Winning Photos from the Mangrove Photography Awards 2025 Honor the Marvels of Mangroves
The Mangrove Photography Awards have announced their 2025 victors, featuring stunning visuals that emphasize the allure and fragility of mangrove ecosystems worldwide. Hosted by the Mangrove Action Project, this contest employs conservation storytelling to raise awareness about these vital habitats, which are capable of sequestering much more carbon than land-based forests. In its 11th year, the competition attracted an unprecedented 3,303 submissions from 78 nations, revealing awe-inspiring images in categories including Wildlife, Threats, People, and Underwater.
This year’s Photographer of the Year title was bestowed upon Mark Ian Cook for “Birds’ eye view of the hunt,” a remarkable photograph showcasing Roseate Spoonbills gliding over a lemon shark in the mangrove-fringed waters of Florida Bay. The image received accolades for its distinctive angle and exceptional color usage, capturing the varied and interconnected life forms found in mangroves. Contest judge Shin Arunrugstichai remarked that the photograph “illustrates the diversity of life that flourishes and diminishes within the mangrove ecosystem.”
Other impressive winners are “Avian Impressionism” by Mark Ian Cook, depicting Blue-winged Teals crafting fleeting art in Florida Bay, and “A Snack in the Mangrove Forest” by Satwika Satria, portraying a young proboscis monkey enjoying fruit in Indonesia’s mangrove woods. In the Underwater category, Alex Pike’s “Low tide on hermit crab island” from Australia highlights a lesser-known hermit crab variety.
The Emirates Award was presented to Ahmed Badwan for “Morning Serenity in Abu Dhabi,” capturing a tranquil kayaking adventure through verdant mangroves, while Ian Rock’s “Mangrove Honey Bees Make Land” in Costa Rica showcases community efforts to rehabilitate mangrove ecosystems.
Other notable images include Gwi Bin Lim’s “Mangrove Under the Milky Way,” blending celestial night and terrestrial beauty in Indonesia, Tom Quinney’s evocative “Paradise Buried,” depicting Bali’s waste challenges amidst struggling mangrove forests, and Freddie Claire’s “Bhoben Biseash and his Otters” from Bangladesh, celebrating harmonious human-animal interactions in traditional fishing.
These award-winning photographs are accessible for viewing, serving as a compelling reminder of the essential role mangroves play in our global ecosystem. For more stunning photography, visit the Mangrove Photography Awards website or their Instagram account.