In the August issue of Geographical, venture to Scotland, Borneo, Kenya and more
In our August cover story, head to Scotland with Mark Rowe as he investigates one of Britain’s most controversial traditions: harvesting young gannets in Sula Sgeir. In Kenya, Stuart Butler explores how the cut flower industry is trying to show it can have a greener future. Sean Sutton reports on the communities determined to return home in Myanmar’s Karenni State.
Bryony Cottam discovers how community-led tourism is shaping a different kind of Caribbean escape in Dominica, while Tristan Kennedy explores the wonders of expedition climbing. Rory Walsh pays homage to the ‘Queen of Welsh resorts’, Llandudno.
Our columnists bring an array of topics to the forefront to help you stay on top of the world: Doug Specht looks at whether Britain’s £5billion drone spend is buying security or a subscription to endless war; Marco Magrini argues that insects are disappearing with far-reaching consequences, while Andrew Brooks considers how Chinese car brands are no longer playing catch-up with Europe.
Our digital edition is out now, too, giving you access to all the stories in our latest issue, plus our full archive dating back to 1935, with hundreds of magazines to explore. Digital access is available through the Geographical app, and you can now enable notifications to be alerted the moment the latest issue is live. And if you want to enjoy our beautifully designed and produced print magazine, we can post the next edition to you anywhere in the world. Join us and stay on top of the world.
Hidden war
Nearly four decades after his first visit to Myanmar, photographer Sean Sutton returns to Karenni State to witness a conflict transformed by drones and air strikes, but still haunted by one of war’s oldest weapons – landmines.
Travelling through active front lines, displacement camps and devastated villages, he meets families forced to rebuild their lives time and again as they flee renewed fighting.
While resistance fighters continue to battle Myanmar’s military junta, civilians face an equally relentless struggle to return home, with hidden explosives preventing them from farming, rebuilding and living safely. Sutton documents the resilience of communities determined to reclaim their future despite overwhelming risks, from improvised mine-clearance teams to amputees learning to walk again.
Bangladesh’s measles crisis
Bangladesh is facing one of its worst measles outbreaks in years after falling vaccination rates left thousands of children vulnerable. This powerful report from Piyas Biswas in Dhaka follows families whose lives have been devastated by a disease that should be preventable, while revealing the immense pressure on overcrowded hospitals and frontline healthcare workers.
Roses without thorns
Kenya’s cut-flower industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. Once criticised for its impact on Lake Naivasha’s fragile ecosystem, many growers are now leading the way in more sustainable flower production through innovative farming techniques, water conservation and habitat restoration.
Visiting the shores of the Rift Valley lake, Stuart Butler explores how flower farms are reducing their environmental footprint while investing in local communities through healthcare, education and employee welfare.
Heritage or harm?
For more than 500 years, the men of Ness on the Isle of Lewis have made the hazardous journey to the remote island of Sula Sgeir to harvest young gannets, or guga, in one of Britain’s oldest surviving hunting traditions.
Today, however, this centuries-old custom finds itself at the centre of an increasingly bitter national debate. Supporters see the hunt as an irreplaceable part of Gaelic culture and island identity, preserving skills and traditions that have endured for generations. Critics argue that, in an age of modern food supplies, growing concern for animal welfare and declining seabird populations, the practice can no longer be justified.
Mark Rowe explores the competing arguments, from the close-knit Hebridean community determined to protect its heritage to campaigners calling for an end to the hunt, asking whether ancient traditions can – or should – survive in a changing world.
On the wild side
Often overlooked in favour of its glitzier Caribbean neighbours, Dominica offers a very different island experience.
Here, towering volcanic peaks, dense rainforest, bubbling geothermal springs and deep coastal waters have created one of the region’s richest natural environments.
In this immersive journey, Bryony Cottam explores an island where nature shapes both everyday life and the future of tourism. From encounters with resident sperm whales and volcanic beaches to walks through edible forests and mountain trails, she discovers a destination committed to sustainable, locally led tourism rather than mass development.
Yet as a new international airport and other major projects promise to bring more visitors, Dominica faces a defining question: can it grow its tourism industry without losing the wild landscapes, biodiversity and community spirit that have made it known as the Caribbean’s ‘nature island’?
Back to base
In the late 1970s, an international team led by the Royal Geographical Society documented thousands of species, mapped vast cave systems and transformed scientific understanding of tropical rainforests, laying the foundations for modern conservation.
Nearly 50 years after one of the most ambitious rainforest expeditions ever undertaken, the scientists who helped unlock the secrets of Borneo’s Gunung Mulu National Park return to the place where they made history.
This reunion brings together surviving expedition members with the Indigenous Berawan and Penan communities whose knowledge made many of those discoveries possible.
Izzy Sasada reflects on how Mulu has changed over the past half-century and how much of Borneo’s rainforest has disappeared beyond its borders.
