The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) has awarded its David Henderson Inspiring Journey grant to Cadet Mohd Emaad Khan, from the Indian Maritime University in Kolkata. His expedition throughout Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea basin will uncover the teachings marine professionals can study from one of many world’s most catastrophic ecological collapses.
According to the United Nations, the Aral Sea, as soon as the world’s fourth-largest inland sea, has shrunk to lower than half its former dimension because of local weather change and mismanagement.
This July, Emaad will got down to on his journey to inform the sophisticated water story within the area and can collect vital info for the following technology of marine professionals. Setting out from Charvak Reservoir close to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, he’ll share his insights by means of a video collection and social media updates.
At the reservoir, Emaad will look at how fashionable water administration creates synthetic maritime environments, earlier than heading to Samarkand, the place Silk Road merchants as soon as relied on water routes for world commerce.
Following the Amu Darya River, he’ll then doc how this once-mighty artery sustained the Aral Sea however now struggles underneath agricultural demand. In Khiva, he’ll discover how this oasis metropolis tailored to shifting water availability, providing classes in resilience and survival.
This journey will lead him to Moynaq, house to ship graveyards the place rusting vessels lie stranded in desert sands. Here, he’ll interact with former fishing communities whose maritime livelihoods vanished inside a technology. Emaad’s journey will conclude at Aydarkul Lake, a synthetic physique created from redirected drainage, a brand new lake born from the dying of one other.
Follow Emaad’s expedition as soon as it’s underway on the IMarEST social channels.
Cadet Mohd Emaad Khan. © IMarEST