• Earth Day 2024 U.S. Embassy Colombo Photography Competition was held under the theme Planet vs Plastics

During the Covid 19 pandemic with almost no human activities in Kalpitiya lagoon, Azly Azad had time in abundance to capture the beauty of nature. Photographing the still water, trees, plants and various water bodies, Azad captured the ‘Marsh Plant’ which ended up winning a prize at the Earth Day 2024 Photography Competition, organised by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. Another photograph taken by him at home and titled ‘Rainy day water drop’ was also featured at the US Cultural Centre at the Embassy
premises recently. 
While the competition represented different ethnic, religious and nationalities from various parts of the island, it was also dedicated to young tomorrow’s photographers who are ‘clicking’ for a cause.     

Two schoolchildren Deeshaka Rathnayaka’s photographs ‘endless life Wangedigala’  and ;Future of Lanka Wangedigala and     M.A.M. Agharrkhan’s ‘Snake’ and ‘Blue dragon fly’ clicked at far way remote Anuradhapura were among the selected photographs. 
The 54th edition of the Earth Day Photography Contest themed ‘Planet vs Plastics,’ was organised by the Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Section. The purpose was to capture the breathtaking beauty of Sri Lanka’s ecosystems and its diverse wildlife, demonstrate how the U.S.-Sri Lanka collaboration aids in conserving the island’s precious environment, and highlight creative approaches to achieving sustainability.  
“The wonderful photos you have taken are very powerful, very beautiful and each of them really has its own strong message. Its about the purity of the nature or the amount of trash and the human are causing to our beautiful nature and animals,”  US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung said addressing the winners of photo contest.
“Your images are truly amazing. Thank you for the power of the magic you createed through your lens. They are beautiful photos of a beautiful land,” she added. 
“I strongly believe that photography is a perfect tool to showcase the wonder of Sri Lanka’s wildlife and find diversity, connect people to nature and also alert the public about the ways we are harming the nature,” Ambassador Chung explained. 
Taking photographs bridges the gap between humans and nature, fosters appreciation and understanding and ultimately creates a deeper commitment to conservation of nature. The aim of the contest is to champion a global effort to lessen environmental harm and includes the reduction of single-use plastics. 
“Single-use plastics are among the most significant pollutants in Sri Lanka; leading to a wide range of problems from wildlife harm, like elephant deaths due to plastic ingestion, to urban challenges such as flooding and the spread of diseases like dengue in stagnant waters. These issues are compounded by their contribution to the overflow of garbage dumps and exacerbating public health crises. The threat of plastics transcends environmental concerns; they can also pose a severe risk to human health,” the Embassy said in a statement.

As they degrade, plastics transform into microplastics, dispersing toxic substances into our food, water, and the air we breathe. Their journey from canals to oceans disrupts aquatic ecosystems and damages marine life, undermining coastal restoration and negatively affecting tourism, it added. 
Despite numerous cleanup efforts, the persistent excess of plastics ensures continued pollution. The rate of plastic production globally has surged to over 380 million tons annually, with the last decade seeing more production than the entire 20th century, and it is poised for further increase. The vast majority of the over 500 billion plastic bags and hundreds of billions of plastic containers produced last year will not be recycled, with Sri Lanka recycling less than 3%. 
The irony of plastic water bottles is that not only does their use contribute to waste production, but it also takes six times the contents in each bottle to destroy one; this lose-lose situation highlights the broader impact of this crisis. What was once seen as a miraculous product has evolved into a significant health and environmental hazard; as both the plastics and their production facilities release harmful pollutants, impacting our well-being and that of the natural world.  
The entry criteria made it mandatory to have a clear connection to the competition theme: Sri Lankan Wildlife and Environment Partnership: Planet vs Plastics and  the contestants had to be amateur photographers who have been Sri Lankan residents and had to be over the age of 13 years.
The contest was held under the categories of oceans and Waterways, wildlife encounters, funniest Nature Photo, Conservation at work, Renewable Energy and Youth-under the age of 18 years. 
The names of the winners at this competition were announced on Earth Day and they had the opportunity to display their photos at the American Center in the U.S. Embassy Colombo for public viewing.  
The other winners at the competition were Ahamed Jazif, R.S.Thushan, Palinda Perera, Ranod Lakshitha, Pavishanth

Jayaseelan, Udayaraj Hariraj, Avishka Mayura Gunawardhana, Thushapan Pathmanathan, Dr. Lalith Ekanayake, Niranjan, Ashen Gunawardena, M.A.Ahmath, Yuganthan Nallusamy, Yazir Zubair, Chethiya Rathnayaka, Kanishka Lanza and Harsha Senarathna.