UNCCD chief calls for urgent action to restore land as winners of photograph festival unveiled

The winners of the 15th Greenstorm Global Photography Festival themed “Beautiful Landscapes” were announced on Earth Day, marking the end of the festival, which kicked off in September 2023.

The thirteen winning photographs, selected from the 17,716 stunning landscape images submitted from 153 countries, show unparalleled skill and creativity in capturing the essence of “Beautiful Landscapes.”

The winners received prizes ranging between USD10,000 and USD750 from the USD30,000 total prize fund.

The festival aimed to celebrate both artistic excellence in photography and Earth Day, while delivering a bold message: restoring land makes our landscapes, not just beautiful but our livelihoods and lives more resilient to the growing disasters driven by extreme weather events.

The festival was jointly organized by Greenstorm Foundation and the G20 Global Land Initiative at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

Mr Aung Chan Thar of Myanmar won the coveted top position in the camera category, and USD10,000 in prize money, for his iconic photograph of Indonesia’s Bromo volcano landscape in stunning colours at dawn.

Second-place in this category is Mr Roberto Corinaldesi of Italy, who received USD5,000, for his colorful picture of Cornwall’s landscape early in the morning. Mr Myat Zaw Hein, also of Myanmar, took third place and USD3,000 in prize money, for his photo of a family walking in a single file in a gold-coloured rice field landscape in Myanmar.

Mr Sadek Khafaga of Saudi Arabia took first place in the mobile phone category for his captivating photo of a colourful masterpiece of the sandstone landscape in Arizona sculpted by wind over time. It is reflected perfectly and colourfully in a pool of water trapped at the feet of the rocks. He received USD3,000 in prize money.

Ms Soumya Nair of Canada took second place and was awarded USD2,000, while third-placed Mr Aleksandr Razumov of Russia received USD1,000.

Three Jury Mentions in the camera category went to Mr Andrea Curzi of Italy, Mr Anoop Krishna of India and Mr Morteza Salehi of Iran. Each received USD1,000 of the prize money.

The two top student winners in each category are from India, Myanmar, Poland and Spain. Each received USD750 of the prize money.

The photographs, which show the breathtaking beauty of our natural world, remind us that these beautiful landscapes are vulnerable to both weather and human action and must be managed well to serve people and the planet now and in the future.

In his keynote address, Mr Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, called for urgent action to restore land.

“While we celebrate the stunning imagery captured in this year’s festival, we must also confront the stark reality of our planet’s decline. With one hundred million hectares of land lost every year, the need for action has never been more urgent,” Thiaw said, in an address delivered on his behalf by Dr Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Global Land Initiative.

Dileep Narayanan, Executive Director of Greenstorm Foundation, said: “The overwhelming engagement with this year’s Festival underscores the profound power of creativity and the vast reach of online media as vital tools for environmental conservation. This surge in participation and the global dialogue it has fostered are testaments to the collective desire to protect our planet. Motivated by this enthusiastic response, we are dedicated to amplifying the festival’s impact in future editions, striving to make it an even more effective catalyst for change.”

Renowned photographers, Charlie Waite from the United Kingdom, Likitha Nath from Iran and Len Metcalfe of Australia, made up the jury that shortlisted the fifty-four finalist images. The images were exhibited online for a month in February. The public cast close to 34,000 votes for their preferred photograph. The combined ratings of the jury and public voting produced the winners, with jury ratings carrying more weight, at 70 per cent, to keep artistic excellence at the fore.