Spectacular Winning Photos from the Mangrove Photography Awards 2025

Overall Winner: “Birds’ eye view of the hunt” by Mark Ian Cooks

The 2025 Mangrove Photography Awards showcased 25 stunning images that highlight the beauty and ecological importance of mangrove forests worldwide.

With over 3,300 entries from 78 countries, the competition reflects a growing global awareness of mangroves’ critical role in coastal ecosystems. Mark Ian Cook’s winning aerial photo, featuring Roseate Spoonbills and a lemon shark in Florida Bay, captures both natural elegance and environmental vulnerability. These photographs serve as powerful educational tools, revealing how mangroves store carbon, prevent flooding, and support diverse wildlife. Despite their value, mangroves face severe threats, and the awards aim to inspire urgent action to preserve these vital habitats.

More: Mangrove Photography Awards, Instagram

People, Livelihoods: Winner – “Bhoben Biseash and his Otters” by Freddie Claire

People, Livelihoods: Runner Up – “Crab Gatherer” by Danilo O. Victoriano Jr.

People, Conservation & Restoration: Winner – “Mangrove Honey Bees Make Land” by Ian Rock

People, Conservation & Restoration: Runner Up – “Roots in the Sand, eyes on the future” by Christopher Michel

Wildlife, Birds: Winner – “Avain Impressionism” by Mark Ian Cook

Wildlife, Birds: Runner Up – “A Safe Haven and Natural Rest Stop for Migratory Birds on Their Season Journey” by Saudi Arabia

Wildlife, Mammaals: Winner – “A Snack in the Mangrove Forest” by Satwika Satria

Wildlife, Mammaals: Runner Up – “Scent marking went wrong” by Trikansh Sharma

Wildlife, Other Species: Winner – “Night in the Mangrove” by Christian Moldrup Legaard

Wildlife, Other Species: Runner Up – “Claws of Power” by Javier Aznar Gonzalez De Rueda

Landscape, Black & White: Winner – “Take a Bow” by Vladimir Borzykin

Landscape, Black & White: Runner Up – “Living with the tides” by Rajesh Dhar

Landscape, From the Air: Winner – “Mangroves and Modernity” by Ahmed Badwan

Landscape, From the Air: Runner Up – “Dendritic” by Stuart Chape

Landscape, On the Ground: Winner – “Mangrove Under the Milk Way” by Gwi Bin Lim

Landscape, On the Ground: Runner Up – “Life” by Hoan The Nhiem

Mangroves & Threats: Winner – “Paradise Buried” by Tom Quinney

Mangroves & Threats: Runner Up – “Trapped in Shadows” by Daphne Wong

Mangroves & Underwater: Winner – “Low tide on hermit crab island” by Alex Pike

Mangroves & Underwater: Runner Up – “Netted Sulawesi Scene” by Renee Capozzola

Mangroves & Conservation Stories: Winner – “A Woman’s Fight in Sundarbans Mangrove Forest” by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Mangroves & Conservation Stories: Runner Up – “Seeding Hope” by Giacomo d’Orlando

Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year: Winner – “Crocodile Galaxy” by Nicholas Hess

Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year: Runner Up – “Mosquito are dangerous than a tiger” by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn