In celebration of World Mangrove Day on July 26, the U.S.-based Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has announced the winners of its 12th annual photography awards.
“Mangroves are the underdog. They will never be as glamorous as the Amazon rainforest or coral reefs. But through photography we can change that narrative, and intrigue people by showing them their beauty, diversity and fragility,” Leo Thom, creative director with MAP told Mongabay in an email.
Mangroves cover just 0.1% of the surface of the Earth but are essential ecosystems; they stabilize coastlines and provide habitat for diverse wildlife including fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, primates and, even, big cats such as tigers. Mangroves also store three to five times more carbon per acre than tropical forests.
Scientists estimate that more than half of all mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse by 2050, mostly from sea-level rise and severe storms associated with climate change.
Gaurav Patil/Mangrove Photography Awards (MPA)
The 2026 overall winning photograph features another threat to mangroves — ghost nets, fishing nets that are discarded or lost at sea. This photo was taken near Nandgaon village, south of Mumbai, India. At sea, such fishing gear can entangle wildlife including sea turtles, birds and whales. Less understood is how problematic ghost nets are for mangroves.
“I have been watching ghost nets getting trapped in mangroves for the last several years,” photographer Gaurav Patil from India, said in a press release.
Michol Sanchez/MPA
A “highly commended” photo in the threats category of the contest shows how mangroves lying at the interface of land and sea can become repositories for plastic from both sources. This mangrove in the Philippines is “a portrait of neglect, and a warning: nature can endure much, but not indefinitely,” the release said.
Garry Lotulung/MPA
A “highly commended” portfolio of photos titled “Encircled by the Sea,” features pictures of a community and mangrove in Central Java, Indonesia, that have been flooded by sea level rise.
Garry Lotulung/MPA
One of the photos in the series highlights Pasijah, a resident who refused to leave when her community flooded, and has spent the last 20 years planting mangroves, roughly 15,000 seedlings per year.
Kerron Noel/MAP
The category for “wildlife” photographs showcases the extraordinary diversity of wildlife that depend on mangroves, including a silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) taking a mangrove nap in the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Caroni Swamp on the west coast of Trinidad.
Raj Hassanaly/MPA
Another photo features a lemur perched in a mangrove in Madagascar. At least 23 species of lemurs depend on mangroves in Madagascar.
Ashok Behera/MPA
Two mudskippers engaged in a territorial display on the Sundarbans’ tidal flats in India was a “highly commended” photo.
Avijit Ghorai/MPA
Another “highly commended” photo spotlights a juvenile royal Bengal tiger in India’s Sundarbans, part of the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest.
Banner image of baby blacktip sharks in a mangrove nursery off Santa Cruz Island in the U.S. is part of a portfolio series. Image courtesy of Pelayo Salinas de León/MPA.
