Spot-billed pelican interact on the banks of an artificial lake in Colombo on September 28, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

Turkish World Record Holder in freediving Sahika Ercumen dives to raise awareness about pollution in sea waters in Kas district of Antalya, Turkiye on June 07, 2023. Every year 400 tons of one time use plastic are made globally and in Turkiye 91 percent of the plastics are not recycled. (Photo by Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In this photograph taken on September 1, 2024, a tea picker shows her hands whilst she reaps leaves at a plantation in Hatton. The backbone of the economy, Sri Lanka's tea pickers are determined to use their powerful vote to choose a president this month who will change grim working conditions for good. The pickers' main political party, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), are backing the incumbent Wickremesinghe. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

This photo taken on October 8, 2017 shows dancers posing in formation to celebrate the upcoming Party Congress, in Rongan in China' s southern Guangxi region. China will convene its 19 th Party Congress on October 18, state media said, a key meeting held every five years where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a second term as the ruling Communist Party' s top leader. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A long exposure image shows star trails from the abandoned submerged orthodox church of St. Nicholas without roof, submerged in the Mavrovo Lake, near Mavrovi Anovi, North Macedonia, 17 March 2019. Constructed in 1850 and submerged in 1952 due to the construction of the hydro system Mavrovo, the church St. Nicholas continues to attract the attention of almost every visitor as it peaks from the water. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA/EFE)

Dario Sammartino, of Italy, competes at the final table during the World Series of Poker at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas Sunday, July 14, 2019. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP Photo)

A woman wearing a protective mask walks through a platform of a train station during the afternoon rush hours as the Omicron variant continues to spread, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 3, 2022. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. ‍ “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)