Scenes from the aftermath of devastating floods in Beijing, China. August 2nd and 3rd, 2023. The Chinese capital was hit by record rains as Typhoon Doksuri hit northern China. According to the Associated Press, in was the city's "heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years, causing severe flooding and 21 deaths." These images were made in the Tanwanglu area of Mentougou, in the west of the city.

The iconic pillars of Zhangjiajie's Wulingyuan. The distinct geology found in central China's Hunan province makes it truly one of the world's most unique natural formations. According to UNESCO, "the site is dominated by more than 3,000 narrow quartz sandstone pillars, many over 200m high. Nestled within its towering peaks lie ravines and gorges with streams, pools and waterfalls, two large natural bridges, and some 40 caves. Impressive calcite deposits are a notable feature within these caves. In addition to the striking beauty of the landscape, including spectacular jagged stone peaks, luxuriant vegetation cover and clear lakes and streams, the region is also home to a number of endangered plant and animal species."

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Thousands of people descend on Beijing's parks in the spring to witness the ever popular annual cherry blossoms. Wreaths of flowers adorn the heads of those gathered under the trees, as they try to catch sight of the ephemeral blooms and the inevitable falling of the leaves. Wreaths of flowers worn on the head is a tradition that dates back over 2000 years in human history. Early uses date back to ancient Greece and Rome when they were used at celebrations, often indicating a person's hierarchical status in society. Are these modern wreaths a sign of reverence for nature, or simply a prop for the perfect selfie? Cherry blossom blooms around the world have been appearing earlier than expected and in neighbouring Japan they have witnessed the earliest bloom in 1,200 years. This has led scientists to speculate a warming climate is beginning to significantly change the timings in the cherry blossom's life cycle. Early blooms may be a new 'canary in the coal mine' for our rapidly changing climate. - APRIL, 2021

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Deforestation has been accelerating across Cambodia in the early 21st Century and it is estimated that there is only 3% of primary forest left throughout the country. In 2018, fires burnt in record numbers throughout the forests of north and central Cambodia. At their peak during the dry season between January and March, it is estimated up to 1,800 fires were burning in the country, more than in any other country throughout South East Asia at that time. The main drivers behind deforestation in Cambodia are conversion of forest lands for agricultural use and targeted logging of valuable species, such as Rosewood, for the Asian furniture markets. Rubber plantations are the most ubiquitous and are spread throughout the country. According to the Khymer Times, "the Southeast Asian nation made a gross revenue of roughly 377 million U.S. dollars from exports of the commodity last year [2019]." Exports are mainly to countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia. Large swathes of Cambodia's natural forests have been cleared to make way for plantations that generate large revenues for the government. The Cambodian government also continues to grant concessions to domestic and international companies that allow them to legally clear the country’s forests for agricultural purposes, or to target the country’s trees for harvesting timber. Decades of forest clearance have decimated the country’s biodiversity. Iconic animals such as tigers and elephants have long since been eradicated from most of the country’s forests. National-level protection is weak and it now seems only small independent groups of conservationists are the last line of defence trying to protect what is left of Cambodia’s once great forests.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Fallen trees lie in the shallows of the Mekong River. Trees in and around the river often fall during floods which damage local ecosystems and sometimes displace communities along the river. The Mekong River originates from the glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau. It winds its way downhill through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and finally into the sea in Vietnam. The river has always been a flux of flood and drought, making life constantly dynamic for those who live along its shores. Dams are now ubiquitous along its length and are found in all of the countries it passes. They have been embraced as effective sources of energy production for South East Asia but scientists warn of the continued environmental impacts influencing the droughts and floods, and the impacts on aquatic species and loss of forests. --- CAMBODIA 2020

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Rising sea levels and their potential impacts on coastal communities have been well documented in recent years, however a new study released by Nature Communications just this past month (October, 2019) has revealed new predictions highlighting up to 300 million people potentially being adversely affected by rising sea levels in the coming decades. Northern China has been identified as one of the regions in Asia that will see the most number of people affected in coastal communities. It has been estimated that rising sea levels across the country will threaten close to 100 million people in China by 2050. Many of those at risk live in the Bohai Bay area, in north-east China. It is home to Tianjin, a megacity of over 15 million people. More than 100km2 of the coastal area is beneath mean sea level, making it especially prone to sea level rise. The coastal communities are a mix of fishing villages, ports centered on industry and natural wetlands. All of these are significantly under threat as sea level rises in the region. Three millimeters per year is the global average for sea level rise. Researchers from China's State Oceanic Administration have revealed that, “the average sea level along Chinese coastal areas has increased by 90 millimeters (mm) over the past 30 years… Sea level around Tianjin has risen by 196 mm, more than double the average increase in China.” At Bohai Bay’s southern boundary, the famous Yellow River flows. Even that iconic natural wonder is under threat, as Nasa reports. “Residents of China's Yellow River delta are swamped by sea level rise of more than nine inches (25 centimeters) a year.” By using unique aerial photography and video, this reporting project focuses on visually communicating the threats and impacts of sea level rise on vulnerable coastal communities.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Tuvalu is on the front line of climate change. This unique country is made up of a series of nine islands and coral atolls totalling only 26 square kilometres in land area, spread out near the equator in the western Pacific Ocean. With an average elevation of only one meter above sea level, the United Nations has predicted that it may be the first nation to disappear, as a result of rising sea levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that global sea levels will rise on average between 30-110cm by 2100, if carbon emissions stay at current levels. This will immediately affect hundreds of millions of people who live within a few meters of current sea levels. The fourth smallest country in the world and one of the least visited, the plight of Tuvalu’s 11,000 residents has been overlooked and underreported. Each year, seasonal ‘king tides’ inundate the islands of Tuvalu, severely flooding large swathes of the country between the months of January and March. Additionally, the erosion of land, saltwater encroachment during storm surges and difficulties with waste management, all exacerbate the problems Tuvalu faces. Sean Gallagher travelled to Tuvalu in March 2019 to document the environmental challenges the country currently faces. This is the latest chapter in his long-term work chronicling the effects of climate change in the Asia-Pacific region.

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Tibetan Plateau covers approximately 25 percent of China’s surface area, spreading out over 2.5 million sq. km in the west of the country. It is home to the largest store of freshwater outside of the North and South Poles, feeding water into Asia’s major rivers which supply water to over a billion people. As a result of anthropogenic climate change, temperatures are rising on the Tibetan Plateau faster than anywhere else in Asia. The effects of these changes are becoming more evident in the form of melting glaciers, increasing desertification and degraded grasslands. Forced resettlement programs have been introduced to relocate tens of thousands of nomads who are blamed for contributing to the deterioration of the plateau. Increased mining operations near so-called protected areas also fuel degradation on the plateau creating conflicts between native Tibetans and Han Chinese.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM It is estimated that up to one million people own exotic pets in China. These pets are defined as non-traditional ones, such as snakes, monkeys, crocodiles, spiders, and tropical birds that are sourced from threatened ecosystems across the world, mainly to be displayed in the homes of China’s expanding and more affluent middle classes. As this sector of society continues to grow, the rise in pet ownership has risen sharply and many young Chinese are now turning to exotic pet ownership as a way to display their individuality and wealth. The trade in these animals has been directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, as well as contributing to a rapid rise in invasive species. Please contact us for licensing enquiries at: sean@gallagher-photo.com

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM In the summer of 2016, parts of India experienced record drought as a result of consecutive failed monsoons. Global temperature records were broken each month in 2016 and India itself recorded its highest temperature of 51C. In conjunction with El Nino effects, this caused extreme environmental stresses in large parts of the country. Sean Gallagher travelled to the city of Latur, in the state of Maharashtra, identified as the country’s worst affected area where up to 15,000 villages were believed to be without water. The images focus on how community’s lives were being affected by the drought, documenting the long and dangerous journeys people are taking to find water, the stresses placed on farmers and the physical environmental stresses on the region. As global temperatures continue to rise, the record drought of 2016 is predicted to be a recurring event in a country that is struggling to adapt to a warming world. Please contact us for licensing enquiries at: sean@gallagher-photo.com

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM “I’m really scared of the pollution”, says Mrs. Zhang, a 62-year old retiree who has just finished her morning exercises in Beijing’s Ditan park. Like many other of the city’s elderly residents, she heads out each morning to take part in communal exercises that range from dancing and singing, to kung fu. On this warm spring morning in mid-March, a familiar haze sits in they air however, keeping the residents of Beijing snugly enveloped underneath its cover. Beijingers have become acutely aware of what this dystopian phenomenon is. A quick check via one of the numerous online apps reveals the air pollution level is high again. This morning its at 356. “Hazardous”’ according to the US Embassy’s Air Quality Index (AQI) monitor. “Serious aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease and the elderly; serious risk of respiratory effects in general population”, it advises. “Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion.” “Last year I bought a professional mask because I had a bad throat. The pollution made it worse”, Mrs. Zhang continues, speaking loudly to break through the fabric that presses close to her mouth. She is one of many Beijingers that are taking self-protection into their own hands, as part of of a new public trend that is seeing more and more people using the air pollution mask.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is listed as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and it is believed only between 2500-4000 remain in the wild, a population drop of approx. 50% in the past 60-75 years. According to IUCN, “The species was once found throughout Sri Lanka, but today elephants are restricted mostly to the lowlands in the dry zone…the species continues to lose range to development activities throughout the island.” Sri Lanka is one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots and is an important example of the struggle developing nations have with exploitation of their natural resources, at the cost of precious endemic fauna and flora. sean-gallagher-sri-lanka-elephantsThe clearest example of this is in the increase of human-elephant conflict which is claiming the lives of approximately 50 people and 100 elephants each year across the country. As habitat fragmentation occurs, due to deforestation for tea plantations, agriculture, new development projects, small-scale farming etc., wild elephant herds are increasingly venturing into human settlements to find food. In these situations, conflict inevitably occurs and as elephants contribute in destroying local people’s crops, they are often killed as pests, or hunted in revenge and killed. Deforestation and habitat fragmentation over many decades, during and since colonial rule, have pushed the two groups closer together, increasing conflict dramatically. Historically, Sri Lanka has had a deep connection with the elephant. It is an animal that is both revered in culture and religion, but is now becoming a symbol of conflict in this fast-changing post-war developing nation.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM “The bubbles which you see are contaminated with chromium, and it is very poisonous.” Standing next to a field of wilted crops near his small village of Payundee, Sonalal Yadav carefully hops over a drainage canal, which is overflowing with white foam. An acrid stench fills the air as the water below is churned up and funneled through the small channels onto nearby farmland. On its way, vegetation that hangs in the water is beginning to turn a dark brown color, and some plants are completely black. “This water that you see comes from the tanneries. It goes to the treatment plant and then from the canal, it comes to the fields,” explained Yadev, who is president of the area’s local farmers community. “We were called the ‘Kings of Roses.’ Now, they have totally vanished. Here vegetables have also gone very bad. The vegetables have all become poisonous.” Please contact us for licensing enquiries at: sean@gallagher-photo.com

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM By 2017, all of that year’s end-of-life refrigerators, TVs, mobile phones, computers, monitors, e-toys and other products with a battery or electrical cord worldwide could fill a line of 40-ton trucks end-to-end on a highway straddling three quarters of the Equator. United Nations University on Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative "At first, we dealt with record players, radios, VCRs and black-and-white TVs. Later on, CD and DVD players followed. Finally, computers arrived, and we started business with e-waste," explains Mohammed Moinuddin, an e-waste recycler, sitting in his small village near Kolkata in northeast India. Nearby lie piles of electronics nearly two meters high. Mostly composed of dark green circuit boards, they are haphazardly stacked against the walls of the village of Sangrampur, a small hamlet located 30 miles south of Kolkata and just 25 miles from the Indian Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the multicolored piles of plastic and metals, women, young men and children use small hammers and chisels to pick away at the various circuit boards, breaking them down into increasingly smaller pieces, which are then separated and collected together. "It's all collected from Kolkata and brought here, dismantled and broken down," Moinuddin said. "Since 2010, there has been quite an influx in the electronic market. There is increased supply, increased usage, increased waste production and increased dismantling." The small operation in this village is all part of a growing informal industry in India, which is expanding as a result of the country's boom in electronic waste. As a relatively young industry, e-waste recycling occupations are plagued by associated risks that are only now becoming more apparent. Metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic are all present in e-waste. For those workers who spend endless days exposed to dangerous levels of toxic elements with little to no protection while breaking electronics down by hand, the risks are clear. Read More - http://gallagher-photo.com/environmental-stories/india-rising-tide-e-waste/

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM “I am concerned about pollution. Lots of people are getting cancer and diseases,” says Dulal Chandigiri, as he scrubs a bicycle tire outside his small workshop in the Tiljala area of central Kolkata. He is squatting down next to the small lake which sits just a meter or two from the front door of a small shack made of corrugated iron that has been his home for the past 42 years. “When I came here it was all paddy fields. It was 90 percent village and 10 percent city then. The population is increasing. The main problem is that lots of trees are being cut down and houses are being built up.” Kolkata is home to Dulal and some 14 million other people who reside in a sprawling metropolitan zone which spreads out from the banks of the Hooghly River, the last arm of the Ganges. One of India’s major urban hubs, the city sits on the edge of the Bay of Bengal and has attracted millions of migrants since India gained independence from Great Britain in 1947. Today, the city appears to be at bursting point. At every crossing, traffic chokes the streets. People battle for space on the busy sidewalks and barges criss-cross the Ganges, packed with workers commuting across the great waterway. Among the bustle however, environmental threats linger silently in the air, water and soil. Read More - http://gallagher-photo.com/environmental-stories/choke-point-kolkata/

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Located on the northern shores of the island of Java, the Indonesian capital of Jakarta is on the front line of climate change. In January of 2013, the city was engulfed by floods, which submerged over a third of the city. With nearly 40% of the city lying beneath sea level, this deluge of water was not a rare event for the millions of Jakartans who live in this sprawling megalopolis, built upon a swamp and confluence of 13 rivers. It is the increasing frequency of these floods that is beginning to worry residents as they begin to battle these inundations year on year. The floods of 2013 were the latest in a line that have increased in frequency over the past 20 years, exacerbated by increased deforestation in water catchment areas upstream which has led to increased water runoff which eventually runs into the city. As the most recent floods receded, over 20,000 people had been displaced, nearly 50 people had been killed and an estimated US$ 50 million worth of damages had been done. Hardest hit were the resident’s of the city’s numerous slums, which are found lining many of the city’s waterways. Jakarta’s plight has been intensified by another factor that is seeing the city slowly disappear. The city is rapidly sinking. As migrants continue to flood into the city, the urban area’s expanding population is increasing the demand for groundwater resources, which are taken from directly underneath residents’ feet. New shopping malls, apartments and office buildings not only contribute to excessive water extraction, but under their own weight, also push the Indonesian capital deeper into the ground. The sinking is so severe that is occurring on average at 10cm per year however in certain parts of the city, the decline has been documented by as much as 30cm per year. Today, most of the city's canals and floodgates have fallen into disrepair. Neglected for decades, they fail to serve their original purpose to help save the city from the influx of the seasonal floods. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the capital’s rivers are now choked with pollution. Refuse and trash are disposed into the rivers by millions of local residents daily, leading to all of the canals and rivers within the city becoming regularly blocked. It is estimated that up to a third of Jakarta could be underwater within the next 20-30 years. The solutions to Jakarta’s problems are complex and daunting. The city’s expanding economy and place on the global scale is threatened by both natural and man-made causes, all of which are contributing to the city’s challenges. Jakarta is not only a city on the front line of climate change but also one that is contributing to its own demise, as overpopulation and water pollution further inflate the city’s problems.

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Built on the confluence of 13 rivers, Jakarta’s history has been one involving vigorous trade with countries around the world. During the Dutch colonial era in the early 17th Century onwards, a network of canals was built that helped relieve the city from flooding which, at that time, only occasionally affected the city. Today, that network of canals has fallen into disrepair and all of the rivers and canals have become choked with pollution. Residents readily throw household waste directly into the waterways which gather together at many points along the rivers, especially at the failing sluice gates along the canals. The problem is exacerbated by industrial pollution that is also released into the rivers upstream. Excess nitrates and phosphates from this pollution encourages the rapid growth of algae and subsequent eutrophication, the process by which algae covers the surface of waterways, restricting the amount of oxygen in the water and effectively killing off aquatic life below. The poverty levels in Jakarta are staggering and sobering. It is thought that over 5 million residents live in slum communities in Greater Jakarta, many of which are found along the waterways of the city.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Desertification is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the world today, however it is arguably the most under-reported. Desertification is the gradual transformation of arable and habitable land into desert, usually caused by climate change and/or the improper use of land. Each year, desertification and drought account for US$42 billion loss in food productivity worldwide. In China, nearly 20% of land area is desert. As a result of a combination of poor farming practices, drought and increased demand for groundwater, desertification has become arguably China's most important environmental challenge. As the effects of increasing desertification appear, farmers are forced to abandon their land, levels of rural poverty rise and the intensity of sandstorms, which batter northern and western China each year, continue to intensify.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Since the Little Ice Age, studies have revealed that the total monsoonal glacier coverage in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau has decreased by as much as 30 percent, causing alarm in scientific circles. The Hailuogou glacier has retreated over 2 km during the 20th century alone. Over the past 150 years, temperatures have risen just 0.4 to 0.5 degrees centigrade on average in China, but this small difference has seen a remarkable change in the glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau, as knock-on effects have been seen in the region.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM China's rush to develop hydropower has seen the construction of over 25,000 dams across the country. With a recent focus on the rivers of the Tibetan Plateau, the environmental and social consequences of such projects in this region are increasingly becoming a source of friction between locals and the authorities. The town of Heishui, in northern Sichuan Province, is sandwiched between one of China's newest and largest dams and a spectacular glacier, that draws visitors from all over the country. The changing climate and landscapes are irreversibly altering ways of life in this corner of the Plateau.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Located at 3200 meters above sea-level on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in the northwest of China, Qinghai Lake is the country's largest inland body of saltwater at 4318 square kilometers in area. Over the past century, however, the lake has found itself in a worrying downward trend as 700 square kilometers of its area have been lost and its surface level has dropped by 13 meters. 2010

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM For 5,000 years the nomads of the Tibetan Plateau have roamed freely, moving their flocks of sheep and cattle with the changing seasons. But over the past decade these people have been moved, often against their will, from the grasslands and into newly constructed towns and villages across the plateau. In 2000, China's new "Western Development Strategy" was introduced by the central government, aimed at bringing improvements to the poverty-stricken west through infrastructural investment. As part of this strategy, it was deemed necessary to encourage the removal of the nomads of the highland grasslands in order to protect the important headwaters region. To date, it has been estimated that up to 100,000 "ecological migrants" have now been removed from nomadic communities on the grasslands resulting in the slow disappearance of a unique culture.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM In 1998, China introduced a widespread logging ban in the southwest of China, severely restricting the amount of timber cut in the region. As timber is increasingly felled in other countries to meet China's demand, domestically, attention has swiftly switched to bamboo. It's an incredibly versatile type of wood that can be made into not only chopsticks and furniture, but can also be used in construction and consumed as food. The logging ban has not been applied to bamboo, resulting in a sharp rise in demand for bamboo products. China produces 57 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year, which requires over 1.18 million square meters of forest, according to the Forest Ministry's statistics from 2004 to 2009. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization reports that "the Chinese bamboo industry created a value of $5.5 billion in 2004. The bamboo-based GDP grew by 120 percent from 2000 to 2004, while export earnings reached $600 million, a 20 percent increase." Bamboo removal in China has grown from 260 million tons in 1990 to 1.2 billion tons in 2005. As population rises and economic development continues at a breathtaking pace, heavier pressures are being placed on the forests, continuing this trend of consumption.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Approximately 75 percent of commercially harvested traditional Chinese medicine comes from the mountainous forests of the upper Yangtze region. It's a vast harvest that generates over $10 billion in revenue each year and accounts for nearly 25 percent of China's medical industry. As a result, over-harvesting to meet China rising demand for TCM, has damaged forest ecosystems in Sichuan. This industry, however, plays a significant role in local people's incomes, presenting the challenge of protecting forest ecosystems, promoting sustainable management and conservation of medicinal plants, while at the same time helping local people secure their livelihoods.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Nestled high in the remote mountains of northern Sichuan, the Jiuzhaigou National Park is a spectacular area composed a series of valleys, containing a myriad of breathtaking turquoise lakes, rivers and waterfalls. They are surrounded by temperate broad-leaf forests that are home to the giant panda, red panda and golden monkey, among many other species. Its topography has been shaped over millennia by tectonic activity and glacial erosion which has created an entrancing visual setting. It is this unique setting that has caused the rise in popularity of this park since the early 1990s, when it was awarded Unesco World Heritage status. Since then, visitor numbers have increased year by year. In 2007, it was estimated that 2.5 million people visited the Jiuzhaigou Park.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Giant Panda's natural habitat is confined to a sliver of mountain ranges extending through northern Sichuan province and into the neighboring provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi. Massive forest loss across China up until the late 1990s, has been the main cause for the disappearance of the species' habitat. China's unquenchable thirst for the forests resources in its early stages of modern development slowly erased the mountainous forests which are home to the panda.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM In many of China's 'second-tier' cities, away from the modern zoos in the megacities of Beijing and Shanghai, hide a plethora of smaller unknown zoos. In these zoos, what can only be described as animal abuse is subtly taking place in the form of deprivation of light, space, sanitation and social contact with other animals. Living in awful conditions, these animals spend their days entertaining tourists who seem oblivious to the animals' plight and squalid existence. 2008. Please contact us for licensing enquiries at: sean@gallagher-photo.com

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Bordering Russia and Mongolia, the Zhalong wetlands in China's Heilongjiang province are threatened by reducing water levels and increased human activity. China's symbolic Red-crowned Crane is becoming increasingly under threat as its natural habitat becomes increasingly fragmented.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Xixi wetlands lie in the west of the city of Hangzhou. This is China's 'first national wetland park,' dubbed as such to act as a role model to all other wetlands in China and to supposedly show how to effectively manage and restore wetlands, notably urban wetlands.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis), is one of China's most threatened species. Only 120 individuals remain in the wild, as a result of wetlands reclamation and poaching since the 1950's. Anhui Research Center for Alligator Reproduction. Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. China

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Located approximately 50 kilometers west of Chengdu, the Min river crashes through shear faced gorges, winding its way downhill into the town of Dujiangyan. It is a stunning location as the mountains loom large around the central conurbation and the river flows through the town using a number of channels. On closer inspection, as you peer though the mild haze from the nearby crashing water, it is quickly apparent that these channels are man-made. Originally built in 250 BC by then-governor Li Bing, the Dujiangyan Irrigation system is regarded as an "ancient engineering marvel." By naturally channeling water from the Min River during times of flood, the irrigation system served to protect the local area from flooding and provide water to the Chengdu basin, an area of rich farmland and intense productivity. Over 2,000 years later, the system is still in operation and serves as a testament to the sustainable management of water and wetlands with minimal ecological impact.

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, mangroves are characterized by their ability to thrive in saline coastal areas. It is this unique characteristic that, until recently, has seen them flourish in places such as estuarine regions, i.e. the regions where rivers empty into the oceans. Unfortunately, many of these areas have also been the locations of major cities which has resulted in the mass clearance of mangroves for industrial and infrastructure development, as well as trade. Guangdong Province, China. 2010

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM Dongting Lake has been reported as a lake in crisis. Dropping water levels have sent alarm-bells ringing in scientific and environmental circles, as the area of the lake has reportedly dropped by nearly 50 percent in the past 70 years. 150 years ago, it was 6,250 square kilometers. 60 years ago, it was 4,350 square kilometers. Now, it's 2,600 square kilometers. Hunan Province, China.

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM As the global financial crisis grips Asia, Mongolia is feeling the implications first hand as the country suffers from rising inflation pushing the price of food and fuel ever upwards. For the country’s homeless, who live in sewers and abandoned garages in the capital and already face extreme discrimination and are denied access to basic health and social care, their lives are hanging in the balance. 2008

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FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM The Three Gorges are one of China's most spectacular scenic areas. The Yangtze River however is reported to be at its lowest level in 150 years as a result of a country-wide drought. It is China's longest river and the third longest in the world. Originating in Tibet, the river flows for 3,964 miles (6,380km) through central China into the East China Sea at Shanghai. 2008.

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Prior to the holding of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the city of Beijing underwent huge developments aimed at modernizing the city. Huge swathes of traditional hutongs were destroyed to make may for the new developments, displacing thousands of people who were moved to the suburbs of the city. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES, PLEASE EMAIL SEAN@GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM

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