Mangrove Photography Awards 2025 Reveal Urgent and Stunning Stories from Coastal Ecosystems

Every year, World Mangrove Day celebrates the ecological and cultural importance of mangroves. This year, it also marks the announcement of the 2025 Mangrove Photography Awards winners – and the images are as powerful as the message behind them.

Organized by the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), the contest is now in its 11th year and more impactful than ever. With a record-breaking 3,303 submissions from 78 countries, including newcomers like Samoa, Yemen, and Dominica, this year’s contest is a showcase of talent as much as it is a call to action.

“By intriguing people about the important role mangroves play in everyone’s lives, we want to instill an emotional and deeper connection for people to take action,” said Leo Thom, MAP’s Creative Director and the awards’ founder.

The Mangrove Photography Awards 2025 Winner

The Mangrove Photographer of the Year is Mark Ian Cook, an avian ecologist and conservation photographer. His winning image, Birds’ Eye View of the Hunt, captures Roseate Spoonbills gliding over a lemon shark in Florida Bay. At first glance, it’s peaceful. But there’s a deeper story.

“Historically, Florida Bay was the primary nestling region of the Roseate Spoonbill in the US,” Cook explains. “But this species is becoming increasingly rare there as sea level rise negatively impacts their important mangrove foraging habitat.”

As Mark Ian notes, spoonbills are tactile foragers. They need shallow waters teeming with fish, especially during nesting season. “With climate-change induced sea-level rise… fish densities are insufficient for effective foraging, and fewer birds are able to breed.”

New Categories and Broader Reach

This year’s contest introduced two new regional awards: The Emirates Award and Arabian Gulf Award, created in partnership with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. They highlight local efforts and creativity from the UAE and Gulf region. Ahmed Badwan of the UAE won the Emirates Award with his image Morning Serenity in Abu Dhabi. The first prize for the Arabian Gulf Award went to Dr Mahdi Mohammad Gholoum for his image Cormorants welcoming the sunrise in the embrace of the mangroves.

There were also new subcategories added across Wildlife, Landscape, and People, allowing for richer, more diverse storytelling.

“One of the most impressive aspects of this year’s competition is the remarkable diversity of images and shooting styles among the submissions,” said judge Chien Lee. Fellow judge Tanya Houppermans added, “These photographs will go a long way in educating the public about mangroves… and will hopefully inspire people to do what they can to save these critical habitats.

The Mission Beyond the Photography Contest

Mangroves cover coastlines in 125 countries and territories. They capture up to five times more carbon than terrestrial forests, protect over 15 million people from flooding, and support millions of livelihoods. Yet, half of these ecosystems are at risk of collapse by 2050.

The Mangrove Photography Awards prove that visual storytelling has power: not just to document beauty, but to inspire real action.

Take a look at the category winners below, and remember to be kind to nature. Take a look at all the winners, runner ups, and highly commended images on the contest’s official website.

Portfolio Stories Winner: A Woman’s Fight in the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

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