Mangroves: Photographic winners showcase the beauty of ecosystems

Musafiq Rahman has been named overall winner of this year’s Mangrove Photography Awards, for his photo of a wild honey collector subduing giant honeybees with smoke, in Bangladesh.

managed by mangrove work projectThe competition – now in its seventh year – aims to show the relationships between wildlife, coastal communities and mangrove forests, as well as the fragility of these unique ecosystems, above and below the water line.

Rahman’s winning photo, “Brave Life,” was selected from over 1,300 entries from 65 countries.

“Indigenous Mawal honey collectors, who are protected by Bunbebe, the goddess of the jungle, must avoid the dangers (Bengal tigers and saltwater crocodiles) lurking in the mangroves,” says Rahman.

“This ancient tradition and sustainable relationship between people and mangrove forests occurs in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, as well as in India.”

Mangroves are an important protection against climate change, as one acre (4,000 m) of mangrove forest absorbs roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide as an acre of Amazon rainforest.

Forests also protect coastlines from erosion with increased frequency of severe storms.

“Today, less than half of the world’s original mangrove forest cover remains,” says competition judge Robert Irwin.

“It has never been more important to promote the preservation of these fragile ecosystems through inspiring photography.”

Below is a selection of winning photos from six categories of competitions, with descriptions by the photographers.

The sun sets along the coast after mangrove restoration and beach cleanup within the local community.

Fascinated by the mangroves during our kayaking trip, we set up the drone to get a different perspective to reveal the absolutely calm blue waters among the mangroves.

As climate change and sea-level rise threaten the future of the Sundarbans, building dams and mangrove basins has become one of people’s last hopes here.

Most of the mangroves are found along the UAE coast in Abu Dhabi, serving as the city’s “green lung”.

A quiet early morning moment at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

The Milky Way galaxy shines over a mangrove tree in Mersingh Beach, Pulau Mawar, Malaysia, an area that can only be reached on foot at low tide.

After four days of tracking down the elusive Bengal tiger, we were finally able to predict where this individual might cross a stream.

The two birds were electrocuted during a fight for land, by a cheerful individual dancing.

This amphibian fish lives in mudflats and mangrove ecosystems.

Green sea turtles take shelter in the mangroves.

Green turtles are born on beaches, grow in the open ocean, eat seaweed and hide in mangroves and coral reefs.

Protecting these ecosystems is fundamental to protecting these species.

Rare encounter with a frog outside its natural habitat.

Commonly related to Sargassum seaweed, the frogfish floats and travels on algae thousands of miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Mangrove habitats are essential to many different marine creatures, including the gorgeous and colorful upside-down jellyfish.

The plastic problem in this part of the world is huge, mangroves are under threat, and they are slowly suffocating in plastic waste.

Locals cut down mangroves for fuel and building materials for boats and homes.

Over the past three decades, Indonesia has lost 40% of its mangrove forests.

The picture in the photo shows the reflection of the biggest threat to Brazil’s largest urban mangrove swamp: real estate speculation in conservation areas.

A railway runs for cover in a patch of coastal red mangroves.

The elusive bird has not been seen in the area for more than six years, but this bird has found safety and solitude in a small stretch of mangroves on the Florida coast.

Mangroves are essential for reptiles, such as the Malay Water Watcher, to thrive in the city’s limited coastal green spaces.

All images are subject to copyright.