Death of the Patriarchs

• Prize
  Silver in Press/Nature/Environmental
• Photographer
  Gianluca Colonnese, Italy

This story is about the disaster caused by the xylella fastidiosa bacterium in Apulia (southern Italy).
There is currently no solution. I have been following the issue since 2017.
Some numbers concerning the disaster:
• Number of olive trees dead due to Xylella fastidiosa: 21 millions
• Number of olive trees at risk of desiccation: 37 millions
• CO2 absorbed by an olive tree in one year: 730 kg
• Number of square meters at risk of desertification: 145 thousand km2
• Speed of Xylella fastidiosa diffusion: 2 km a month.