Mangrove Photography Awards 2026 Announces Winners

Ahead of World Mangrove Day – the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem – Mangrove Action Project (MAP), a world chief in community-led mangrove conservation, is proud to disclose the winners of the 2026 Mangrove Photography Awards.

Now in its twelfth yr, the Mangrove Photography Awards proceed to function a platform for storytelling, giving audiences a window into landscapes they may in any other case by no means encounter. 

“Stories are how we come to understand, remember and learn from the world. And conservation is a story, a complicated one. Photography has the ability to help us receive and feel close to those stories no matter our language,” stated choose Morgan Heim.

This yr the competitors drew 5,258 entries from 87 international locations.

2026 Winner: A Story of What the Tide Leaves Behind

This yr’s general winner and Mangrove Photographer of the Year is Gaurav Patil, from India, with Tangled glow: When life meets the ruins.

A ghost web glowing beneath UV gentle, tangled in a mangrove on the tide-swept shore of Nandgaon village, Maharashtra – south of Mumbai. Captured on a 13-second UV publicity, the picture reveals a quieter conservation disaster: discarded fishing nets carried in by currents and trapped in mangroves, turning these very important coastal limitations into hidden rubbish hotspots.

“This photographer has put life into a subject that normally looks dull but is deeply important for conservation. Ghost nets are a real problem,” stated choose Dhritiman Mukherjee. As Smithsonian Magazine reported, an estimated 500,000 to 1 million tons of fishing tools are deserted within the ocean yearly. This gear can severely harm mangrove ecosystems, entangling marine life, and choking mangrove timber.

Mangrove forests cowl solely about 0.1% of the Earth’s floor, “and they play a far more important role in our lives than you may think; providing crucial nurseries and habitat for wildlife, storing five times more carbon than inland forests, and protecting and sustaining millions of coastal communities,” stated Founder of the Awards, Leo Thom.

While many years of decline have just lately stabilised, scientists warn that as much as half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are nonetheless susceptible to collapse by 2050.

This yr’s skilled judging panel included Karine Aigner, Steve Winter, Esther Horvath, Pier Nirandara, Dhritiman Mukherjee, and Morgan Heim.

Winners have been additionally introduced throughout six classes – Wildlife, Landscape, Underwater, Threats, People and Conservation Stories – together with the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year, the Emirates Award, the Arabian Gulf Award and the UNESCO Award.

View the complete gallery of winners here.

– NOTES TO EDITORS –

High-res images for download. Descriptions can be found here. All photographs should embody photographer credit.
The Mangrove Photography Awards are organized by Mangrove Action Project (MAP), a US-based non-profit that works with stakeholders at each degree to protect, preserve and restore the world’s mangrove forests.
For extra details about the awards or Mangrove Action Project, please contact Leo Thom, Founder – [email protected] 
Follow the Awards And Mangrove Action Project
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