The winners of the Mangrove Photography Awards, raise awareness of the people and wildlife that rely on mangrove forests, have been announced. Soham Bhattacharyya has won the top title with his photo of a young Royal Bengal tigress gazing back at the camera surrounded by her natural mangrove habitat at the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve in India.
‘The solitary figure of the tiger, standing amidst the lush green mangrove forest vegetation, poignantly underscores the isolation it must endure in an ever-shrinking habitat’, said judge Daisy Gilardini.
The Theatre of Plastic, Mangroves & Threats Winner. Photo credit: Emanuele Biggi / Mangrove Photography Awards.
The Sundarbans Reserve Forest, which is the largest mangrove forest in the world, is also under threat, with nearly 25 percent lost (136.77 square km) due to erosion and human pressures over the past three decades.
Winners have also been selected in the competition’s six categories: People, Landscape, Underwater, Threats, Wildlife, and Stories (a portfolio category) as well as Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year.
Now in its ninth year, the competition is run by Mangrove Action Project, a US-based nonprofit that works to preserve, conserve and restore mangrove forests around the world. The international panel of judges including Daisy Gilardini, Octavio Aburto, Daniel Kordan and Fulvio Eccardi this year.
Wild & Free, Highly Commended. Photo credit: Yordanis Méndez Segura / Mangrove Photography Awards.
‘Photographs of mangroves and contests related to them play a multifaceted role in advocating for the conservation and protection of these critical coastal forests,’ Fulvio said. ‘They raise awareness, educate, inspire action, and contribute to the scientific understanding of these ecosystems, all of which are vital for their long-term survival and the well-being of coastal communities around the world.’
To see more winners and all entries, visit the Mangrove Action Project’s mangrove gallery 2023.
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