Earth Photo

Overall winner

The winner of the 2022 Earth Photo competition is Mohammad Rakibul Hasan for his pair of images The Last Savings at Bengal Delta and The Climate Crisis. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the photographer and artist documents the devastating effects of climate change, rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions on his home country and on people’s lives.

Visit Mohammad's website 

The Last Savings at Bengal Delta portrays Fatema Khatun and her husband, Ruhul Amin Seikh who are, in the photographer’s words, “surviving against all odds on the coast of the Bay of Bengal”. While Ruhul Amin goes fishing, his wife Fatema waits for him by the river, where the water is saltier than ever. When he returns hours later, it is with a small number of fish, which the couple can hardly sell for 80 taka (1USD).

The Climate Crisis focuses on a family who lost their home and crops to river erosion, leaving nothing but memories behind. “Their land is gone in the river, and their survival depends on their work for a living” explains Mohammad. The already vulnerable family of 21 has also recently been hit hard by the pandemic.

Mohammad says, “Global warming has a more severe impact on certain countries than others because of the way it affects the world climate. Bangladesh, the largest delta of the world, is an obvious victim of global warming”.

 

The 2022 category winners are:

People category - Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

 

Place category – Daniel Franc

 

Nature category – Pal Hermansen

 

Video category - Rosa Rodriguez

 

Changing Forests category – David Rippin

 

A Climate of Change category - Sandra Weller