Nature and Biodiversity

8 powerful images from the Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

A forest cat hunting in the mangrove forest of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

A series of photos highlight the challenges faced by communities dependent on mangrove forests. Image: Erfan Samanfar/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Tom Crowfoot
Writer, Forum Stories
This article is part of: Centre for Nature and Climate
  • The destruction of mangrove forests poses a serious threat to coastal communities as they become more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
  • These photos from the Mangrove Photography Awards highlight the challenges faced by those dependent on mangrove ecosystems, and their efforts to protect them.
  • Friends of Ocean Action, in collaboration with 1t.org, has created the Mangroves Working Group to accelerate progress towards the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests.

Worldwide, mangrove forests absorb the same amount of carbon annually as removing 4 million cars from the road for a year.

One annual competition, now in its tenth year, has set out to promote the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests.

The Mangrove Photography Awards, organized by the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), helps to "raise awareness of the people and wildlife that rely on mangrove forests, the threats they face, and why urgent action is needed to protect them".

Photography has the ability to help us receive and feel close to those stories no matter our language. Every time I look at this kind of photography, I think, there's still hope.

—Wildlife Photojournalist Morgan Heim, one of this year's judges.

Wildlife Photojournalist Morgan Heim, one of this year's judges.

Here we dive into some of our favourite photos from this year's selection, which showcase the beauty and global significance of mangrove ecosystems around the world.

'Nature's ribbon'

A sinuous water channel meanders gracefully, flanked by a verdant gallery of mangrove trees lining its edges, in Al Dhafra Region, Abu Dhabi.
Mangrove trees in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi. Image: Ammar Alsayed Ahmed/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

This landscape category winner "captures the timeless beauty and serenity of a landscape shaped by the delicate dance of water and mangroves".

'Honey heist'

In the Sundarbans, the Mawli embark on the dangerous operation to harvest rare mangrove honey.
In the Sundarbans, the Mawli harvest rare mangrove honey. Image: Upamanyu Chakraborty/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

'Operation Golden Honey', the mangrove honey collection mission shown here in India's Sundarbans, is sanctioned by the forest department.

The Mawli wear masks on the backs of their heads to deter tiger attacks, one of the many threats they face on this dangerous journey.

Their sustainable practices ensure the honey harvest does not harm the environment, allowing the mangrove forest and its inhabitants to continue thriving.

'Mud-ring feeding'

A bottlenose dolphin grabs a mullet from the air during ‘mud-ring feeding’.
A bottlenose dolphin grabs a mullet from the air during ‘mud-ring feeding’. Image: Mark Ian Cook/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

This wildlife category winner captures a rare and unique fishing behaviour used only by bottlenose dolphins living in the shallows of the mangrove-lined bays of Florida Bay and a few other locations in the Caribbean.

Mud-ring feeding involves a dolphin from the pod encircling a school of fish, kicking up sediments with its tail. The fish become 'trapped' in this circle of mud, causing them to jump out to 'safety' into the jaws of the dolphins.

The ability to strategize and coordinate such a hunt, as well as the ability to share equally, is a testament to the incredible intelligence of these animals.

'Mangrove walls broken'

A villager stands inside his half-submerged home during a flood.
This villager lost all of his household belongings in the flood. Image: Dipayan Bose/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Repeated tropical cyclones, sea level rise and mangrove deforestation have all contributed to the flooding affecting homes and farms in the Bay of Bengal.

This issue is not isolated; worldwide, millions of people in low-lying coastal communities are vulnerable to extreme weather and other impacts of human-induced climate change.

'Guardians of the Gulf'

A Diamondback terrapin emerges from its underground burrow in the Gulf Coast of Florida's mangrove islands.
A Diamondback terrapin in the Gulf Coast of Florida's mangrove islands. Image: Nick Conzone/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

This keystone species is crucial for promoting the health of mangrove forests. By eating snails, crabs, clams and small fish, these turtles prevent overgrazing that could disrupt the ecosystem.

'Kakaban mangrove'

Underwater photo of mangrove habitat.
Bursting with colour. Image: Purwanto Nugroho/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Taken in Indonesia, this image captures the vibrant range of colours in underwater mangrove habitats.

'The threatened future of mangroves'

Vast degradation of mangrove forests in India.
The vast degradation of mangrove forests in India. Image: Teja Yantrapalli/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Indian mangrove forests have been cleared for fishing ponds in this image. Without considerable efforts to restore, manage and conserve these ecosystems, mangrove forest cover will continue to decline.

'Together'

Mangrove restoration efforts by the people of Anosikabija, a rural commune in Majunga, Madagascar.
Mangrove restoration efforts by the people of Anosikabija, Madagascar. Image: Raj Hassanaly/Mangrove Photography Awards 2024

Communities feeling the impacts of climate change and mangrove degradation first-hand are working together to revive these ecosystems.

Bôndy, a private company working in ecosystem restoration, collaborates with local communities like this rural commune in Majunga, Madagascar to restore mangroves.

Discover

What's the World Economic Forum doing about mangroves?

The power of conservation efforts

Friends of Ocean Action, in collaboration with 1t.org, has created the Mangroves Working Group to accelerate progress towards the conservation and restoration of mangrove forests.

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