The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition celebrates powerful photography from around the world, offering amateur and professional photographers a platform to reflect environmental challenges facing our planet.
This year’s competition received entries from 159 countries, with the six winners largely coming from nations most affected by climate change, including Bangladesh, India and Argentina.
The Grand Title went to Maurizio di Petro for his photo ‘Black Soldier Fly Farming’. A professional photographer based in Italy, Maurizio’s photo depicts an innovative insect food experiment at the University of Turin.
“My home country of Italy is experiencing a frightening reality: 22% now face food insecurity, and this number is only set to increase as climate change intensifies,” said Maurizio.
“Through my photographs, however, I don’t just want to document the problem, but also offer a way forward.
“By photographing experiments of potential new food sources, I hope to break open the closed corridors of academia and raise awareness of this solution around the world. Only by showing a way forward can we inspire people to abandon a doom-drenched view of the world and fight for a better one.”
The Hermetia illucens, or soldier fly, is rich in proteins and a highly sustainable food source, thanks to its minimal water and soil consumption. By feeding on food waste, these insects also contribute to a circular economy.
The photo forms part of Maurizio’s ‘Zero Hunger’ series, documenting worldwide food insecurity and the solution presented by insects.
Meanwhile, Solayman Hossain, aged 18, was awarded Young Environmental Photographer of the Year for his photo showing a farmer and his cows forced to wade through floodwater to find food.
There were a further four category winners, plus a host of other images that made the shortlist.
Source : discoverwildlife.com
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