Two Filipinos and a Thai emerged as the top three winners of the 2009 SEARCA Photo Contest themed, "Community-based Climate Change Adaptation: Best Practices in Southeast Asia."

First Place photo

Nikki Sandino Victoriano, a professional photographer based in Antipolo City, Philippines, won first place with his entry "Planting Bamboo." Vinai Dithajohn from Bangkok, Thailand and Dionisio Salvador, Jr. from Marikina City, Philippines ranked second and third, respectively.

Victoriano is an award-winning photographer having won in the World Health Organization (WHO) Photo Contest (Black & White Category). He placed third in GTZ Photo Contest Water is Life; and was a finalist both in the Snowden Mining Photo Contest and Swatch Photo Contest in 2008.

For the SEARCA photo contest, his winning entry depicts a farmer propagating bamboo seedlings to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. Bamboos are more able to absorb water; and thus, can rejuvenate degraded lands. Bamboos also help in carbon sequestration and produce large biomass, enabling ground moisture conservation.

Second Place photo

Third Place photo

This photo contest ran from August 3 to October 30, 2009 and harvested a total of 130 entries coming from five countries namely Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh. The judging of photo entries was held last November 11 at SEARCA.

Dr. Nicomedes D. Briones, professor from the School of Environmental Science and Management, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); Prof. Edmund Centeno who teaches photography at the College of Development Communication, UPLB; and Mr. Joel Cardenas, a freelance graphics artist based in Los Baños, Laguna served as judges.

Winners will be recognized during SEARCA's 43rd anniversary on November 20. Winners will receive $500 (first place), $300 (second place), and $200 (third place).