Welcome to the new IMPACT online exhibition, a project exploring the internet as a venue for insightful photographic work. In an effort to remind viewers of the important role photographers play around the world, we invited an array of imagemakers to share galleries on their blogs (like this one) that comprise 12 images representing an experience when they had an impact on or were impacted. By clicking on the links below the IMPACT logo, you can move through the exhibition, viewing other galleries by different photographers. You can also click the IMPACT logo to be taken to a post on the liveBooks RESOLVE Blog where you can see an index of all participating photographers. We hope that by linking different photographic visions of our first topic, “Outside Looking In,” we can provide a multifaceted view of the topic as well as the IMPACT individuals can have on the world around us.
Scientists estimate that worldwide up to 73 million sharks are killed every year and as a result 50 species are listed as vulnerable or in danger of extinction. Vast fishing fleets comb our oceans catching sharks primarily for their fins, a sought after commodity used in shark fin soup. One of the greatest challenges in marine conservation today is to instill in people a sense of wonder in the ocean that will not only awaken a feeling of ownership but also foster responsibility towards its inhabitants, especially sharks.
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When most people think of mangroves, they unfortunately envisage smelly malaria infested swamps full of dangerous and deadly beasts. The mangrove’s bad reputation, which dates back to the age of Victorian explorers is tragic because these tidal forests, which effortlessly straddle the realm between land and sea are one of the most important ecosystems to grace our planet. They act as nurseries and are the ocean’s kindergarten for many species of fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Without mangroves coral reefs for example, so adored by the public would be shadows of their riotous diverse selves. Mangroves also protect against coastal erosion and are our first line of defense against sea level rise. During the 2004 Asian Tsunami mangrove forests even presided over who lived and died. Coastlines with intact and healthy mangroves experienced a less savage death toll than areas where they had been cleared. Despite these glaringly vital roles that mangroves play they are exploited with great vigor . Their formidable wood, largely resistant to wet rot and termites is much sought after to build boats and houses, but the greatest danger to mangroves is coastal development. Their prime seafront location is often a death sentence as large-scale clearing goes hand in hand with the development of tourist infrastructure, shrimp farming ponds and agriculture projects in many parts of the world.
As chief photographer of the Save Our Seas Foundation I have had the great privilege of exploring many mangrove ecosystems around the world. Photographing the tidal forests of Aldabra’s giant lagoon in 2008 rewarded me with a feeling of having traveled back in time to when our planet’s seas were still healthy and intact (
On World Oceans Day 2009 however all that changed for the better when the waters surrounding the island were proclaimed a marine protected area. The foresightedness and environmental ethos of the newly elected Maldives government, the hard work of Save our Seas Foundation marine biologist Guy Stevens and National Geographic magazine’s ability to reach more than 50 million people around the globe has given Hanifaru’s manta rays and whale sharks a fighting chance to survive into perpetuity.
