Ahead of World Mangrove Day - the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem - Mangrove Action Project (MAP), a global leader in community-led mangrove conservation, is proud to reveal the winners of the 2026 Mangrove Photography Awards.
Now in its 12th year, the Mangrove Photography Awards continue to serve as a platform for storytelling, giving audiences a window into landscapes they might otherwise never 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,” said judge Morgan Heim.
This year the competition drew 5,258 entries from 87 countries.
2026 Winner: A Story of What the Tide Leaves Behind
This year’s overall winner and Mangrove Photographer of the Year is Gaurav Patil, from India, with Tangled glow: When life meets the ruins.
A ghost net glowing under UV light, tangled in a mangrove on the tide-swept shore of Nandgaon village, Maharashtra - south of Mumbai. Captured on a 13-second UV exposure, the image reveals a quieter conservation crisis: discarded fishing nets carried in by currents and trapped in mangroves, turning these vital coastal barriers into hidden garbage 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," said judge Dhritiman Mukherjee. As Smithsonian Magazine reported, an estimated 500,000 to one million tons of fishing equipment are abandoned in the ocean every year. This gear can severely damage mangrove ecosystems, entangling marine life, and choking mangrove trees.
Mangrove forests cover only about 0.1% of the Earth’s surface, “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,” said Founder of the Awards, Leo Thom.
While decades of decline have recently stabilised, scientists warn that up to half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are still at risk of collapse by 2050.
This year’s expert judging panel included Karine Aigner, Steve Winter, Esther Horvath, Pier Nirandara, Dhritiman Mukherjee, and Morgan Heim.
Winners were also announced across six categories - Wildlife, Landscape, Underwater, Threats, People and Conservation Stories - along with the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year, the Emirates Award, the Arabian Gulf Award and the UNESCO Award.
View the full gallery of winners here.
- NOTES TO EDITORS -
High-res images for download. Descriptions are available here. All images must include photographer credits.
The Mangrove Photography Awards are organized by Mangrove Action Project (MAP), a US-based non-profit that works with stakeholders at every level to preserve, conserve and restore the world’s mangrove forests.
For more information about the awards or Mangrove Action Project, please contact Leo Thom, Founder - [email protected]
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