• Photograph: Valerie Leonard//2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Invisible. In the Sisdol landfill in Nepal, waste pickers rummage through rubbish all day looking for materials or valuables to sell. This temporary landfill located near Kathmandu has been in operation since 2005. Today, it is running out of capacity.
    Photograph: Valerie Leonard//2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Invisible. In the Sisdol landfill in Nepal, waste pickers rummage through rubbish all day looking for materials or valuables to sell. This temporary landfill located near Kathmandu has been in operation since 2005. Today, it is running out of capacity.
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2019 Environmental Photographer of the Year images reveal the ‘raw reality’ of climate change

8 October 2019

An international showcase for the very best in environmental photography, the annual Environmental Photographer of the Year award is all about “highlighting the terrible impacts being wrought on our planet by its most dominant species”. According to the competition organisers, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), it also “celebrates humanity’s innate ability to survive and innovate, lending hope to us all that we can overcome challenges to live sustainably”.

The winning images were revealed on the same day as the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York, and the CIWEM’s press release described the global climate crisis depicted in many of the photographs: “These winning photographs reveal the raw reality of how people and wildlife are struggling with the impacts of climate change all around the world. This award exists to inspire change from political leaders, decision makers, and the general public.”

The CIWEM has also stated that “the competition supports the urgent calls to action of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and recognises the intricate interconnected nature of development, poverty reduction, equality, security, and climate action, and the unprecedented effort from all sectors of society needed to tackle the defining issues of our time”. The ultimate goal of the images recognised by the competition is that they will inspire people around the world to start taking care of our environment.

The awards showcases the very best in environmental photography across a number of categories.

Winners

Environmental Photographer of the Year – SL Shanth Kumar

 

Environmental photographer of the year. Photograph: SL Shanth Kumar/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. High Tide Enters Home. A huge wave lashes at a shanty, throwing a fisherman out of his home in Bandra, Mumbai, India. He is pulled in by the strong currents but was rescued by fellow fishermen before the sea could swallow him. Mumbai is at risk of coastal flooding, a fallout of climate change. The city’s land and sea temperatures have been rising, causing a corresponding impact on the sea level.
Environmental Photographer of the Year. Photograph: SL Shanth Kumar/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. High Tide Enters Home. A huge wave lashes at a shanty, throwing a fisherman out of his home in Bandra, Mumbai, India. He is pulled in by the strong currents but was rescued by fellow fishermen before the sea could swallow him. Mumbai is at risk of coastal flooding, a fallout of climate change. The city’s land and sea temperatures have been rising, causing a corresponding impact on the sea level.

Sustainable Cities Winner – Eliud Gil Samaniego

Sustainable Cities Prize. Photograph: Eliud Gil Samaniego/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Polluted New Year. On 1 January 2018 Mexicali was one of the most contaminated cities in the world because of climate change, its geographical location, industry and cars. Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
Sustainable Cities Prize. Photograph: Eliud Gil Samaniego/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Polluted New Year. On 1 January 2018 Mexicali was one of the most contaminated cities in the world because of climate change, its geographical location, industry and cars. Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

Water, Equality, and Sustainability Winner – Frederick Dharshie Wissah

Water, Equality, and Sustainability Prize. Photograph: Dharshie Wissah/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Water Scarcity. A young boy drinks dirty water due to lack of water points in the area caused by deforestation. Lack of clean water greatly increases the risk of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery, and other water-borne tropical diseases. Kakamega, Kenya.
Water, Equality, and Sustainability Prize. Photograph: Dharshie Wissah/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Water Scarcity. A young boy drinks dirty water due to lack of water points in the area caused by deforestation. Lack of clean water greatly increases the risk of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery, and other water-borne tropical diseases. Kakamega, Kenya.

Climate Action and Energy Winner – J. Henry Fair

Climate Action and Energy Prize. Photograph: J Henry Fair/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Hambach Forest was nearly 12,000 years old when it was bought by a power company to dig for the brown coal buried underneath. The ancient forest was once the size of Manhattan. Now only 10% of it remains. Niederzier, Germany.
Climate Action and Energy Prize. Photograph: J. Henry Fair/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Remains of the Forest. Hambach Forest was nearly 12,000 years old when it was bought by a power company to dig for the brown coal buried underneath. The ancient forest was once the size of Manhattan. Now only 10% of it remains.
Niederzier, Germany.

Changing Environments Winner – Sean Gallagher

Changing Environments Prize. Photograph: Sean Gallagher/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide. Fallen trees lie on a beach as the waves from the Funafuti lagoon in Tuvalu lap around them. Land erosion has always been a problem for the South Pacific country but problems are intensifying as sea levels rise. Rising seas are on the verge of completely submerging the tiny archipelago’s islands.
Changing Environments Prize. Photograph: Sean Gallagher/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide. Fallen trees lie on a beach as the waves from the Funafuti lagoon in Tuvalu lap around them. Land erosion has always been a problem for the South Pacific country but problems are intensifying as sea levels rise. Rising seas are on the verge of completely submerging the tiny archipelago’s islands.

Young Environmental Photographer of the Year – Neville Ngomane

Young Environmental Photographer of the Year. Photograph: Neville Ngomane/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Desperate Measures. This rhino is being dehorned in an attempt to protect it from being poached. With the current severe level of poaching, experts recommend that rhinos should be dehorned every 12-24 months to effectively deter hunters. Limpopo, South Africa.
Young Environmental Photographer of the Year. Photograph: Neville Ngomane/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Desperate Measures. This rhino is being dehorned in an attempt to protect it from being poached. With the current severe level of poaching, experts recommend that rhinos should be dehorned every
12-24 months to effectively deter hunters. Limpopo, South Africa.

On the shortlist

 

Photograph: Valerie Leonard//2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Invisible. In the Sisdol landfill in Nepal, waste pickers rummage through rubbish all day looking for materials or valuables to sell. This temporary landfill located near Kathmandu has been in operation since 2005. Today, it is running out of capacity.
Photograph: Valerie Leonard//2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year.
Invisible. In the Sisdol landfill in Nepal, waste pickers rummage through rubbish all day looking for materials or valuables to sell. This temporary landfill located near Kathmandu has been in operation since 2005. Today, it is running out of capacity.
Photograph: Sebnem Coskun/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Trash. Underwater cleaning in the Bosphorus as part of the Zero Waste Blue project. Istanbul, Turkey.
Photograph: Sebnem Coskun/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year.
Trash. Underwater cleaning in the Bosphorus as part of the Zero Waste Blue project. Istanbul, Turkey.
Photograph: Amdad Hossain/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Sleep Fatigue. A woman sleeps on a dirty riverbank, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photograph: Amdad Hossain/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year.
Sleep Fatigue. A woman sleeps on a dirty riverbank, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photograph: Aragon Renuncio/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. Sweet Dreams. A girl sleeps on a desk inside her schoolroom. Extreme rains have tripled in the Sahel in the last 35 years because of global warming. Climate change has caused 70 episodes of torrential rains in the last decade although the region also suffers severe droughts. Burkina Faso.
Photograph: Aragon Renuncio/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year.
Sweet Dreams. A girl sleeps on a desk inside her schoolroom. Extreme rains have tripled in the Sahel in the last 35 years because of global warming. Climate change has caused 70 episodes of torrential rains in the last decade although the region also suffers severe droughts. Burkina Faso.
Photograph: Aragon Renuncio/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year. The Plastic Quarry. A boy plays with a plastic bag. About 380m tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide each year. Production increased exponentially from 2.3m tonnes in 1950 to 448m tonnes by 2015. Every day approximately 8m pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Photograph: Aragon Renuncio/2019 CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year.
The Plastic Quarry. A boy plays with a plastic bag. About 380m tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide each year. Production increased exponentially from 2.3m tonnes in 1950 to 448m tonnes by 2015. Every day approximately 8m pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

 2019 judges

  • Liz Bonnin
  • Michael AW
  • Dallas Campbell
  • Ashley Cooper 
  • Georgina Pavelin
  • Terry Fuller

 

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