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ENVIRONMENTAL
PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE YEAR 2022
Now in its 15th year, The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition showcases the most inspirational environmental photography from around the world. The award celebrates humanity’s ability to survive and innovate and showcases thought-provoking images that call attention to our impact and inspire us to live sustainably.
The competition is free to enter for all ages. Entries are open until 31 August and winners will be announced in November 2022.
The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition supports the urgent calls to action of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, recognising the intricate interconnected nature of development, poverty reduction, equality, security and climate action and the unprecedented effort from all sectors of society required to address the defining issues of our time.
Jenneponto, Indonesia: a group of boys play football around a wind power plant, their house is nearby.
One of Taiwan's biggest cities, Kaohsiung is crowded and polluted. One solution is this huge hangar, covering and catching the coal dust generated during transportation from the boats to the power plant.
Typhoon season is vitally important in Tainan, Taiwan. It brings life-giving fresh water for the rainy season. In dry winters, salt water from the coast permeates underground and into fishing pools to create these stunning patterns.
Nowadays artificial snow is the only way to start the winter season, winters in the Austrian alps are getting shorter and shorter.
A boy is trying to fight against the fire that broke out near his home. Forest fires are a common phenomenon and can be caused by negligence.
In 2021 Bangladesh experienced unusually low rainfall and suffered a severe drought. This flock of sheep in Noakhali uses their initiative to seek out grass in between the cracks of parched soil around their shepherd.
In Tarash, in the Sirajganj district of Bangladesh, locals net fish and air dry them on vibrant raised trellises to preserve their catch and provide a steady income. Refrigeration isn’t widely available, so drying fish in the open air is common practice.
Harvested rice is dried over several days in paddy fields in the village of Kachikata, Natore, Bangladesh. Using traditional methods, the rice is regularly raked and turned to dry out thoroughly in the sun. The process creates these distinctive patterns.
Sontola Bridge, Sirajganj in Bangladesh, attracts an abundance of fish tempted by the extensive algae that accumulates in the river. This draws brightly coloured boatmen, from far and wide, to cast and fill their nets and provide for their families.
Workers sit surrounded by thousands of richly coloured and scented incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau, a village in Hanoi, Vietnam. Incense has played an important spiritual role in their lives for hundreds of years and is used in all forms of worship.
Morning rush hour on a busy waterway in Bangladesh. Bustling with boats and passengers jostling to make their commute, millions of people compete to cross the river to get to their workplace in Dhaka.
In Pirojpur, Bangladesh, gardens rise and fall as waters swell in nearby rivers. This makes land a precious commodity for residents wishing to grow crops. Timing is crucial and experience is everything.
I met this California sea lion pup with a hook embedded in his mouth at the beginning of the dive. For the duration of the dive he stayed near me.
This completely self-sustainable project aims to make underwater farming a viable eco-friendly solution to counteract the increasing climate change pressures on our future.
Researchers weigh an anaesthetised polar bear during an expedition by the Russian Geographical Society. They monitored the polar bear population, assessing impacts of climate change.
Tuyen Lam National Biosphere Reserve contains rich and diverse ecosystems, animals and plants. The old fisherman chooses a solitary life, catching fish in exchange for food.
This gorge has been buried under the flood waters of the Lake Powell reservoir (USA) since 1963. It has become accessible again due to extreme drought. 9 vertical images were merged to create this image.
Juan de Fuca Straight, Canada. The smoke from devastating forest fires was burning our eyes and lungs. "Dad, I wonder what's out there. Maybe the smoke will blow away and we can see what's here if we stay a while." "I'm sorry son, the tide is coming in around us. We best be heading back in before you get trapped out there."
People are collecting rubbish for resale at the Matuail sanitary landfill in Dhaka, Bangladesh. According to a UNFA report, Dhaka is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Bangladesh currently generates 22.4 million tons of waste per year.
Castanha-do-Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa) in a logging process in Sena Madureira, Acre (Brazil). This iconic tree species of the Amazon rainforest reaches 30 to 50 meters in height. It is one of the most vulnerable species (endangered) despite its cutting and use being prohibited by law.
An empty lifeboat sails away from a forest fire by the sea.
Flooding is a very real danger in the Po Valley in Nonantola, Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. Michele Lapini captured this striking image of a house submerged by the River Panaro, which burst its banks in extreme weather conditions.
In a barrack in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil, recyclable material collectors transform garbage into a means of survival, saving the environment and generating income for their families.
This house located in the middle of the swamp is run by an elderly Vietnamese couple. They raise buffaloes and ducks around the house, using small boats to move around.
Man encroaches on nature. On the right is a coconut and mangrove forest. On the left are human-made shrimp ponds.
Aquaculture from ponds near the beach discharge directly into the sea, causing serious pollution to the marine environment.
Dam Vua salt fields in Vietnam. The salt particles crystallise after the seawater evaporates. A work day for salt farmers begins when the sun is not too high, everyone quickly rakes salt into high piles.
Whatever is left of the primary forest in Brazil, it is mostly due to indigenous people fighting for their land and their way of life.
Phoenicoparrus jamesi (most commonly known as James’s Flamingo) is one of the three species found in the south of Bolivia. Since it has been discover that salt lakes are full of lithium, these habitats are in danger.
Volcanic mud pools like this one on the Crimean Peninsula are disappearing as a result of climate change, exacerbated by human activity. Hindu god “Surya” is considered the creator and eye of the universe.
Wind energy is one of the cleanest and most sustainable sources of energy on the planet. The Serra de São Macário mountains in Portugal have perfect conditions for the generation of clean energy.
A narrow road divides the green and fresh waters (note the trees growing) from the ochre and toxic waters of a nearby mine reservoir.
A good management of forests is fundamental to contain climate change. This is a chestnut forest managed by wood owners in a sustainable way. They cut trees in polygonal areas and in the middle of them they left smaller zones whit trees that help the natural reforestation of the wood.
Subal Maity's bedroom was destroyed in 5 minutes by super cyclone Amphan. Forest and mangrove demolition is a major cause of disasters like Amphan.
Heavy pollution, irregular monsoon seasons, and drought cause algal bloom on the river Damodar, India. The bloom prevents oxygen from entering the water, killing fish and damaging human hygiene and habitats.
Jute is a bio degradable crop grown mainly in the Ganges delta. It is an important natural fiber in terms of cultivation and usage. The Indian government is encouraging farmers to cultivate more jute.
Dr. Ulgen Aytan of the Marine Biology department at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University positioned shredded plastic collected from the sea. The PLASTON research group investigates the interaction of plastics with animals.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, medical waste equivalent to 33,880 plastic bottles was being released into the Mediterranean every minute. Turkish world record-holding free-diver Sahika Ercumen collects rubbish on the Ortakoy coastline.
Wells and pipes in Krafla, Iceland. Carbon emissions from this geothermal station are reduced by reusing or reinjecting into the wells. The gases react with basaltic subsurface for safe, long-term storage.
A photobioreactor at the Algalif facilities in Iceland. This plant uses geothermal energy to grow micro-algae producing astaxanthin. Carbon dioxide is re-used, sustainably turning waste into value.
Kutubdia Island in Bangladesh, the day after Cyclone Yaas (2021). The embankment broke the entire area was flooded. This fish farming project was destroyed due to the intrusion of saline & polluted water.
Women collect water from a ditch in Bangladesh. The ground water is too saline. In the rainy season people collect and save rainwater to drink for the year. A family drinks only 4-5 liters each day.
Hang Phan Market is a small market more than 100 years old in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Due to the hot weather, traders spread umbrellas to protect against the intense sunshine.
A farmer burns dried lotus after harvesting in Ha Nam province, Vietnam. Smoke impacts on her health.
A farmer works in a vegetable field in Dong Anh district, Hanoi, Vietnam. These vegetable plots are covered by thin nylon to keep moisture in, prevent frost, and prevent cold. This is a farming practice commonly used in winter and spring by farmers in Vietnam.
People play and swim near a flooded road in Quoc Oai, Hanoi, Vietnam. This photo was taken in the middle of the historic flood in 2018, which isolated this community for more than three weeks.
Standard size football field hidden inside the massive Meshchersky park on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia.
Pink salt lakes, Ukraine. Aerial photo from 120m altitude. Horse portrait created by Mother Nature from water and salt.
Since 2020, humanity has been forced to live in new conditions under the motto #StayHome. Civilization is creating a new normal, and nature silently observes.
As a result of unplanned urbanization, the ground floor of the Chittagong Maternal and Child Hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh is submerged in heavy rains every year.
