The Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona, presented yesterday afternoon the awards of the first edition of the Environmental Photography Award promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of the Environment. At this event, the minister was accompanied by the general director of the Biodiversity Foundation, María Artola.

The first edition of the Biodiversity Foundation’s Environmental Photography Award responds to one of its ultimate purposes, the preservation of the important biological wealth that our country has. For this reason, through this contest, which will be held annually, this institution has sought to raise awareness in society about the importance of conserving the environment in Spain and reaching the largest possible audience, both photography professionals and nature lovers. On the other hand, this contest has served to publicize the nine strategic lines in which this institution works, which correspond to the nine categories of this First Prize for Environmental Photography, and which are in line with those that appear in the Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union.

The Biodiversity Foundation has received a total of 670 photographs from all over Spain that competed in the nine categories, and more than 300 people, both amateur and professional photographers, have participated in this initiative.

The jury, made up of personalities of recognized prestige in the world of communication, the scientific and environmental field and experts in photography, took into account when choosing the winning images the quality, expressiveness, beauty or denunciation of the environmental reality.

The winning photographs in each category are as follows:

1- Planning and conservation of the territory. “En la nieve”, Rafael Ramos López.

2- Contribution to the conservation of species. “Cantabrian capercaillie”, Alberto Ramos Franco.

3- Contribution to the conservation of wetlands. “Daimiel and his reflection”, José Antonio Gallego

4- Contribution to the conservation of the marine environment. “Plankton and Nekton”, César Tasso Bermell.

5- Contribution to forest conservation. “Hayedo”, Jesús María Rodríguez Cabañas.

6- Genetically modified organisms. “Blue rose. Prudence and caution”, Olga Zamorano Alcaide.

7- Fight against threats to biodiversity. “Consciousness”, Jordi Navarro Fisas.

8- Fight against erosion and desertification. “I will be loved when I am gone”, José Alberto Martínez Velasco.

9- International cooperation for development. “Development of the Saharawi People”, Miguel Iván Llanes Díaz.

The winners received a cash prize of 3,000 euros and a trophy made by the designer and artist Miryam Anllo, a professional with a long career and who has been awarded numerous awards throughout her career. For this occasion, he has designed a sculpture in which two elements are combined, a leaf and an eye, both with the same shape, which represent biodiversity on the one hand, and the eye that looks at nature through the camera on the other. It is finished in two patinas, one in green – the leaf – and the other in brown, representing the camera.