Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

A man photographs “Mount Recyclemore”, an artwork depicting the G7 leaders looking towards Carbis Bay, made from electronic waste by Joe Rush and Alex Wreckage, ahead of the G7 summit, at Hayle Towans in Cornwall, Britain, June 8, 2021. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Reuters)

A model prepares backstage during the body painting show : Miracle World The Ocean organized by Unipa Surabaya at Grand Atrium Royal Plaza on June 21, 2021 in Surabaya, Indonesia. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

An Iranian Shiite Muslim prays in Laylat al-Qadr, or the night of destiny, during holy fasting month of Ramadan after midnight, in central Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 18, 2017. Laylat al-Qadr is the night when Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to prophet Muhammad. Worshipers gather in religious ceremonies to pray, ask forgiveness and make wishes on one of the most important nights of the Islamic calendar. Shiite Muslims, the vast majority of Iranians, believe the night happens either on 19th, 21st or 23rd of the holy month of Ramadan. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

A staff member of Yutian County poses for a video on marigold industry at an agricultural industrial park in Yutian County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, September 20, 2020. As one of the five counties in Hotan Prefecture that have not been lifted out of poverty, Yutian County is accelerating its steps to shake off poverty by planting marigold. (Photo by Chine Nouvelle/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Raissa Floriano whose father is hospitalized with CCOVID-19, cries during a protest amid the new coronavirus pandemic outside the 28 Agosto Hospital, in Manaus, Brazil, Thursday, January 14, 2021. Scores of COVID-19 patients in the Amazon rainforest's biggest city will be transferred out of state as the local health system collapses and dwindling stocks of oxygen tanks begin to falter. (Photo by Edmar Barros/AP Photos)

A three minute time exposure shows the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 40, Thursday, January 7, 2021 in Port Canaveral, Fla. The rocket is carrying the Turksat 5A satellite for Turkey. (Photo by Malcolm Denenark/Florida Today via AP Photo)

A woman holds her dogs during a snow flurry as temperatures dropped below freezing during the third coronavirus lockdown in London, Tuesday, February 9, 2021. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo)