Photo Competition Shines a Light on Mangrove Forests Around the World

Spotlight
Matt Growcoot
A Bengal tiger wades through water in a mangrove forest on the left; on the right, a lemur clings to a tree among roots and branches.
A juvenile royal Bengal tiger by photographer Avijit Ghorai, left, a white-fronted lemur navigates the mangroves of Madagascar, right, photo by Raj Hassanaly.

The winners of the Mangrove Photography Awards 206 have been announced, celebrating the unique waterworld that permeates tropical areas.

Indian photographer Guarav Patil has won the competition for his photo of a ghost net glowing under ultraviolet light, tangled in a mangrove on the tide-swept shore of Nandgaon village, Maharashtra, south of Mumbai.

Captured on a 13-second UV exposure, the image reveals a quieter conservation crisis: discarded fishing nets carried in by currents and trapped in mangroves, turning these vital coastal barriers into hidden garbage hotspots.

While ghost gear’s impact on open-water marine life is increasingly documented, its accumulation in mangrove ecosystems on India’s coast has received far less attention. Mangroves sit at the interface between land and sea, meaning they can end up receiving waste from both directions.

A small shrub is illuminated by bright blue light at night, surrounded by dark soil and other green bushes under a cloudy sky.
Overall winner. Guarav Patil.

There are also winners across six categories, including Wildlife, Landscape, Underwater, Threats, People and Conservation Stories — along with the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year, the Emirates Award, the Arabian Gulf Award and the UNESCO Award.

Three flamingos walk through shallow, muddy water, leaving a curved wake behind them. The image is captured from above, showing the birds and their trail.
Winner of the Birds category. A small group of American Flamingos peer at a juvenile Lemon Shark while searching for suitable foraging habitat in the mangrove-lined shallow backwaters of Florida Bay, Florida. | Mark Ian Cook
A small yellow-green bird perches on a branch among dense green leaves, with a clear blue sky in the background.
Runner-up in the Birds category. An Indian white-eye comes in to land among the branches of a mangrove tree on Iran’s coast. The species is closely tied to mangrove habitat, foraging and nesting among the leaves and branches. | Erfan Samanfar
Two wild cats stand alert at the edge of a lush, dense forest, surrounded by green foliage, roots, and branches.
Winner of the Mammals category. Two jungle cat kittens emerge from the dense mangrove forest in the Sundarban Tiger Reserve. A rare glimpse of the smaller, lesser-known wildlife that shares this tidal landscape with the reserve’s tigers, and survives its shifting mud, saline water, and daily tidal flooding. | Kallol Mukherjee
A small, golden-brown sloth with curled limbs sleeps while hanging from thin tree branches, surrounded by green leaves in a forest.
Runner-up in the Mammals category. A Silky anteater asleep on a red mangrove tree at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Caroni Swamp. Though the silky anteater is classified globally as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, they still face significant risks in Trinidad due to habitat destruction, forest fires, and illegal hunting. Silky anteaters are the smallest species of anteater in the world. | Kerron Noel
A sea turtle swims among mangrove roots underwater, with green leaves and a cloudy sky above the surface.
Winner of the Other Species category. A juvenile green turtle is seen seeking refuge in a mangrove forest. | Evan Cooper
Two mudskipper fish with spotted fins and open mouths rest on wet sand near the water’s edge, displaying bright blue spots and raised dorsal fins.
Highly commended in the Other Species category. Two mudskippers face off on wet mud, mouths agape and fins raised in a territorial display, their blue spotted patterns catching the light. A vivid glimpse of the Sundarbans’ tidal flats, where these fish walk, jump, and breathe on land. | Ashok Behera
Aerial view of an oval-shaped formation of clustered trees or bushes, surrounding a barren patch of ground, set against a dark background.
Winner of the Landscape – Black and White category. An island shaped like a footprint emerges from Kerala’s backwaters, its mangroves tracing the toes and sole of the print. Many of these islands were once mangrove forest before being cleared for coconut plantations — on some, the mangroves are now reclaiming that ground. A quiet mark of where nature stepped away, and where it’s stepping back in. | Abijith Soman
Sunlight streams through water, illuminating schools of small fish and two larger fish swimming in a cave-like underwater scene surrounded by dense fish and aquatic plants.
Winner of the Underwater category. Grey snappers hunt through a school of baitfish beneath the mangrove canopy of Lac Bay, Bonaire — captured during a fish monitoring survey, as shafts of midday light revealed predator-prey interactions usually hidden in these submerged forests. A reminder that Bonaire’s celebrated reefs depend on the mangroves that shelter and feed them. | Ewan Tregarot
A black waterbird with a long neck and beak swims underwater, wings spread and tail fanned, near the surface with tangled roots and blue water in the background.
Runner-up in the Underwater category. An Anhinga — the “snakebird” — begins its underwater hunt in a mangrove lagoon, its unwaterproofed feathers letting it dive and glide like a dart through the water column. | Valentina Cucchiara
A silhouette of a tree stands in calm water at night, with the bright Milky Way and countless stars visible in the dark sky above, creating a magical and serene atmosphere.
Winner of the Landscale – On the Ground category. Under the Milky Way, a solitary mangrove stands in shallow tidal water, its reflection still in the low tide — a quiet pairing of ancient starlight with one of Earth’s most vital coastal ecosystems. | Ryuhei Suguri
An elderly person in a green shirt and purple headscarf stands waist-deep in water by a blue canoe, holding a young mangrove seedling, with green mangrove trees in the background.
Winner of the People – Conservation andd Restoration category. Pasijah, 56, plants mangrove seedlings beside her flooded home in Bedono, Demak, Central Java — one of the last residents remaining after more than 200 families left as rising seas and land subsidence submerged the village. | Garry Lotulung
Four children jump into the water from a tree, with green leaves and branches behind them. The photo is half underwater, showing a split view of the scene. The sky above is clear and bright.
Highly coommended in the Conservation and Restoration category. Children leap joyfully from the branches of a mangrove tree in the Philippines. | Mark Kevin Badayos

For more information about the contest, and to see all the winners, head to the Mangrove Photography Awards website.

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