Sustainability | Nominee

Giacomo d'Orlando

Verona / IT

Nemo's Garden

Concept

According to the IPCC, the desertification brought by climate change in recent years has already extensively reduced agricultural productivity in many regions of the world. Agriculture makes up for 70% of freshwater use worldwide. Current population projections predict a population of 10 billion by the end of the century, creating an additional 2 billion mouths to feed. It is urgent, then, to find an alternative method of cultivation to ensure an ecologically sustainable future. This scenario perfectly fits Nemo’s Garden: the first underwater greenhouses of terrestrial plants in the world. This completely self-sustainable project represent an alternative farming system particularly dedicated to those areas where environmental or geo-morphological conditions make the growth of plants almost impossible. The encouraging results of the last years give us hope that we have found a sustainable agricultural system that will help us to tackle the new challenges brought by climate change.

Vita

Giacomo d’Orlando is an award winning documentary photographer focused on contemporary environmental issues.

His work has appeared in Nat Geo, Washington Post,Stern, BBC, Der Spiegel, El Pais, Paris Match, De Volkskrant, Mare Magazin, GEO among others and exhibited worldwide in galleries and photo-festivals.

Today his work looks at how the increasing pressures brought about by climate change are reshaping the planet and how present-day society is reacting to the new challenges that will characterize our future.