National Geographic Spotlight:
Nichole & Motherhood
Brief
Peatlands occupy roughly 3% of Earth's land surface area but contain a staggering 25% of the global soil carbon stock—twice the amount found in the world’s forests.
Photographer, visual storyteller, and National Geographic Explorer Lujan Agusti is reshaping how we see peatlands, from forgotten swamps to carbon-storing time machines. With support from The Climate Pledge and National Geographic's Global Storytellers Fund, she’s showing the world how these ancient ecosystems not only hold memory and meaning for the indigenous communities that protect them, but how they could shape the future of our climate.
This World Peatlands Day, read more about her project, "Agua Negra" (Black Water), and why these muddy, misunderstood wetlands may be the key to climate resilience.
Credits
Editor: Maria Adams
Production Studios: Dystnct Media
National Geographic Spotlight:
Nichole & Motherhood
Brief
What does it mean to bring new life into a world facing unprecedented ecological change and environmental upheaval?
Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes, once believed to be the Garden of Eden, are drying up. As the water disappears, so does a way of life. The women who have long been the backbone of this culture now face impossible choices about pregnancy and motherhood, knowing their children’s future will be drastically different from the world where they were raised.
Supported by The Climate Pledge and National Geographic's Global Storytellers Fund, Explorer, photographer, and mother Nichole Sobecki traveled to Iraq’s vanishing marshes—three months pregnant herself—to document how women are navigating motherhood in one of the world’s most climate-threatened places.
Credits
Editor: Maria Adams
Production Studios: Dystnct Media