2nd PLACE
Courtesy of Jonas Kako
Jonas Kako
Jonas was born in 1992 in Kappeln, Germany. He currently studies Photojournalism and Documentary Photography in Hannover.
At the End of Island Road
Deep in the marshland of Louisiana lies the little community of Isle de Jean Charles, home to the Biloxi-Chittimacha-Chotaw tribe. An island threatened by erosion, hurricanes, and rising sea levels.
"I will only leave the island for Heaven." says Edison Dardar, born and raised on the island and who worked as an oyster fisherman his whole life, while he is casting his net for shrimp, like he does every evening during high tide. "It's a paradise here! "
Formally over 300 inhabitants, Edison is now only one of 40 remaining on the island.
In the beginning, the island wasn't even an island, but due to rising sea levels and erosion, the land has shrunk over 90% over the last sixty years.
Isle de Jean Charles in southern Louisiana will likely vanish into the sea in the next decades. Rising sea levels and hurricanes hitting its shore more frequently in recent years have already caused a land loss of over 90% of its former landmass in the last 60 years. The island's inhabitants will be some of the first United States Climate refugees.
When the water came, people left for higher grounds.
In response, the US Government has started a $48m Resettlement Plan.