The drought of the Sierra Nevada.
Ricardo Wiesinger traveled through southeastern Spain for his bachelor thesis “In April a thousand rains”.
Photo: Ricardo Wiesinger
Photo: Ricardo Wiesinger
Photo: Ricardo Wiesinger
Photo by Ricardo Wiesinger
Spain is experiencing the third year of a drought. New heat records and low rainfall are leading to an unprecedented water emergency. More than half of its land area is used as agricultural land, taking over a quarter of the fruit and vegetable production of the entire European Union.
Ricardo Wiesinger traveled to the Sierra Nevada and the neighboring regions in southeastern Spain a total of three times for “In April a Thousand Rains”. Most recently in April of this year. The meltwater from the high mountains supplies the surrounding area with drinking water. Among them, one of the largest greenhouse crops in the world, in Almería and the Vega of Granada. In the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada lies the Desierto de Tabernas, Europe’s only semi-desert. On his way through these contrasting landscapes, Ricardo Wiesinger met farmers, conservationists, harvest workers and scientists. All united by the same concern for the future of their homeland. Ricardo Wiesinger, born in 1987 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, worked as a freelance photographer even before his studies in Hannover. Based in Hanover and Mannheim, he works as a portrait and documentary photographer for magazines and newspapers such as DIE ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin and Stern. In his projects he deals with socially marginalized groups and ecological issues.
