Science Museum
How can these four pictures be images of the same region? What force could possibly transform the Pantanal 鈥� a tropical wetland straddling Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, full of jaguars, howler monkeys, caiman, marsh deer and a vast number of fish and birds 鈥� into a fire-ravaged wasteland?
The 200,000-square-kilometre wetland 鈥� the world鈥檚 largest 鈥� is used to alternating dry and wet seasons. But climate change, deforestation and intensive farming have made a grim parody of its natural wet and dry cycles. In 2020, a record-breaking wildfire burned over a quarter of the region鈥檚 vegetation cover. The last major fire season was in 2024.
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The plight of the fragile ecosystem has captured the attention of two photographers, Lalo de Almeida and Luciano Candisani. Their radically different images are showcased in , a free exhibition opening on 6 February at London鈥檚 Science Museum, and running until the end of May.
Candisani鈥檚 photographs focus on water and the region鈥檚 freshwater life.
De Almeida, a documentary photographer, has focused on the fires that devastated the region and on how it has been affected by climate change.
