Stepping into the world of glassy wilderness

We have build and colonised almost every part of the world but one immense stretch of the planet remains beyond our grasp; Antarctica, a continent with no towns, only unpredictable wilderness coated with snow all around.

The ‘2041 International Antarctic Expedition’ by Robert Swan, who was the first person to walk across the North and South Poles, is about inspiring selective individuals across the globe to take responsibility to build flexible communities and in doing so, preserve Antarctica.

Aarati Rao from Hyderabad will be a part of this expedition along with about 80 people, which will take them to witness the glory of the lost continent and give them a first-hand experience of that fragile ecosystem and an understanding of the impact of climate change to the planet.

Aiming to spread the message of saving the planet, Aarati Rao, who works in the field of social enterprise says, “Antarctic expedition is a leadership programme called ‘Leadership on the Edge’, which brings together young leaders from about 18 different countries to debate, discuss and determine the effects of climate change. It is to bring awareness about global warming abd using sustainable technologies like clean energy. Leaders who come for this programme become ‘Global Climate Change Ambassadors’.”

Talking about her involvement with the expedition, she says “I signed up for this expedition when I was in Leh, Ladakh doing a project with kids about a very similar topic; teaching at a sustainable e-learning space that was completely solar run. I was teaching about climate change through hands on practical learning and I stumbled on this expedition.

“About 6,000 people apply every year. After a rigorous screening process about 2 per cent of the applicants make it to the final list,” she adds.

Explaining the significance behind 2041 in the name of the expedition, Aarati says, “There is a treaty that protects Antarctica from drilling and mining activities that will be revisited in 2041, when it will be open to amendments, revocation or modification, which could open this zone for resource exploitation.”

Aarati, who will be starting with a project with ‘Teach For India’ soon, says “Funds is one thing I am working on as they are little exorbitant. The gear itself costs around $500 USD (Rs 32,600 approx) for the extreme weather clothing and it is very important to ensure safety throughout the expedition. The total amount of the expedition is around $11,200 USD (Rs 7,30,000 approx) out of which I have collected $3,943 USD through sponsorship opportunities from organisations, especially the ones based on sustainable technologies as that will also add oodles to their media credibility.

“The deadline for raising funds is mid of November, so I am trying to push it to my best and I have also written to the government as well, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, but I have not received any response yet. However, I will not lose hope so soon. The government should encourage such activities and I think it is all about lack of awareness on their side with respect to such expeditions,” she explains.

Sharing the details of the programme, Aarati says, “We will be starting from Ushuaia, Argentina. Before that there is going to be a three-month structured conditioning programme, which will start from December.”

Talking about the awareness aspect through the expedition, she says “One will get to see how glaciers and icebergs melt and collapse each year. We will talk about climate change and the potential threat of a 5m rise in sea-level by the end of this century. And that’s where the issue comes for all of us because when the global sea-level raises by that amount, let’s take our Indian coastal areas like Andaman and Visakhapatnam, it will be completely submerged. So, this climate change is definitely something we need to work on and this is why this awareness is important.”

Given the looming security threats and climatic issues associated with the expedition, it is thrilling to be able to go to Antarctica, nevertheless. The excited 25-year-old says, “I am really excited about this whole journey. You got 24 hours of day and then 24 hours of night. The myth of time we have created disappears there. I have had some fraction with a sustainable organisation, which uses solar energy and I think it would be symbolic to be able to promote their product over there. It would be very emblematic to the whole concept of how can we mitigate climate change through greener technology. So that is what I am looking forward to and of course, I want to see the penguins.”

Commenting on her major take away from the expedition, Aarati says, “I have realised that teaching kids and making them take up ownership for future is most important. Just imagine the entire future generation turning to sustainable practices and saving the environment. After coming back I really hope to set up more such e-bases and taking the concept of sustainability forward and spreading it among kids.”

To lend a helping hand for Aarati’s Antartic Expedition, log on to www.generosity.com/fundraisers/aarati-in-antarctica.

By:Meenakshi Sengupta