Winter’s quiet harvest

The terraced paddy fields carved into hillsides across Asia, some over a thousand years old, are a masterclass in water management. Working with gravity, each tier uses only the water it needs before passing the rest down to the next tier. No need for expensive, energy-sapping pumps – and zero environmental impact.

In Winter, as snow covers the ground, the fields lie dormant – or so it seems. In fact, within that blanket of snow the fields are quietly storing next season’s water supply. Functioning as a natural reservoir, the snowpack holds winter’s frozen reserves and releases it gradually as meltwater exactly when demand peaks in spring and summer. Farmers working these fields have long understood this rhythm, timing planting and flooding in synch with the meltwater.

With rice a staple food for around half the world’s population, the fragility of these ecosystems, and the communities they support, becomes clear. Climate change has led to warmer winters, which means more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, and what does come melts earlier and faster, arriving before crops are ready for it.

By cutting emissions and protecting ecosystems like these, we aren’t just supporting abstract climate action but protecting livelihoods and safeguarding food and water supplies for future generations.

This award-winning photograph is from ‘Happiness’, the fifth season of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.