#notjusttuna, Indian Ocean
Photographer Will Rose followed the Greenpeace ship Esperanza on an expedition in the Indian Ocean aimed at peacefully tackling unsustainable fishing. With some tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean, such as Yellowfin, on the brink of collapse due to overfishing, the expedition set out to expose destructive fishing methods which contribute to overfishing and harm a range of marine life including sharks and juvenile tuna. Retrieving FADs (Fish Aggregation Devices) was an important part of the ship's crew's work in the Indian Ocean. Aggregation devices were taken onboard the Esperanza and fully dismantled by the ship's crew.
Refugee Crisis, Lesvos, Greece
Photographer Will Rose followed a joint operation launched by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and environmental organisation Greenpeace to rescue people risking their lives on the dangerous sea crossing between Turkey and Greece. More than 856,000 refugees and migrants arrived by sea or land in Greece in 2015, making it the main entry point for people attempting to reach Europe. A third of the people landing on Greece’s shores were women and children. Approximately 91 per cent came from countries affected by war and violence – predominantly Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.
Whaling in the shadow of oil. Alaska, U.S.
Shell's plans to drill offshore in the Alaskan Arctic has divided the native communities of the North Slope Borough. The tense run off battle in the Borough elections reflected a community that is torn by the proposed offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Alaska's Arctic people now stand at a crossroads between continued benefits from industry generated revenues and protecting the marine environment they have depended on for thousands of years
The Wall. Sundarbans, India.
Hundreds of people were killed and more than 22,000 homes were ravaged when cyclone Aila struck the Bay of Bengal in May 2009. 300 local people are involved in rebuilding the destroyed sea defence wall. Smashed to pieces by cyclone Aila the previous year, the community are trying to protect themselves from increasing tidal surges and extreme weather events.
Point Hope. Alaska, U.S.
Point Hope is located on the western coast of Alaska on the edge of the Chukchi sea, just south of lease 193 where oil giant Shell hope to extract oil to the value of $2.4 trillion. Point Hope's tribal government backed by a group of 12 environmental organisations have led the opposition against Shell. The city is becoming increasingly split over the issue, as gifts and promises of jobs from oil companies seep in.
Stranded Bears. Alaska, U.S.
As the Arctic sea ice retreats over 700 miles from the shore in the autumn, bears must either head north or swim south to land as the ice breaks up. The amount of polar bears coming to land is increasing but scientists are still unsure of the single cause. In recent years, bears have spent a longer period onshore, during which they are cut off from their natural seal prey and scientists anticipate that the number of bears onshore may increase as sea ice loss continues.
South Sudanese refugees, Uganda, Africa.
Escalating violence in South Sudan has given rise to massive population displacement both within South Sudan and into neighboring countries. Since the beginning of December 2013, the influx of refugees into Uganda has continued to increase, leaving tens of thousands of people in dire need of emergency medical care, shelter, food, water and adequate sanitation facilities. Images for Plan International and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Adjumani district, Uganda.
Surviving In Sumatra. Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Sumatran orang-utan is critically endangered. According to Peter Pratje from the Frankfurt Zoological Centre in Bukit Tigupuluh National Park, the remaining population are likely to be the first of the great ape species to be extinct. The entire tropical peatland ecosystem in this region is in great danger from the destructive logging methods that have been used for decades. Methods of drainage, slash-and burn and mosaic plantations have had an enormous impact on the biodiverse forest system.
Minqin. Gansu, China.
Minqin county in China’s Gansu province is sandwiched between two expanding deserts, the Tengger and the Badain Juran. Several metres of farmland in the region are lost to desertification every year. Land use changes, soil erosion and climate change are all contributing factors in the desertification of Minqin. This thin oasis of land hemmed in by the Tengri and Badrain Jaran has become a symbol of China's increasing struggle with water resources.
Portraits from Minqin. Gansu, China.
Considered one of the eight most life threatening places on the planet, Minqin in north-west China is sandwiched between the two expanding deserts Tengri and Badain Jaran. A series of black and white portraits and landscapes from this region in north-west China where people are battling the encroaching deserts.
The Nenets of Yamal Peninsula. Russia.
The nomadic Nenets tribes of the Yamal Peninsula have retained their traditional culture and simple way of life for over a thousand years. Surviving Stalinist Russia and the interests of the gas drilling company Gazprom they now face a new threat, climate change. The permafrost landscape they have survived on is now beginning to dramatically thaw.
