The Geopolitics of Chad’s Doba Oil Pipeline
The Chad-Cameroon Pipeline was a World Bank project meant to turn a landlocked nation's oil into wealth for its people. This steel river, stretching 1,070 km from Chad's Doba Basin…
Tag: indigenous rights
Sweden’s Millennium Program: Mining the North
In the far north of Sweden, an entire city is on the move. Discover Kiruna, the arctic mining town being relocated piece by piece to make way for the very…
The Argan Forests of Morocco
In a sun-drenched corner of southwestern Morocco lies the world’s only natural Argan forest, a unique geographical ecoregion recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This is the land of the…
Canada’s Sinking Hudson Bay Coast
While much of Canada is rising in elevation after the last Ice Age, a geological paradox is causing the Hudson Bay coastline to sink. This unique process, a "seesaw effect"…
Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni: A Lithium Map
Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni is a landscape of stark contrasts: a brilliant white salt flat that becomes the world's largest mirror, and beneath its crust, a massive reserve of lithium.…
Peru’s Potato Library
High in the Peruvian Andes, a living "Potato Library" safeguards thousands of native potato varieties, preserving a vital genetic legacy in the tuber's ancestral home. Managed by indigenous communities, this…
Lesotho: The Mountain Kingdom’s Water
Lesotho, the "Kingdom in the Sky", is a geographical anomaly whose mountains serve as a natural water tower for Southern Africa. This small, landlocked nation's primary export is fresh water,…
The Geopolitics of Russia’s Language Law
In 2018, a Russian law made the study of minority languages optional in ethnic republics like Tatarstan and Chechnya, a seemingly simple educational reform with profound geopolitical consequences. This move…
Decolonizing the Map: Renaming Rhodesia to Zimbabwe
When Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980, it began a massive project of toponymic reform, literally redrawing its own map in an act of decolonization. This process of erasing colonial names…
The Caucasus: A Mountain Fortress of Languages
Stretching between the Black and Caspian Seas, the Caucasus Mountains are more than just a geological wonder; they are a living museum of human language. This rugged terrain has acted…
Subsurface Rights: Who Owns Below?
While we understand property lines on the surface, a complex and contentious geography exists right beneath our feet. The "split estate"—where surface rights are separated from the mineral, water, and…
The Rongorongo of the Solomon Islands
Beyond the famous mystery of Rapa Nui's Rongorongo lies another linguistic enigma, hidden within the verdant, fragmented geography of the Solomon Islands. A forgotten pictographic script, known to only a…
The Cartography of a Census
A national census is far more than a simple headcount; it's one of the most ambitious cartographic projects a country can undertake. From drawing maps to count nomadic tribes in…
Cross-Border Tribes: Nations Divided
International borders often appear as neat, decisive lines on a map, but the reality on the ground is far more complex. These arbitrary divisions have sliced through ancient homelands, splitting…
The World’s Emptiest Places
Beyond the world's obvious deserts and ice caps lie vast, habitable regions that remain almost entirely empty. From the frozen forests of the Siberian taiga to the wind-scoured plains of…
Food Sovereignty vs. Food Security
We often talk about "food security"—ensuring everyone has enough to eat. But a more radical and empowering idea is gaining ground: food sovereignty, the right of a community to control…
The Faroe Islands’ Grindadráp
This post examines the controversial Faroese Grindadráp through a geographical lens, exploring how the islands' deep fiords and historical isolation created the conditions for this whale hunt. It delves into…
Canada’s Ice Roads
Canada's ice roads are a remarkable feat of engineering and a vital lifeline that materializes each winter across the nation's north. These temporary highways, built over frozen lakes and tundra,…
Mexico City’s Floating Gardens
Journey to the south of Mexico City, where the canals of Xochimilco reveal an ancient secret. Discover the *chinampas*, the ingenious man-made islands that fed the Aztec Empire and represent…
Bolivia’s White Gold Rush
Beneath the ethereal beauty of Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, lies a massive prize: lithium. This "white gold" has placed the nation at the center of…