I’m really thrilled that a photo from Tuvalu Odyssey website has been selected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to appear on the front cover of the Working Group 2’s Fifth Assessment Report on the impacts of, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change.

My photo of mangrove planting on Funafala Island depicts a climate change adaptation project, aimed at future protection of the shoreline from erosion. When I visited Tuvalu, I was invited one day to join a small group heading down to Funafula Island and observe a group of local school children planting mangroves as a climate change adaptation program. Funafula is a 25 minute boat ride down the lagoon from Fongafale, the main island in Funafuti Atoll. The mangrove seedings were grown in a nursery on the main island, and brought down on a boat for planting. There were volunteers helping organise the planting from the Republic of China (Taiwan) embassy, and from a Japanese non-profit NGO called Tuvalu Overview.

I had my camera ready and captured some really nice photos, especially with the rain showers across the lagoon in the background.  The IPCC found them online and approached me to include this one on the front cover.  Apart from the personal accomplishment of having my photo appear on such an important global scientific report, I’m really pleased that this helps raise awareness of Tuvalu and projects like the mangrove planting on Funafala.

The IPCC will publish the final version of the Working Group 2 Fifth Assessment Report in around August 2014.  The Summary for Policymakers and final drafts of the chapters were released on 31 March 2014.  My photo has also been used in some of the surrounding materials, such as the Working Group 2 Fact Sheet about the Fifth Assessment report.

Here’s my original photo, which can be found in my Funafala gallery.