CONTENTS

JANUARY 2011 VOLUME 83 NO 1

16 | Stair Hole near Lulworth Cove. The sedimentary rocks crumpled when two plates collided between 24 and1.5 million years ago

SHUT TERSTOCK

ON THE COVER: a Polisario Front soldier watches the ‘Moroccan Wall’ – a 2,700-kilometre wall of sand built by Morocco during the 1980s – near Auserd, in Polisario-controlled Western Sahara

PHOTOGRAPH by ANDREW MCCONNELL

Depar tments

N E W S | 12 WORLDWATCH | 14 CLIMATEWATCH | 20 IN SOCIETY R E G U L A R S | 6 GEOGRAPHICAL ARCHIVE | 16 AREAS OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY: Dorset

| 65 REVIEWS | 74 GEOPHOTO: Twilight

| 78 LETTERS AND CROSSWORD | 82 I’M A GEOGRAPHER: Richard Mabey C OM P E T I T I O N | 8 WHERE IN THE WORLD?

Features 22 PHOTOSTORY: WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? When Spain relinquished control of Western Sahara, the Sahrawi nomads were left without a country. Three decades later, thousands still live in refugee camps, and many wonder if war is the only way to win back their land. Photographs by Andrew McConnell

30 EYES IN THE SKY As high-resolution satellite imagery becomes cheaper and more accessible, NGOs are increasingly using it to monitor instances of human rights and environmental abuse. Olivia Edward reports

36 CALEDONIA DREAMING Millennia of deforestation has left Scotland’s Caledonian Forest at just one per cent of its original size. A growing movement is trying to re-establish this natural heritage, but not everyone is in support of the plan. Patrick Evans heads into the Highlands to find out why

44 IN SEARCH OF THE ICE CAVE The location of the source of the Oxus River in Afghanistan has long been cloaked in mystery, despite the efforts of many explorers. In 2007, Bill Colegrave set out to solve the mystery once and for all

50 GIRL POWER In Ghana, thousands of young women migrate from the rural north to cities in the south to work as street porters. It’s exhausting, poorly paid work, but for many it offers an exhilarating taste of freedom and money. Peter DiCampo reports

56 OLD LEH, NEW CLOTHES A remarkable restoration project is attempting to save the historic buildings of Leh, an outpost on the ancient trade routes through the Indian Himalaya. Amar Grover takes a stroll through the old town

69 ESSENTIAL GEAR: THE COMMONWEALTH OF COLD In 2009, Felicity Aston led the largest and most internationally diverse women’s expedition to ski to the South Pole. Here she describes the kit that kept them warm en route

JANUARY 2011 www.geographical.co.uk 3