September 2007
A View Of Our Changing World
Cartographers have been working hard to address major changes in the world’s landscape as they update the latest version of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World which was published on the 3rd September. As they do so, it has become apparent how dramatic an effect mankind has had on the planet in the 4 years since the last edition.
Climate change, the construction of homes, industrial plants, ill-conceived irrigation projects and mass human migration have all played their part in redrawing our maps. Editor-in-chief of the atlas, Mick Ashworth, raised grave concerns about the revelations:
"We can literally see environmental disasters unfolding before our eyes. We have a real fear that in the near future famous geographical features will disappear forever."
This is not the first time that changes have had to be reflected in the atlas, but this edition is somewhat different explained publishing editor Jethro Lennox: "rather than just one or two [changes[, you have half a dozen major examples of how human activities are causing changes in our maps."
The most major changes list several well-documented cases, including:
- The Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk by 75% since 1967 thanks to ambitious Soviet irrigation plans and unmonitored tapping since the end of the cold war.
- Lake Chad has shrunk 95% since 1963 as failing monsoons and human interference have taken their toll.
- The Dead Sea is 25metres lower than it was 50 years ago, largely because of over irrigation.
- Mount Kilimanjaro has lost more than 80% of its icecap in the last century.
A new feature in the atlas is the denoting of ghost towns which are marked on maps as "abandoned." Amongst these are Plymouth, on Monserrat, following the 1995-97 volcanic activity there. Most worryingly, Shishmaref in Alaska is set to become the first US settlement to be abandoned because of climate change. As sea ice has broken up and the village has become more exposed to the elements, the sea has continued to advance at the rate of 3metres a year.
There are also some elements to climate change that cannot be pictorially represented in the atlas, such as:
- Over one percent of tropical rainforest cover is destroyed every year to clear land for crop cultivation
- Tuvalu, is only five metres above sea level at its highest point, and could be wiped off the map entirely in the near future.
However, there is a shaft of light penetrating through the gloom. Environmental issues in Iraq and central Asia have been addressed to some degree by the restoration of the Iraqi marshlands through re-flooding and the return of Marsh Arabs. Also, the construction of a dam to stop the flow of water from the Northern Aral has resulted in a rise in the Sea level there, reviving a dying fishing industry.
Perhaps most promising is the progress made in protecting our existing treasures, with 13% of the world’s land surface being designated a "protected area." Combined with the promising statistic that the world’s wind power production capacity increased by over 20% over the 2004-2005 period, we are presented with real hope for the future. Whatever the change to come over the next few years, the cartographers at the Times Atlas will be sure to document it.
Lake Chad - 1972
Lake Chad - 1987
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