KOCHI: After an eight-year hiatus, the Indian edition of ‘Wiki Loves Earth (WLE)’, a Wikimedia initiative to promote natural heritage through an annual global photography competition, made a return this year, thanks to the ‘Wikimedians’ from Kerala.
A main objective that prompted the group of Malayalam users of Wikimedia to take up the initiative was to enhance and expand nature and environment-related articles on Wikipedia in Indian languages, including Malayalam.
“While much of the focus has traditionally been on the English edition, it’s equally important to make content available in Indian languages so that knowledge becomes accessible to a wider audience. We revived and launched the campaign this year. We plan to strengthen these efforts through larger campaigns that draw the attention of individuals, communities and nature organisations, encouraging them to contribute to Wikimedia Commons,” Manoj Karingamadathil, administrator of the Malayalam Wikisource Project, told the TNIE.
“In Malayalam, we already have dedicated Wikipedia pages on birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other local environmental topics. Our goal is to take this momentum to the national level and expand across other Indian languages. This work is timely and relevant in the context of climate change and human-wildlife conflict, where reliable and open knowledge is essential,” he said.
Last held in 2017, the return of the competition to India is especially significant given India’s status as one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries. Despite occupying only 2.4% of the world’s land area, India is home to nearly 8% of the planet’s recorded species.
Besides India, the 2025 edition saw participation from 55 countries. Over 5,000 participants worldwide joined to capture the beauty of protected natural areas. More than 77,000 new images were contributed, enriching Wikimedia projects and taking them closer to the one million milestone. WLE is organised by volunteer communities on Wikimedia projects across the globe to promote natural heritage through freely licensed images contributed to Wikimedia Commons.
The initiative encourages both amateur and professional photographers to document nature reserves, protected areas, biodiversity and landscapes within their respective countries.
The 2025 edition witnessed entries submitted from nearly 60 countries. The India edition received an overwhelming response with 1,372 contributors participating, 91% (1,246 users) of them first-time contributors. Over 9,764 images have been uploaded to the India category for WLE 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
“The competition received uploads from across India. The national jury evaluated the photographs and selected the 15 best images from India for submission to the international finale,” Irvin Sebastian, Fellow Administrator of Malayalam Wikipedia and a wildlife photographer, pointed out.
The India edition places strong emphasis on local knowledge, regional biodiversity and under-represented ecosystems. Participants contribute images with detailed descriptions and accurate categorisation, enriching Wikipedia and other free knowledge platforms with high-quality visual documentation of India’s protected natural sites. The contributions are widely used to illustrate Wikipedia articles and remain freely accessible for educational and research purposes.
The best photos from local winning submissions have been announced, with the best photos moving to the international round. The international jury will begin reviewing submissions, and the international winners will be announced by November or December.
Onto the next level
The best photos from local winning submissions have been announced
15 best images from India have been submitted to the international finale
The international jury will begin reviewing submissions, and the international winners will be announced by November or December