May 2013: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN has announced the winner of the Nurture Forests for the Future – REDD+ for Food photo contest. FAO, as part of the UN-REDD Programme, held the contest to create awareness on the links between food security and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).

The winning image, ‘Papaya trees and poverty fighting,’ was taken by an Australian photographer and selected from more than 1200 entries submitted over the course of 40 days from 80 countries. Photo entries were reviewed by an expert panel of individuals from FAO and National Geographic. The top twenty-five images are available online and were showcased in FAO headquarters’ in Rome during the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition held from 13-15 May 2013. [FAO Photo Contest: Nurture Forests for the Future] [Gallery of the Photo Contest’s top 25 images]