GLF Photo Competition: Peatlands Matter

It may seem strange to think that waterlogged, unassuming biomes like peatlands could be both a cause célèbre for conservation and coveted for conversion to agricultural land, but the reality is this: peatlands are both the world’s carbon-storing superstars, and unfortunately situated in prime palm oil plantation territory. By protecting and restoring them we can keep millions of tons of carbon in the ground, sequester even more, prevent serious flooding, protect biodiversity, and ensure water security for millions of people, but these goals must be sensitive to — and negotiated with — development goals in mind. Peatlands matter for a whole host of reasons, and they matter to multiple sectors and stakeholders.

It’s time to put the spotlight on peatlands. It’s time to show us why they matter to you. Be they the newly-discovered reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ancient deposits in the Peruvian Amazon, or Indonesia’s rich peat forest orangutan habitats.

Submit your photo hereSubmissions gallery

Contact:

For any questions relating the technical specifications or terms and conditions, do not hesitate to contact us at c.nelson@cgiar.org.

About the competition:

The competition will run until the Global Landscapes Forum: Peatlands Matter conference on the 18th of May, in Jakarta.

Over 300 participants from all over the world will come together to attend our thematic Peatland event, with thousands more being able to tune in online. With representatives from the private sector, NGOs, leading international organizations, government and an online social media campaign that will reach millions through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and live streaming, Peatlands Matter can put your work on the world’s stage.

Who can participate?

This year’s photo competition is open to anyone and everyone, whether you are a professional photographer or a casual enthusiast. If you’ve got a keen eye for photography, show the world here!

How to submit photos:

To participate, photographers must first upload their photos to the landscapes.org website to be considered for the jury’s choice award. Once your photo has been approved and uploaded to our website, you can then begin promoting your work on social media platforms — making sure to tag the relevant GLF social media page in all posts — to be considered for the audience choice.

Photos should be uploaded with a title, the photographer’s name and a short description explaining the location, subject and a brief background story that explains how it relates to peatlands.

Winners of the audience choice award will be selected before the conference on the 12th of May, and there is no deadline for submission. However, earlier submissions will have a better chance of gathering social media attention. So send us your photos soon!

The deadline for submissions for the jury’s choice award is 2nd of May, and the winners will be selected by the 12th of May.

 

Technical specifications:

Photo submissions must be uploaded as .jpg, with a minimum of 1,024 pixels in width (2mb max) – dependent on the physical size of the posters at GLF.

Please note that if your photo is selected, we will need an uncompressed .jpg or .tiff file between 150-300 dpi, with a minimum of 3,000 pixels in width – 30 centimeters on the longest side of the picture.

Prizes:

The winners of this year’s photo competition will be divided into two categories:

Audience choice

The photo that receives the most votes from the online community will win this prize. Voting will be available from the 27th March when all participants will receive a direct URL to their photos to be shared with friends and family via social media. Additionally, the 20 most popular photos will have their work displayed at the Forum in Jakarta, where participants at the conference will have the opportunity to contribute to the vote tally.

  • Winner: USD 1,000

Jury’s choice

Two winners will be chosen by a panel of handpicked experts that will evaluate the submissions based on their quality and relevance to the competition topic (i.e. finding solutions).

  • 1st prize: USD 1,000
  • 2nd prize: USD 500

Terms and conditions:

 By submitting pictures to the competition, photographers agree to a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial share-alike license (BY-NC-SA). Competition organizers will use winning pictures for event materials and exhibition at the Forum. Photographers will not use pictures for commercial purposes.

Professional photographers who work for the media are required to attach an authorization signed by a representative of the media company that employs them. It should state that the organizers of the contest have permission from the photographer and the media outlet in which the image originally appeared to publish the photo.