The 10th edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award is dedicated to the Amazon and will address issues related to its deforestation.
The Amazon is a vast region covering the territory of nine nations: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The region has a surface area of 5,500,000 km² and is crossed by the Amazon river, the second longest river in the world and the largest by discharge volume of water. The Amazon alone accounts for half of the remaining tropical forests on the planet. It is home to 70% of the world's biodiversity and to one in ten of the world’s species.
This territory is home to 30 million people, including 350 indigenous groups, most of whom live in their natural habitats, but the development of economic activities in the region mean that this ecosystem is under more threat than ever before.
Since 1999 at least 2,200 new species have been discovered in the Amazon biome, but with 17% of the Amazon’s surface area already destroyed, the rainforest is increasingly vulnerable. Responsibility for the degradation and destruction of this fragile natural environment lies with climate change, but also human activity. The consequences are multiple and both local and global: greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of biodiversity, hydrological alterations and even soil erosion.
The 10th edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award aims to support an investigative photography project that will highlight the upheavals to the Amazon rainforest and encourage reflection of the consequences of massive deforestation.
In 2009, Fondation Carmignac established the Carmignac Photojournalism Award. Directed by Emeric Glayse, it funds annually the production of an investigative photo reportage on human rights violations in the world. Selected by an international jury, the laureate receives an endowment of 50,000 euros, enabling them to carry out an in-depth reportage on the ground, with the logistical support of Fondation Carmignac. The latter presents a travelling exhibition and the publication of a monograph, upon their return.
Created in 2000 under the initiative of Édouard Carmignac, Fondation Carmignac, directed by Charles Carmignac, is a corporate foundation with an art collection of about 300 works. On June 2, 2018 the Fondation opened to the public in Porquerolles, a Mediterranean island like a floating forest on the sea. Visitors can discover contemporary artworks of the Carmignac Collection in the beautiful surroundings of a national park, along with temporary exhibitions, a sculpture garden, and a rich programme of cultural events. |
