSWER: When it comes to nationhood, it's one thing to declare independence, but quite another to get recognition Sealand has been run as a tiny nation since 1967, when Roy Bates Landed on the Roughs Tower sea fort...

What has happened to Macau since China retook control?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... J Wingrove, Swindon. ANSWER: Macau was the last colony to return to Chinese control, shortly after the handover of nearby Hong Kong. As with Hong Kong, Chinese president Zhang Zemin premised that the former Portuguese colony would be run...

What type of pencil is more environmentally friendly: mechanical or wooden?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... M Deloso, London. If you want an environmentally friendly writing implement, then the pencil is the best place to start. There are pencils made from cedar from sustainable forests, pencils made from recycled plastic burger boxes and even...

Which travel guide was the world's first?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A Wong, Hastings ANSWER: Forget Lonely Planet or even the diaries of Victorian explorers--in order to find the first book considered to be a travel guide, you have to go back to the Dark Ages and the rise of the Christian pilgrimage to...

What and where is the Elemi Triangle?(Quizzical)
October 1, 2004... J Fuller, Newmarket ANSWER: The Elemi or Ilemi Triangle has a dubious distinction--most disputed territories have just two countries fighting over them, but this piece of land in eastern sub-Saharan Africa has gone one better, with three...

Explore.
October 1, 2004... On 20 and 21 November, the Society will hold its 27th annual expedition and fieldwork planning seminar. More than 100 of Europe's leading field scientists and explorers will cover topics such as project management, field techniques,...

Adapt or fry?(The Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers))(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... On 13 October, a by-invitation meeting will be held at the RGS-IBG to discuss who is on the front line when it comes to adapting to climate change and what strategies are in place--from the local to the global level. Key stakeholders, including...

RGS-IBG grants--will you accept the challenge?(In society: a round-up of news, views and recent and orthcoming events at the RGS-IBG)(The Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers))
October 1, 2004... RGS-IBG grants officer Greg Dow takes a look at past winners of the Society's grants and awards and explains how you can follow in their footsteps and further geography and our understanding of the world by applying for one of the Grants...

Journalists for a day.(In society: a round-up of news, views and recent and forthcoming events at the RGS-IBG)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Ever wondered what it's like to be a journalist? Seventeen budding writers from the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth got a taster of life in a busy newsroom in July when they became our Geography in the News reporters for a day....

A selection of Society events taking place in October.(In society: a round-up of news, views and recent and forthcoming events at the RGS-IBG)
October 1, 2004... For details, please contact the Events Office on 020 7591 3100 or see www.rgs.org/events 4 October, 6.30pm Ceylon revisited One hundred years on, Sir Christopher Ondaatje traces Leonard Woolf's journey across Sri Lanka. *...

Mapping out a disastrous course: sketch map of Antarctica by Ernest Shackleton (1914).(Map Of The Month)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... This modest pencil sketch map was a precursor to one of the most remarkable Antarctic survival stories of all time. It was sketched by Ernest Shackleton on 17 March 1914 on the back of his menu card for the London Devonian Association's annual...

Brave new Berlin: ten years after the last foreign troops pulled out of Berlin, Nigel Hicks reports on how the city is transforming itself from a symbolic flashpoint of the Cold War into a great modern city at the heart of Central Europe.
October 1, 2004... People swirl around the huge concourse of the Sony Centre in Berlin, some hurrying about their business, others ambling in open-mouthed fascination at this study in modern steel-grey minimalism. Sunlight pours in through the tent-like roof,...

Making sense of the census.(Geographical dossier)
October 1, 2004... In September 2002, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published the most accurate estimate ever made of the population of the UK*. The figure was calculated from data collected during the national census of 2001, the most in-depth survey...

Counting on the public: although the 2001 census used new techniques to produce the most complete survey of the UK population, its statisticians still encountered problems.(Geographical dossier)
October 1, 2004... The census isn't cheap. According to the most recent figures provided by Len Cook of the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the 2001 census will cost about 260million [pounds sterling]. This represents an increase of more than 140million...

On borrowed time? Even though the latest census was the UK's most extensive, ongoing debate surrounding its accuracy and cost could see it abandoned in the future.(Geographical dossier)
October 1, 2004... When the first figures from the 2001 One Number Census were released, they were heralded as the most accurate assessment of the UK population yet. But there was a big surprise. There seemed to be about 900,000 fewer people than had been...

Putting it into practice: digitisation has made census information easily available to a range of sources. But it has brought with it a new set of problems relating to data protection.(Geographical dossier)
October 1, 2004... Since the first UK census was conducted in 1801, the decennial process has yielded one result that successive governments have considered to be of fundamental importance. "The most simple thing the census reveals is, give or take a million, how...

James Wordie: polar exploration's unsung hero: although he took part in nine polar expeditions and was involved in both the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest and the first crossing of Antarctica, James Wordie has been overlooked by historians. Michael Smith, author of the first-ever biography of this neglected giant of exploration, tells his remarkable story.(Biography)
October 1, 2004... By any measure, James Wordie was an outstanding character. A prodigious traveller, he helped to revolutionise exploration during the 1920s and was instrumental in keeping alive the UK's long-standing presence in the polar territories. He was...

Adventures in the spice trade: Kipling famously said that East and West would never meet, but in fact they'd already been doing just so for centuries via the spice trade. Jack Turner overturns some of the widely held misconceptions about the story of spice.
October 1, 2004... The history of trade with the Far East begins with a house fire in Syria in around 1720 BC. The house, belonging to a fellow named Puzurum, was razed and forgotten. And so matters would have remained but for the visit of a team of...

The Geographical Photographer of the Year 2004.(Photographer Of The Year)
October 1, 2004... Each year, the Geographical Photographer of the Year competition attracts some fantastic images, and this year was no exception. Here we present the winners and first two runners-up for each of the six categories--chosen from the 2,000...

Maps that changed the shape of Great Britain: geography and maps are as inseparable as history and dates. Over the past year, Nicholas Crane has been working on Mapman, an eight-part BBC2 television series that explores 'masterpiece maps' of Britain. Part one of his exclusive feature for Geographical takes us from the Middle Ages to a 17th-century coastal chart.(Maps Of Britain Part 1)
October 1, 2004... The first great flowering of British cartography occurred during the Middle Ages, when maps recorded remembered, rather than measured, geographies. As Britain was surveyed over the following centuries, a paper trail of maps was left behind. A...

In trouble again and again and again: whether he's in the heart of Borneo, on a trawler in the North Atlantic or teaching at Oxford, Redmond O'Hanlon has a knack for getting himself into strife. Geordie Torr meets one of Britain's funniest and most perceptive travel authors and discovers a frustrated biologist.(Interview)
October 1, 2004... Having travelled through the jungle with Redmond O'Hanlon on several occasions, I'd come to see hint as a rather eccentric, bumbling innocent, frequently out of his depth and often, inadvertently, in grave danger. Accompanying him first up a...

Margaret Mee's Amazon.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Margaret Mee's Amazon by Margaret Mee, Antique Collectors' Club, hb, pp300, 29.50 [pounds sterling] As a young woman growing up in Buckinghamshire during the 1920s and '30s, Margaret Mee was captivated by travel writers' tales. After...

The life and times of a polar giant.(Polar Crusader: Sir James Wordie )(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Polar Crusader: Sir James Wordie by Michael Smith Birlinn, hb, pp320, 25 [pounds sterling] To read of James Wordie's remarkable life is to go right to the heart of British polar exploration and then watch it move from the Heroic Age of...

Death's Other Kingdom.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Death's Other Kingdom by Gamel Woolsey Eland, pb, pp160, 9.99 [pounds sterling] This month, Eland is extending its list with what at first glance seems a pretty obscure title, but could prove to be one of their best to date. Death's Other...

Nanda Devi: a Journey to the Last Sanctuary.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Nanda Devi: A Journey to the Last Sanctuary by Hugh Thomson Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, hb, pp134, 18.99 [pounds sterling] The Nanda Devi sanctuary in the Indian Himalaya is surrounded by a ring of 6,000-metre peaks a virtually impenetrable...

Journey into Africa.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Journey into Africa by James McCarthy, Whittles, pb, pp256, 35 [pounds sterling] In 1872, at the height of the golden age of African exploration, Keith Johnston became map curator of the RGS. He was responsible for the verification of...

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith, Polygon, hb, pp208, 12.99 [pounds sterling] The problem with soap opera is that it can't simultaneously satisfy its two most important requirements: that everything stays the...

Cities.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Cities by John Reader William Heineman, hb, pp400, 20 [pounds sterling] For John Reader, cities are parasites that cover a tiny proportion of the Earth's surface but suck resources from far and wide. London alone, he writes, houses just 12...

Valverde's Gold.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... Valverde's Gold by Mark Honlgsbaum Macmillan, hb, pp320, 18.99 [pounds sterling] Mark Honigsbaum deserves top marks for displacement activities. Arriving in Ecuador to research the Victorian botanist Richard Spruce, he quickly caught...

Off the Beaten Track: Three Centuries of Women Travellers.(Critical Essay)
October 1, 2004... National Portrait Gallery St Martin's Place, London Open dally: 10am-6pm (Thursdays and Fridays: 10am-9pm) Admission: free In Off the Beaten Track, the National Portrait Gallery has pulled together a fascinating and varied homage to women...

Compass: a Story of Exploration and Innovation.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... by Alan Gurney Norton, hb, pp320, 17.99 [pounds sterling] The currency of the single-strand 'biography of a thing' was never higher than when Dava Sobel's Longitude was breaking all records back in the late 1990s. The publication of Compass...

The Solar Economy.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... by Hermann Scheer Earthscan, pb, pp386, 14.99 [pounds sterling] There are real grounds for concern about the world's fossil fuel reserves, whether looked at in terms of future needs or the effect of their use on global climate. Hence it's...

Making Pictures.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... by Julian Calder, Macmillan, hb, pp240, 20 [pounds sterling] It's always a scary moment when a new handbook of photography lands on the desk. There are so many of them about, and the proportion of them that are any good isn't as high as it...

The Travels of Marco Polo.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
October 1, 2004... edited by Manuel Komroff First published in 1930. Most recent edition published by Liveright, pb, pp388, 10.99 [pounds sterling] It might come as a surprise to readers new to Marco Polo that he isn't, in the words of travel-book-dust-jacket...

Geographical travel: this month we bring you the latest travel news, speak to Dr Matthias Hammer of Biosphere Expeditions and ask if it's still possible to have a meaningful experience as a tourist in Egypt.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, CANADA Overlooked by a majestic snowcapped peak, a dense forest of pine sways gently in the breeze. Save for the occasional call of a Townsend's warbler, the only sound is the whistle of the wind in the trees....

Mediterranean wetlands threat.(travel news)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Tourism in the Mediterranean is destroying valuable wetlands and contributing to the depletion of local water resources, according to a recent WWF report. "The tourism industry's growing demand for water-guzzling facilities and services such as...

Eco-friendly skiing.(travel news)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2004... Environmentally minded skiers can now hit the slopes with a clear conscience, thanks to an innovative new eco-retreat in Switzerland. Based above the resort of Villars, Whitepod will house guests in five large dome-shaped tents raised on wooden...

Tackling Antarctic tourism.(travel news)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) recently announced that tourism management is to become its top priority. The AAD is pushing for an Antarctic tourism accreditation scheme, under which tour companies would have to assess environmental...

The Maldives: lost in paradise.(Tourism Concern)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... If you think of the Maldives, you probably imagine palm-fringed beaches and turquoise waters, And rightly so. The islands have been described as the original paradise and attract about 100,000 British tourists a year. Yet behind this...

Southeast Asia.(Travel Update)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Independent travellers in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand can now consult a comprehensive new online guide. Travelfish lists more than 1,100 places to stay and allows users to create and download a personalised travel guide that updates itself...

Morocco.(Travel Update)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Moroccan National Tourist Office has launched a website that features an interactive map, tips on the best ways to travel in the region and the latest local news * info: www.visitmorocco.com

Egypt through the looking glass: visiting the sites of ancient Egypt can leave the unprepared traveller in a state of tomb fatigue. Anthony Sattin braves the hustle and hassle of the modern tourism conveyor-belt and finds that it's still possible to travel up the Nile and have a meaningful experience.
October 1, 2004... All that remained was for them to visit the tax-free shop, and they eyed its rows of alcohols with the dazed look of escapees from the desert. Jeff and Sally had just spent a week in Egypt. It was a trip they had dreamt of making all their...

Egypt's ancient wonders: from Alexandria to Abu Simbel, Cairo to the Colossi of Memnon, the Great Pyramid to the Temples of Philae--ever since the camera was invented, people have taken photographs of the splendours of Egypt: Charlie Furniss presents some of the earliest examples from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society.(Geographical Archive)
October 1, 2004... As Anthony Sattin explains in the previous article, visiting Egypt today isn't a simple business. Tourism is a multi-million-dollar industry and everyone wants a piece of the action. It's hard to soak up the majesty of the monuments and...

The responsible tourism awards: tell us about the world's best responsible tourism organisations, from environmentally sound treks to locally run lodges, and win a holiday to Peru.
October 1, 2004... We all love to visit stunning holiday destinations. But many of them are in fragile environments or have a rich cultural heritage and local communities that are coming under increasing pressure from tourism. The type of holiday that we choose...

Dr Matthias Hammer is founder and field operations director of Biosphere Expeditions, a non-profit organisation that offers hands-on wildlife-conservation expeditions. Sian Wherrett talks to him about the company's origins, philosophy and future.(Travel For A Living)(Interview)(Company Profile)
October 1, 2004... How did Biosphere Expeditions begin? Why did you decide to found it? It started in 1999. While I was working on my PhD at Cambridge, I realised that there are lots of scientists out there with interesting projects, but without funds or...

Sir Wally Herbert had mapped 73,000 square kilometres of previously unexplored land before he was 30. In 1969, he led the team that made the first undisputed attainment of the North Pole on foot and continued to Svalbard, becoming the first to cross the entire Arctic Ocean. Christian Amodeo joins him on his 70th birthday to learn more about his many achievements.(In Conversation)(Interview)
October 1, 2004... Sir Ranulph Fiennes has called you "the greatest polar explorer of our time". What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? I can't honestly answer that with the predictable "North Pole trip, of course", because I simply don't look...