ABU DHABI // Three adventurers are kayaking from Kuwait to Oman to raise awareness of the need for greater marine environment protection and joint conservation efforts across the GCC.
Having left Kuwait almost two months ago, the Kayak4Kuwait trio – Bashar Al Huneidi, Mansour Al Safran and Colin Wong – arrived on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
During their journey, the kayakers witnessed sites of pristine environments the like of which they thought they would never see in the Gulf, but they also noted widespread pollution.
“The Arabian Gulf is under immense pressure and pollution and neglect has been ruining it for 30 or 40 years. Finally, there’s been a kind of environmental awakening,” said Mr Al Huneidi.
The journey from Kuwait began in November and has had its challenges. Aside from their support boat capsizing and gruelling encounters with customs officers, the expedition requires the trio to kayak non-stop for up to 10 hours a day, burning 5,000 calories, before resting in tents along the Arabian Gulf coastline and then travelling on.
“It’s a psychological journey more than it is a physical one,” said Mr Al Safran, 25. “The most important thing is to keep the goal in mind.”
The three arrived in the Eastern Mangroves in Abu Dhabi yesterday with 800 kilometres left in their journey up to the Musandam peninsula in Oman.
“I suppose it’s hard work but the places and people we’ve met along the way are just unbelievable. We’ve seen everything from turtles to dolphins,” said Mr Wong, a 32-year old Irishman.
The kayakers said that the most serious problem they saw was the extent of coastline pollution.
The balance between economic development and the environment is the most pressing question that the GCC needs to deal with, said the kayakers. “Perhaps some people think there’s nothing worth saving but, in every country we’ve been in, we’ve seen different wildlife, different environments that are in need of conservation,” Mr Wong said.
But having met dozens of fishermen and environmental authorities, Mr Al Huneidi is convinced that the majority of residents of the GCC are invested in protecting the oceans.
“We hear the same story from people who are connected to the ocean, fishermen and seagoers, they compare what it was like 30 or 40 years ago and now,” he said. “You think that fishermen don’t know but they know more than anyone who is responsible for the damage and who needs to make it right.”
However, the three did say that they had seen a lot more fish in the sea off the UAE than in any country along the way.
The kayakers will continue today towards Dubai and then Ras Al Khaimah before completing the final leg into Oman, stopping along the way to meet authorities and fisherman to promote their message, although they have no exact timetable for their trip.
“The minute we decided to start, there was no stopping. We don’t know how to quit, both the message and the journey,” Mr Al Huneidi said. “Some people see the sea and they think nothing of it, they think it’s a dumpyard. But the sea is alive, it’s a creature and it’s giving us life.”
nalwasmi@thenational.ae