Photo courtesy - Ashif Ahmmed Himel/Unsplash
The Science Museum opened Water Pantanal Fire, a free photography exhibition documenting the world’s largest wetland and the challenges it faces from climate change. Sixty-five images, captured by two of Brazil’s documentary photographers, are now on display in an exhibition curated by Eder Chiodetto and produced by the Brazilian initiative Documenta Pantanal, contrasting the beauty of this natural wonder with the destruction it has suffered.
Wetlands were a major focus at COP30 in Belém this November, highlighting their role in climate change mitigation and the need to protect them. Recognised by UNESCO as a Natural World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, the Pantanal is a tropical wetland covering approximately 200,000 km2, straddling Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. This region is home to a rich and unique biodiversity including animals such as jaguars, howler monkeys, caiman, marsh deer, and an abundance of fish and birds. Often referred to as a paradise on Earth, life in the Pantanal follows the rhythm of the alternating dry and wet seasons which flood the land.
Water Pantanal Fire showcases work by two leading Brazilian photographers: Lalo de Almeida and Luciano Candisani. Captured between 2007 and 2024, their images reveal a stark contrast between a watery region teeming with life and, after the droughts and fires, a barren landscape.
Relatively well preserved until recent decades, the Pantanal’s delicate ecosystem is now threatened by an overuse of its resources and other human activity. Deforestation, intensive farming and climate change are contributing to the Pantanal drying out and to devastating wildfires. In 2020, a record-breaking wildfire ravaged the Pantanal, burning 26% of the region and killing 17 million vertebrates. Such catastrophic events are occurring ever more frequently, with the last major wildfire happening in 2024.
Anna Ferrari, Curator of Art and Visual Culture at the Science Museum said, ‘We are proud to host this important exhibition at the Science Museum. Water Pantanal Fire gives visitors the opportunity to discover one of the world’s most beautiful and extraordinary environments, while highlighting how human activity is causing its destruction and pushing it towards a tipping point.’
Exhibited in the UK for the first time, Water Pantanal Fire is part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025-26, organised by the British Council and Instituto Guimarães Rosa, the Brazilian government’s organisation for cultural diplomacy.
The exhibition began its international tour in 2024 at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo, Brazil, before visiting the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg, Germany, the National Museum of Natural History and Science in Lisbon, Portugal and the Brazilian Embassy in Berlin, Germany.