The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has unveiled the winners of the 6th edition of its Environmental Photography Prize. Photographer Britta Jaschinski wins with a striking image combining forensic science and wildlife protection.
At first glance, Handprint on Sea Turtle looks like an underwater shot of a green turtle. But under ultraviolet light, a human handprint appears on the shell. German-British photographer Britta Jaschinski, known for her visual investigations published in National Geographic and Time Magazine, documented a technique developed by the ZSL forensic laboratory in London to identify poachers and traffickers. Six of the seven species of sea turtles are now threatened with extinction.
The five winners by category
- Actors of change: Handprint on Sea Turtle, Britta Jaschinski, also elected Environmental Photographer 2026 (a scholarship of €5,000)
- Forests: Spirits of the Falls, Arnaud Farré: a toco toucan perched above Iguazú Falls, a UNESCO-listed site
- Unnatural humanity: Born for the Ocean, Fated to the Flames, Fernando Faciole: the incineration of 28.7 tons of shark fins seized in Brazil, the largest ever recorded in the country
- Ocean: Shearwater’s Dilemma, Henley Spiers: a foal puffin diving into a school of fish-lanterns off Costa Rica
- Polar regions: The Gathering, Vadim Makhorov: hundreds of Pacific walruses massed on the coast of Ratmanov Island, on the Russian-American border
The Audience Award was awarded to Doug Gimesy for Koalas are Dying for You to Slow Down, a koala hit by a car in Australia. The Prix des Lycéens goes to Arnaud Farré for Up is Down, a humpback whale and his little one seen from the sky in Reunion Island, his second prize of this edition.
The 36 selected photographs will be exhibited on the Promenade du Larvotto from May 28 to July 30, before an international tour. A book is published by Skira Paris.
source : monaco tribune
