A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Sony World Photography Awards event and saw Daniel Beltrá win the coveted title of The Prince’s Rainforests Project  Award winner. Part of his prize was to go on assignment to document the three major parts of the rainforest.  Here are his first images…

The Spanish photographer, now based in Seattle, beat off stiff competition from some of the world’s finest environmental photographers to win the assignment on behalf of The Prince’s Rainforests Project and Sony Europe.

“Travelling to the Amazon has been an incredible experience and I have been able to capture some powerful images that show the many different elements of the rainforest – the beauty, the wildlife, the local people and also the destruction“, says Daniel. “It is has been an eye-opening journey so far and I’m looking forward to photographing the Central African and South East Asian rainforests on the next parts of my trip. I hope the photos I produce will make a strongly persuasive argument for emergency action to preserve the world’s tropical rainforests”.

The PRP, founded by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, recognises that every year, destruction of the Earth’s rainforests releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the world’s cars, planes and ships put together and aims to achieve consensus about how the rate of deforestation might be slowed. The PRP is working with governments, businesses and non-profit organisations around the world to find solutions to deforestation – and to find them fast – with the ambition of ‘making the trees worth more alive than dead’.  The project has also launched a global awareness campaign, asking people to sign up at www.rainforestSOS.org to put rainforests at the heart of the climate change debate.

Environmental responsibility has been a significant part of the Sony ethos for many years and the PRP partnership is just one of Sony’s many environmental initiatives. Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer recently filmed a video with the PRP animated frog in support of the partnership which can be seen on the PRP website.

Sony and the PRP are delivering a stunning interactive exhibition that will combine Daniel’s new photographs with Sony technology to allow people to experience the glory of the rainforests and understand their plight. The exhibition will open at Kew Gardens, London on October 3rd 2009.