Greenstorm Display Showcases Captivating Photographs Highlighting Stunning Wetland Areas
The 16th edition of the Greenstorm Global Photography Festival, held virtually this year, recognised its winners in a ceremony attended by the Global Jury, which included Charlie Waite (UK), Latika Nath (India), and Nick Hall (USA). The first-level jury, consisting of Alex Wides (Italy), Anilkumar (India), Dilek Yurdakul (Turkey), Jaclyn Bringuez (USA), Sahar Al-Zarei (UAE), Thomas Onyango (Uganda), and Hanifi Ko (Turkey), Aref Tahmasebi (UAE), and Pepe Manzanilla (Costa Rica) who received Special Jury Mentions, each carrying a prize of USD $1,000.
Steven Triet from Vietnam took home the Grand Prize of USD $10,000. The festival's theme, 'Beautiful Wetlands', attracted 11,835 entries from 155 countries, showcasing a remarkable spread of subjects and pushing the boundaries, offering a clever, unusual, and deeply human way of seeing wetlands.
The festival was initiated by Dileep Narayanan 16 years ago to raise awareness about the earth's fragile ecosystems. The Greenstorm Foundation, based in Kochi, India, is a global creative conservancy committed to inspiring an attitudinal shift among youth towards environmental conservation through the power of creativity. The foundation's flagship initiative, the Greenstorm Photo Festival, has engaged over 12 million young minds across more than 150 countries.
The festival aims to inspire actions to keep wetlands healthy and reduce degraded land by 50 percent by 2040. This goal aligns with the ambition of the G20 Global Land Initiative, set up in 2020, which supports member and non-member countries and organizations to avoid, reduce, and reverse land degradation globally, in all ecosystems. The G20's ambition is to reduce degraded land globally by 50 per cent by 2040.
The festival's winning photographs offer a breathtaking glimpse into the beauty and ecological diversity of the world's wetlands. Each photograph tells a story of balance, survival, and the urgent need for conservation. The images not only showcase nature's beauty but drive meaningful behaviour change, inspiring the next generation to protect and restore our planet's vital ecosystems, as stated by Mr Narayanan, Founder and Managing Trustee of Greenstorm Foundation.
The Global Wetland Outlook 2025, a comprehensive report produced under the Ramsar Convention, provides the latest global assessment on the status, trends, value, and policy responses for wetlands. The report warns that if current trends continue, up to 20% of remaining wetlands could disappear by 2050, threatening vital ecosystem services valued at up to $39 trillion annually. The report underscores that wetland degradation is most severe in low-income regions such as Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, where ecological conditions are poorest and losses are highest.
Some of the winning photos will be on display at the 15th Meeting of the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Wetlands in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 23-30 July 2025. The festival was sponsored for the second year running by the G20 Global Land Initiative of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The jury stressed that photographs grounded in nature give us hope and reconnect us, reminding us that even while we're caught up in our routines, nature is still out there, shapeshifting under sun, wind, and tide.
- The 16th edition of the Greenstorm Global Photography Festival, held virtually this year, recognized its winners in a ceremony attended by the Global Jury, which included scientists like Charlie Waite (UK), Latika Nath (India), and Nick Hall (USA).
- The festival's theme, 'Beautiful Wetlands', attracted 11,835 entries from 155 countries, showcasing a remarkable spread of subjects that highlight the importance of environmental science in relation to wetlands.
- The festival's winning photographs offer a breathtaking glimpse into the beauty and ecological diversity of the world's wetlands, driving meaningful behavior change and emphasizing the urgent need for mental health awareness regarding climate change and environmental degradation.
- In line with the G20 Global Land Initiative's ambition to reduce degraded land by 50 per cent by 2040, the festival aims to inspire actions to keep wetlands healthy, aligning with the values encompassed in the Global Wetland Outlook 2025, a comprehensive report produced under the Ramsar Convention.
