Tears of motherland

• Prize
  Silver in Press/Nature/Environmental
• Photographer
  Masoumeh Bahrami, Iran
• Date of Photograph
  2021-2022-2023-2024- 2025

Inspired by a childhood memory of a taxidermized flamingo given as a gift by my hunter uncle, this project explores how climate change and environmental degradation are transforming landscapes, wildlife, and human lives around the Caspian Sea in Iran. Focusing on the fragile Miankaleh Wetland, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it documents drought, ecological collapse, and resilience of local communities. Today, nearly 30% of the wetland has dried up. As a lifelong witness, this work transforms a childhood fear into a visual testimony of ecological loss, memory, and the need to protect our ecosystem