Which is the longest river in the world? The Nile or the Amazon? The question has fuelled a heated debate for years. Now, an expedition into the South American jungle aims to settle it for good.
Using boats that run on solar energy and pedal power, an international team of explorers plan to set off next April to the source of the Amazon in the Peruvian Andes, then travel about 7,000kms across Colombia and Brazil, to the massive river's mouth in the Atlantic.
“The main objective is to map the river and document the biodiversity” of the surrounding ecosystems, said Brazilian explorer and project co-ordinator, Yuri Sanada.
The team also plans to make a documentary on the expedition.
Where does the Amazon River begin and end?
About 10 people are known to have travelled the full length of the Amazon, but none have done it with those objectives, said Sanada, who runs film production company Aventuras (Adventures) with his wife, Vera.
The Amazon, the pulsing aorta of the world's biggest rainforest, has long been recognised as the largest river in the world by volume, discharging more than the Nile, the Yangtze and the Mississippi combined.
But there is a decades-old geographical dispute over whether it is longer than the Nile, made murkier by methodological issues and a lack of consensus on a rather basic question – where does the Amazon start and end?
The Guinness Book of World Records awards the title to the African river. However, it adds in a note: “Which is the longer is more a matter of definition than simple measurement.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica gives the length of the Nile as 6,650km, and 6,400km for the Amazon, measuring the latter from the headwaters of the Apurimac river in southern Peru. In 2014, US neuroscientist and explorer James “Rocky” Contos developed an alternative theory, putting the source of the Amazon farther away, at the Mantaro river in northern Peru.
If accepted, it would mean the Amazon “is actually 77km longer than what geographers had thought previously”, said Contos, who will guide one group in Sanada's expedition, which will trace both the Apurimac and Mantaro sources.
The river less travelled
Contos's group will travel down the Mantaro by white-water rafting. The other will travel the banks of the Apurimac on horseback with French explorer Celine Cousteau, granddaughter of legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.
At the point where the rivers converge, Sanada and two other explorers will embark on the longest leg of the journey, travelling in three custom-made, motorised canoes powered by solar panels and pedals, equipped with a sensor to measure distance.
“We'll be able to make a much more precise measurement,” Sanada said, adding the explorers plan to transfer the sustainable motor technology to local Indigenous groups.
The expedition is backed by international groups including The Explorers Club and the Harvard map collection.
The adventurers will traverse terrain inhabited by anacondas, alligators and jaguars, but none of that scares Sanada, who said: “I'm most afraid of drug traffickers and illegal miners.”
Each boat will be outfitted with a bulletproof cabin, and the team is negotiating with authorities to obtain an armed escort for the most dangerous zones.
If the expedition is successful, it may be replicated on the Nile.
Sanada said the debate on the world's longest river may never be settled, but he is glad the “race” is drawing attention to the Amazon rainforest's natural riches and the need to protect it as one of the planet's key buffers against climate change.
“The Amazon is [here], but the consequences of destroying it and the duty to preserve it are everyone's.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
