And the winners are… IKI photo contest completed
Copyright: Wildlife Conservation Society, Papua New Guinea
Explore the winning images of the 2025 IKI Photo Contest now.
The International Climate Initiative (IKI) supports around 400 projects across the globe – ranging from electrifying public transport in Indonesia, to restoring mangrove forests in Mexico, to transitioning to renewable energy in Egypt. Each project tells its own story and makes a tangible contribution to climate and biodiversity action. With the help of the global IKI community, the department Communication Climate Action & AI of the IKI project management agency Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft gGmbH captured these stories - and made them visible.
“Each of the award-winning photos tells a story of courage, commitment and hope. The topics range from renewable energies in emerging countries to the protection of entire ecosystems. The photos show how diverse, committed and determined the people working on the projects are. In the face of climate change, these photos are a sign of hope.“ – Philipp Behrens, Head of International Climate Initiative Division, BMWE
The jury selected three winners
After more than 170 submissions, 32 photos made it to the short list and were evaluated by the jury. The jury consisted of experts in IKI, climate and biodiversity action, as well as photography, ensuring that both artistic quality and thematic relevance to IKI projects were considered in the final selection. Following a lively discussion during the virtual jury meeting on 6 October 2025, the jury members agreed on three photos, which were crowned the winners of the IKI photo contest.
At the top is an entry from Papua New Guinea, submitted by the local Wildlife Conservation Society. The image shows participants from local communities taking part in training sessions to monitor seagrass meadows and mangrove forests.As they store carbon, protect coastlines from erosion, and provide habitat for marine life, these ecosystems are essential for livelihoods in the Pacific. The trainings were part of the IKI project “Strengthening coastal biodiversity conservation and management through protection and rehabilitation incentives for coastal carbon sinks in Pacific Island countries”. Through these sessions, the project strengthens locally appointed management committees for these vital ecosystems. By assessing and monitoring them, the project helps communities conserve biodiversity, maintain vital ecosystem services, and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.
In second place is a photo by Edgard Leonardo Davila Panduro, showing the Amazonian bee Melipona eburnea collecting resins and pollen. Completing the podium is the image “Silicon Sea” by Ayan Villafuerte, depicting the solar panels of an 80 MW solar farm in Baras, Rizal, Philippines. The panels stretch across the landscape, dwarfing a single vehicle and highlighting the vast scale of clean energy.
IKI Public Choice Award
Copyright: Ho Ngoc Anh Tuan
More than 1,400 people worldwide also took the opportunity to cast their votes for their favourites. The audience favourite, and winner of the IKI Public Choice Award, is Ho Ngoc Anh Tuan from Viet Nam. His photo captures the dedication of female planters restoring degraded dunes and mangroves on Viet Nam’s north-central coast using high-quality native seedlings.
The IKI says thank you
The IKI would like to thank all participants for their inspiring contributions and warmly congratulate all the winners. You impressed not only with your photographic skills but also with the strong messages behind your images. With your shots, you made climate and biodiversity action visible and showed how IKI creates real impact on the ground.
