Namrata BhawnaniWinners of Environmental Photographer of the Year announced – how our planet looks in 2018 through the lens of powerful environmental photography.
Powerful imagery from the 2018 environmental photography competition by CIWEM has been released, an effective catalyst for positive change.
The captivating and thought-provoking photographs from The Environmental Photographer of the Year provide an insight into how our planet is looking in 2018.
This year, the competition received entries from 89 countries. They provide an insight into the current state of our environment and the livelihoods of people around the world.
These photographs remind us that we all live on the same planet and that the actions we take affect others around us. The emotive response they trigger from spectators makes them a powerful catalyst for positive change. They are also a reminder that there is always hope, and happiness to be found, even during the hardest of times.
The winning images of the 2018 environmental photography competition are below.
End Floating by Saeed Mohammadzadeh, Iran
Winner of Environmental Photographer of the Year Prize 2018
The photo shows a ship sitting in salt in the Urmia Lake in Iran. Climate change is intensifying the droughts that speed up evaporation in the region. The lake has also been suffering from illegal wells and a proliferation of dams and irrigation projects causing it to reduce significantly in volume. Noxious, salt-tinged dust storms inflame the eyes, skin, and lungs of residents in surrounding areas. The drying up of the river, is destroying local habitats, due to the extreme salinity levels of 340 grams per litre, which is over eight times saltier than ocean water.
End floating. Photo: Saeed Mohammadzadeh
Dryness by Chinmoy Biswas, India
Winner of Changing Climates Prize
A child is found sitting on dry land where the land is cracked and has scaled due to lack of water. Long dry spells can cause the ground to remain open underground even after they have visibly sealed on the surface.
Dryness. Photo: Chinmoy Biswas
And life rises by Younes Khani Someeh Soflaei, Iran
Winner of Built Environment Prize
A woman and her little daughter are standing next to their damaged items recovered from the rubble of their house in Sarpol-e Zahab, following the devastating earthquake that hit the region in 2017 and killed over 600 people. A destroyed Mehr Residential Complex can be seen in the background.
And Life Rises. Photo: Younes Khani
Bulrush by Ümmü Kandilcioğlu, Turkey
Winner of the Sustainability in Practice Prize
The photograph shows a worker making straw from the reeds for a living.
Bulrush. Photo: Ummu Kandilcioglu
Happiness on a rainy day by Fardin Oyan, Bangladesh
Winner of the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year
Bangladesh’s children are fond of a rainy day. They love to bath and play in rain. The country is flat and occupied by the huge Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, and is therefore exposed to floods, especially during monsoon season.
Happiness of a rainy day. Photo: Fardin Oyan
Five photographs were also highly commended for the important environmental message they portray as well as the high quality of photography:
Boulmigou The Paradise of Forgotten Hearts by Antonio Aragón Renuncio, Burkina Faso
Children play on old tires that will burn to warm the rock and make it more brittle in the polluted quarry of Boulmigou with terrible consequences: fires, respiratory diseases, groundwater contamination, brutal pollution that destroys the environment… death. Photo: Antonio Aragón Renuncio
Not in my forest by Calvin Ke, Malaysia
A southern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) clutches a plastic bottle in its otherwise pristine natural habitat in Borneo, Malaysia. Photo: Calvin Ke
Save turtle by Jing Li, Sri Lanka
Svae turtle. Photo: Jing Li
Floating life on river under pollution by Tapan Karmakar, India
Floating life on river under pollution. Photo: Tapan Karmakar
Urban life in Singapore by Thigh Wanna, Singapore
Urban Life in Singapore. Photo: Thigh Wanna
CIWEM’s vision is to build a safer and more sustainable world. Terry Fuller, CIWEM Chief Executive and judge of the competition said, “There is a finality about this year’s winning image that I find chilling. The water once used for many purposes has gone and the decaying state of the ship suggests that the water will not return. Why was this ship left stranded? Did the owners not know or believe that the water levels were declining, or did it happen so quickly that they did not have time to adapt?”
We hope you enjoyed the stunning environmental photography.
Source: CIWEM
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