Mark Rowe

Mark Rowe is a trained journalist and author with more than 25 years' experience of writing on the planet's major environmental issues, from climate change to renewable energy and poverty alleviation as well as wildlife and landscapes. Having cut his teeth and qualified on local papers in the north of England, he worked in Estonia on th Baltic Independent before working for the Telegraph and then news editor at the Independent on Sunday. He writes for a wide range of titles, including the Telegraph, Guardian, BBC Wildlife, the i, Nat Geo Traveller UK, Country, Land & Business and also writes the Behind the Headlines column for BBC Countryfile as well as political pieces for The House magazine and Civil Service World. He is the author of three popular green travel guides for Bradt, on the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and the Isle of Wight. He has written Geographical's dossiers since 2005.


Heinrich Berann’s 1977 painting of the Heezen-Tharp ‘World Ocean Floor’ map

Review: The Deepest Map by Laura Trethewey

Nov 2, 2023
Laura Trethewey charts the fascinating history and pursuit of mapping the ocean floor
The Cambrian explosion saw a sudden, spectacular diversification of complex life in which virtually all major animal phyla began to appear in the fossil record

Review: Extinctions by Michael J Benton

Sep 28, 2023
A disturbingly uplifting but easily accessible read on the mass extinction events through history, and why they might be better than we realise
Deforestation in Borneo

Can Indonesia go green in time?

Sep 4, 2023
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation and largest coal producer, has committed to a net-zero future. Great news for the environment? Conservationists are sceptical
A child suffering from malaria lies in his bedroom in Juba, South Sudan

Review: Fevered Planet by John Vidal

Aug 25, 2023
Former Guardian environment editor John Vidal explores the grim connection between emerging deadly diseases and the damage we do to natu
Farmed Atlantic salmon infected with numerous parasitic sea lice. As a result, the diseased fish are also suffering from deep ulcerations (wounds), fin damage and excessive mucous production

Salmon farm threat to Scottish islands

Aug 17, 2023
There 200+ salmon farms in Scotland, worth £1.2 billion a year. However, the industry is doing untold damage to other marine life
Islanders harvest seaweed in Uist

Anger over the Scottish government’s attempt to impose marine protection, which islanders fear would make their lives impossible

Aug 10, 2023
Islanders fear proposed marine protection moves would have made their lives impossible
The Bou Craa phosphate mine in Western Sahara, home to the world’s longest conveyor belt

Review: Around the world in 80 ways by Stephen Webb

Jul 17, 2023
Stephen Webb boldly challenges our perceptions and explores the world through maps and data
Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) blooms in our rivers and waterways and produces toxic chemicals harmful to aquatic life

Britain’s water crisis

Jul 12, 2023
Each year, billions of tonnes of raw sewage are pumped into England's rivers and coastal waters. But it is not only the water companies who are to blame
Review: The Last Drop by Tim Smedley

Review: The Last Drop by Tim Smedley

May 26, 2023

Tim Smedley’s The Last Drop is a smouldering indictment of the self-inflicted wounds we’re causing ourselves and Earth by careless…

Architectural detail of The Benin Bronzes, group of sculptures created from at least the 16th century in the West African Kingdom of Benin displayed at the British Museum

Review: Great Kingdoms of Africa by John Parker

May 19, 2023
Illustrated with fantastic images of artefacts and landscapes, Great Kingdoms of Africa tells the rich history of the content before the brief period of European colonisation
Smoke rising from burning forest in Jamanxim National Park in Pará, northern Brazil

Can the Amazon be saved?

May 11, 2023
Brazilian president Lula da Silva has a vision to both conserve and harvest the Amazon’s resources. But can he keep everybody onside? 
Rethinking the science, economics and diplomacy of climate change

Rethinking the science, economics and diplomacy of climate change

Mar 31, 2023
In his intelligent and precise book, Five Times Faster, Simon Sharpe argues we need a change in ideas and policy, along side energy infrastructure, before it's too late
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