The world-famous photographer Sebastião Salgado came to the Development Finance Forum in Frankfurt. There he not only exhibited some of his most famous photos, but also presented his life's work: A reforestation project in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Together with his wife Leila, he founded the Instituto Terra for this purpose and already planted 2.5 million trees, as he reported at the Development Finance Forum. In den next 10 years another 15 million are supposed to be added
Salgado is not only a photographer, but also an activist. Over the years, this special commitment has resulted in many award-winning photographs with their own visual language. Conversely, photography has strengthened Salgado in his work as a nature and environmental activist.
Salgado came to photography by chance, on a business trip to Africa. Afterwards, the economics graduate decided to change his career - and become a photojournalist. At first, he photographed sporting events and weddings, later he received agency assignments all over the world. The focus was often on people who were being wronged. But at some point he got tired of the crises and turned to nature conservation in his home country Brazil. He campaigned for the preservation of the rainforest and began to plant trees: in the meantime, millions of trees have been planted.
Read more about how Salgado has been reforesting his native region together with KfW
