Daniel Beltra's photographs of deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

An island in the middle of the Lukenie river in the central Congo basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The photograph is just one of a series taken by Spanish photographer Daniel Beltrá, winner of this year's Prince's Rainforests Project (PRP) award at the Sony world photography awards Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Mbuti pygmy girls painted in clay for the boys' circumcision ceremony that lasts five months pose for a picture in their village in the Ituri forest on the Okapi reserve (a Unesco World Heritage Site) at Epulu, DRC. The Ituri forest is home to the Mbuti pygmies, one of the hunter-gatherer peoples living in equatorial rainforests characterised by their short height (on average below one and a half metres, or less than five feet) Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Clouds are reflected in lake Tumba near Ndondo, DRC, in the north-western part of the country, which is home to 114 species of fish and forms part of the Congo river basin Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A villager carries a basketful of firewood near Bikoro, a market town in Équateur province on the shores of lake Tumba Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Men work on a makeshift kiln that produces charcoal out of rainforest wood near Bikoro Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A woman displays a handful of charcoal at the Liberty market in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A small river that flows through rainforest south of Mbandaka, the capital of Équateur province Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

An African locust moves up a branch in Eala Botanical Gardens, founded in 1900, in Mbandaka, DRC. It contains the rich biodiversity of central Africa with between 4,000 and 5,000 species. The garden is neglected and unfenced and under threat from illegal logging. The last catalogue was published in 1924 Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Cleared rainforest land south of Mbandaka. Greenpeace has estimated that the DRC risks losing more than 40% of its forestry Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A man-made fire clears land in the rainforest near Taketa and the Lukenie river. Greenpeace also estimates that by 2050 forest clearance will have release up to 34.4bn tonnes of CO2, roughly equivalent to the UK's CO2 emissions over the last 60 years Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Piles of slash are burned to clear the rainforest land for agricultural production at Onane, 45 miles east of Kisangani Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A fisherman casts his net at the the Okapi reserve at Epulu in the Ituri forest near the borders with Sudan and Uganda. In addition to the okapis, the wildlife reserve is also home to many other interesting or endangered animals, such as the forest elephant, and at least 13 species of anthropoid primates. Nomadic Mbuti pygmies and indigenous Bantu farmers also live within the reserve Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A baby orphan chimpanzee in the Okapi reserve at Epulu. Its parents were killed by poachers Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A bonobo swings from the branch of a tree in the Congo Bonobo's Sanctuary, near Kinshasa, which has 60 primates. The majority are orphans brought to the centre after their parents were killed by hunters Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A hunter brings bush meat to a market in Oshwe Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A logger lumbers an afromosia (Pericopsys elata) tree with only a chainsaw into planks at a logging operation at Mugbamboli, Tshopo province Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

The afromosia (Pericopsys elata) tree is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's endangered list Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

A logger lumbers afromosia (Pericopsys elata) tree, which is a popular hardwood Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Widespread agricultural burning is common in the dry season in Africa. This image of the the Kasai region of Democratic Republic of Congo shows hundreds of active fires (marked in red). The deep green areas between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers are tropical forest Photograph: NASA

Maintenance on a chainsaw at an illegal logging camp on the Lukenie river near Bisenge Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Men carry a chainsaw and gasoline further into the rainforest at an illegal logging camp on the Lukenie river near Bisenge Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Housing at a logging camp on the Lukenie river on the edge of rainforest land near Taketa Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project

Aerial view of a log sorting yard on the Congo river Photograph: Daniel Beltra/Prince's Rainforests Project