Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial sequence dedicated to reporting on the environmental challenges going through our planet, along with the options. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive consciousness and training round key sustainability points and to encourage constructive motion.
CNN
—
A flock of roseate spoonbills flies overhead as a shark hunts mullet beneath. The water of Florida’s Everglades wetlands is turquoise and calm. But the serene picture tells an even bigger story, of the brilliant pink spoonbills which are turning into more and more uncommon due partly to sea stage rise and the lack of mangrove habitat the place they forage for fish.
The placing {photograph}, taken by Mark Ian Cook, gained the grand prize within the 2025 Mangrove Photography Awards.
“It clearly shows the diversity of life that lives and dies, both aerial and aquatic, in the same space and time, that all depends on the mangrove ecosystem,” stated choose, photojournalist and marine biologist Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai, in a press launch.
The awards, in its eleventh 12 months, goals to boost consciousness of mangrove forests — salt-tolerant timber residing the place freshwater meets saltwater — that are present in more than 120 countries worldwide. This 12 months, it obtained a document 3,303 entries from 78 nations.
“The goal of the Mangrove Photography Awards is to captivate and inspire audiences across the globe,” Leo Thom, inventive director and founding father of the awards, instructed CNN. “We want to expose the beauty and complexity of mangrove ecosystems and, most importantly, to spark emotional connections that lead to conservation action on the ground.”
Mangroves are key in preventing local weather change, as they’re carbon sinks, function a pure barrier towards flooding, and supply a habitat to endangered animals like tigers and jaguars.
But they’re one of many world’s most threatened ecosystems. According to the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, greater than half of world mangroves are liable to collapse by 2050.
“Despite their importance, mangroves are often still overlooked,” stated Thom. “Unlike iconic ecosystems such because the Amazon rainforest, mangroves are often misjudged and seen as mosquito-infested swamps or wastelands.
“This is where photography becomes a powerful tool for change. It offers a window into the real stories of mangroves,” he added.
One of the classes within the awards is devoted to mangrove threats. The profitable picture, taken by Tom Quinney, reveals a mountain of waste towering over a dwindling mangrove forest in southern Bali, Indonesia. Runners up in the identical class depict horseshoe crabs tangled in fishing nets, mangrove forests which have been transformed for prawn aquaculture, and drought.
Other recommended pictures present how folks rely on mangrove forests for his or her livelihoods. A sequence of images depict ladies gathering honeycomb within the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, which is primarily in Bangladesh. Rising sea ranges, salinity and extra excessive cyclones are damaging the forest and displacing communities.
The pictures “reveal the intricate relationships and vibrant biodiversity … and show the profound human connections within coastal communities that depend on mangroves for their way of life,” stated Thom.
“(It’s) more than a contest,” he added. “It’s a call to observe, feel and learn. It’s a platform for photographers to speak up for one of the world’s most vital, yet misunderstood ecosystems.”