USAID works in approximately 60 countries to conserve biodiversity, fight conservation crime, support sustainable fisheries, and works across sectors to build the base for integrated programming. Not only do USAID’s biodiversity programs help the world’s most vulnerable people secure better health and well-being outcomes while managing and conserving their natural wealth, they also bolster many of the strategic objectives of USAID’s new Climate Strategy as we work toward a resilient, prosperous, and equitable world with net-zero emissions.

We are pleased to announce the USAID Biodiversity Photo Contest!
Your photos will be featured in USAID publications, websites, and social media.

Submission Guidelines

ELIGIBILITY: This contest is open to USAID staff, USAID implementers and partners, and anyone working in the Biodiversity sector.

INSTRUCTIONS: Please send photos as email attachments to biodiversity@usaid.gov, with the subject line “2023 Biodiversity Photo Contest.” If your photos are too large to send over email, please upload them to Google Drive or Dropbox, and include links to the photos in your email.

Include the following information in the email—either in the body or in an attached file—for each photo submitted:

• Name of photographer, email address, and project and/or organizational affiliation.
• Name of copyright holder: If the photo was produced while under contract to USAID, USAID holds the copyright. (As such, it is  a U.S. Government work and the photo’s copyright is in the public domain.) If the photo was produced while under a USAID grant or cooperative agreement, the grantee, implementer, or their partners may be able to assert copyright. Personal photography receiving no funding from the U.S. Government or its agencies is the property of the photographer.
• Location: Please include as much detail as possible. At the very least, this must include the city and country.
• Caption: A description of who and/or what is in the photo and what is happening, in a few sentences (200 words max). Please provide as much detail as possible; we encourage you to include quotes and statistics. In the description, please describe how the photo is a part of, or relates to, USAID Biodiversity programming.
  • See an example from the Climatelinks Photo Contest gallery.
• Theme: Please indicate in your email one or more of the following themes that your photo illustrates:
  • Combating Conservation Crime
  • One Health
  • Conservation Enterprises
  • Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation
  • Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change
  • Biodiversity & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Communities and Conservation
  • Biodiversity and Food Security
  • Marine/Fisheries

For examples and ideas, check out the USAID Biodiversity Flickr account.

Photos must meet the following technical requirements:

• Photos must be original and depict USAID programming or results of USAID programming.
• Photos must be submitted as a JPG or PNG file.
• Please send the highest resolution photo possible (minimum width of 1920 pixels).
• We will not accept a photo with an overlaid logo or text.
• We will not accept a photo sent inside a Word document or PDF.
• Submissions should capture USAID’s biodiversity programmatic work. Examples of work with partners, beneficiaries, or protected landscapes are welcome. Please describe the connection to USAID work in the caption.

You have until February 13, 2023 to submit photos for the photo contest. Entries will be judged on relevance to the themes outlined above, as well as photo composition, originality, and technical quality. Winning photos will be announced in spring 2023. We will feature winners here on the USAID.gov/Biodiversity website, highlight them on our social media accounts, and publish all submissions to the USAID Biodiversity Flickr account.

Disclaimer

You are granting USAID an unrestricted license to reproduce your photo in any format, including print products, on the web, and in social media. Please make sure you read the disclaimer below for full details.

By submitting a photograph to this competition, you:

1. Declare that you, your organization, or USAID own the copyright of the photograph and that it is your original work or that you are authorized to share these photos.
2. Declare that you have permission to use the visual image of any identifiable individual in the photograph for entry into the competition and that the image may be published as stipulated in the photo contest guidelines (above).
3. Agree that USAID will not be responsible for the infringement of any third-party rights in the photograph, moral or otherwise, that may arise as a result of your actions or omissions and that you indemnify USAID against all legal fees, claims, damages, and other expenses that may be incurred as a result of your breach of the contest rules.
4. Grant reproduction rights for USAID use and in doing so, agree that USAID can use your photograph for the purposes of the competition and also for future reproduction in perpetuity on websites, literature, and any other materials at USAID’s discretion.