Smart News | July 24, 2026 11:23 a.m.

Mangroves Are Key to Coastal Ecosystems. See 20 Breathtaking Photos That Reveal How the Trees Support Wildlife and Face Threats

The Mangrove Photography Awards honor images that show off the beauty—and the fragility—of these valuable intertidal forests

a Bengal tiger wades into water surrounded by the roots of mangrove trees and some greenery in the foreground, looking into the camera

In the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, a juvenile Bengal tiger steps from the shadows of mangroves into a tidal creek. This photo was highly commended in the mammals category. Avijit Ghorai / Mangrove Photography Awards

Mangroves Are Key to Coastal Ecosystems. See 20 Breathtaking Photos That Reveal How the Trees Support Wildlife and Face Threats

The Mangrove Photography Awards honor images that show off the beauty—and the fragility—of these valuable intertidal forests

Carlyn Kranking | Associate Web Editor, Science

July 24, 2026 11:23 a.m.

For trees that cover only about 0.1 percent of the Earth’s surface, mangroves punch above their weight. These salt-tolerant plants found on tropical shores are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. As the tides come in and out, submerging and exposing their finger-like roots, mangroves quietly shelter animals, store carbon from the atmosphere and sustain coastal human communities.

“They play a far more important role in our lives than you may think,” filmmaker Leo Thom says in a statement. With such a limited range, mangroves are out of reach to many people. But photography can bring them up close.

In 2015, Thom founded the Mangrove Photography Awards, a contest that celebrates mangrove ecosystems. The annual competition highlights the trees’ beauty, their importance to both animals and people and their vulnerability in a changing world. It’s run by the Mangrove Action Project, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation, management and restoration of mangroves through partnerships with local communities.

The contest announced the winners of its 12th annual competition today, which rose to the top from a pool of 5,258 entries from 87 countries.

This year’s winning photograph tells a story of a largely hidden but virulent threat to mangrove forests and ocean ecosystems: lost and abandoned fishing equipment, known as “ghost gear.”

Photographer Gaurav Patil of India had noticed ghost nets ensnaring the roots of mangroves for several years. “I wanted to document it in an artistic manner to grab the attention of the viewers,” Patil says in a statement.

In the 13-second exposure, taken at Nandgaon village in Maharashtra, south of Mumbai, a fishing net tangled around a mangrove glows purple under ultraviolet light.

a purple glowing net looks like an oval-shaped orb on top of mangrove branches — An abandoned fishing net glows purple under ultraviolet light. This photograph was the contest's overall winner. Gaurav Patil / Mangrove Photography Awards

Between 500,000 and one million tons of fishing gear are estimated to be entering the oceans each year. These nets, traps and lines can entangle animals, choke coral reefs, break down into microplastics and damage mangrove ecosystems.

“Ghost nets are a real problem,” contest judge Dhritiman Mukherjee says in the statement. “This photographer has put life into a subject that normally looks dull but is deeply important for conservation.”

Raising awareness about existential threats to mangroves is one of the goals of the contest. Other winners and commended photos from this year feature negative human impacts on mangroves, including illegal harvesting and plastic waste. The winning series of images from the portfolio category, taken by Nicolò Brugnara, documents the toll of constructing a coastal road in Mumbai. The images show a mangrove forest being cleared with fire, the loss for the Indigenous Koli community and a protest against the road’s development.

fire around trees at night — Mangroves are burned to clear waterfront land for development in Mumbai. Nicolò Brugnara / Mangrove Photography Awards

young protesters walk with signs that read "save mangroves. save Mumbai" — Protesters gather at Turzon Point in Charkop, Mumbai, to oppose a coastal road project that is threatening mangroves. Nicolò Brugnara / Mangrove Photography Awards

The winners also show how humans live comfortably alongside these forests, from fishing sustainably to planting new trees. One highly commended image by photographer Mark Kevin Badayos of the Philippines captures children climbing and leaping from mangroves, smiles on their faces.

children jump and flip from mangrove trees to land in the water — Children jump from a mangrove tree into the water. “Their laughter is a simple reminder,” the photographer writes in a caption. “Safeguarding mangroves means protecting the people who depend on them.” Mark Kevin Badayos / Mangrove Photography Awards

“Photography has the ability to help us receive and feel close to … stories, no matter our language,” contest judge Morgan Heim says in the statement. “And conservation is a story—a complicated one.”

The full list of winners can be seen on the Mangrove Action Project’s website. Here’s our selection of some of the shots that capture the beauty and biodiversity of these ecosystems.

two mudskippers sit on sand with their mouths wide open — Raising their blue-speckled fins in a territorial display, two mudskippers face off in the tidal flats of the Sundarbans. This photo of the walking, jumping and air-breathing fish was highly commended in the wildlife category for “other species.” Ashok Behera / Mangrove Photography Awards

an orange mammal with a long tail sleeps curled up hanging from thin branches of a mangrove — The world’s smallest anteater species, a silky anteater takes a snooze on a red mangrove’s thin branches at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary in Trinidad and Tobago. This photo was the runner-up in the mammals category. Kerron Noel / Mangrove Photography Awards

a starry sky with the Milky Way visible, glowing purple, above a single mangrove tree — Reflecting in the low-tide water, a lone mangrove is lit by the Milky Way. This photo won the landscape category. Ryuhei Suguri / Mangrove Photography Awards

a brown crab stands sideways on a mangrove root, blending into the bark — A mangrove crab crawls along mangrove tree roots, blending in. This photo was the runner-up in the wildlife category for “other species.” Dmitry Ivanov / Mangrove Photography Awards

amid green mangrove trees, two small kittens look into the camera — Two young jungle cats stand in the shelter of trees at the Sundarban Tiger Reserve in India. This photo won the wildlife category for mammals. Kallol Mukherjee / Mangrove Photography Awards

taken from underwater, a large, long-necked bird submerges — Also known as the “snakebird,” an anhinga dips underwater to hunt in a mangrove lagoon in Mexico. This photo was the runner-up in the underwater category. Valentina Cucchiara / Mangrove Photography Awards

a close up, vertical, black and white view of tangled mangrove roots — Mangrove roots entwine like ropes, “tangled at first glance, but revealing structure and rhythm the longer you look,” writes the photographer in a caption. This photo was the runner-up in the black and white category. Vladimir Borzykin / Mangrove Photography Awards

three flamingoes walk in shallow water, trailing a curved path of disturbed sediment behind them. the photo is taken from above — Traipsing through shallow water, a trio of flamingos passes by a juvenile lemon shark while looking for foraging habitat in the mangrove-lined Florida Bay. This photo won the wildlife category for birds. Mark Ian Cook / Mangrove Photography Awards

looking up from underwater, rays of sun illuminate two larger gray fish in a school of several smaller gray fish that form a ring around them — Mangroves offer shelter and food for gray snappers, seen here hunting in a school of baitfish in Lac Bay, Bonaire, in the Caribbean. This photo won the underwater category. Ewan Tregarot / Mangrove Photography Awards

a white lemur with black on its face, neck and limbs climbs vertically in a mangrove forest — In Madagascar, a white-fronted lemur crawls around mangrove roots, which shelter at least 23 lemur species in the area. This photo was highly commended in the mammals category. Raj Hassanaly / Mangrove Photography Awards

a small yellow bird appears to jump between branches in the upper canopy of a mangrove — An Indian white-eye on the coast of Iran lands among mangrove branches, where it forages and nests. This photo was the runner-up in the birds category. Erfan Samanfar / Mangrove Photography Awards

part above water and part below water, mangrove trees grow with a small turtle swimming in the foreground — A juvenile green turtle swims through a mangrove forest during high tide in the Bahamas, where it can find refuge from predators. This photo won the category for “other species.” Evan Cooper / Mangrove Photography Awards

overhead view of dolphins rolling around in shallow water, creating a ring of mud by the mangrove coast — Bottlenose dolphins in the Florida Keys hunt by creating mud rings of stirred-up sediment in the shallows, then waiting for frightened mullet to jump out of the water. This photo was highly commended in the mammals category. Mark Ian Cook / Mangrove Photography Awards

a black snake with seemingly glowing eyes stares into the camera from the roots of a mangrove — A rare blue-morph mangrove pit viper sits coiled in the roots of trees in Pasir Ris Park in Singapore. This photo of the intertidal apex predator was the runner-up for the young photographer category. Marcus Kuan / Mangrove Photography Awards

a group of golden rays under the surface of the water, with the tree-lined shore landscape visible above — Golden rays glide through shallow waters in a mangrove cove at Concha de Perla, Isabela Island, in the Galápagos. This photo is part of a series that was the runner-up in the portfolio category. Pelayo Salinas de León / Mangrove Photography Awards

Mangroves Are Key to Coastal Ecosystems. See 20 Breathtaking Photos That Reveal How the Trees Support Wildlife and Face Threats

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