Mangrove Photography Awards 2026
Mangrove Action Project
📌About the Event
Mangrove Photography Awards 2026 is a global photography competition that celebrates the beauty, biodiversity, and fragility of mangrove forests. It invites photographers to use visual storytelling to highlight mangrove wildlife, landscapes, local communities, threats, and conservation efforts. The competition is hosted by Mangrove Action Project and is open to photographers across the world who want to build their portfolio, get global visibility, and participate in a curated online art showcase.
ℹ️ Event Details
- Mode of conduct: Online submission
- Theme: Mangrove conservation, wildlife, people, landscapes, threats, underwater ecosystems, and conservation stories
- Who can participate: Photographers from around the world, including beginners, students, amateurs, and professionals
- Submission format: Participants can submit photographs online through the official competition entry form.
- Maximum entries: Participants can submit up to 12 photos across multiple categories.
- Categories: Wildlife, People, Landscape, Underwater, Threats, and Conservation Stories
- File format: Images must be submitted in JPG, PNG, or TIFF format, with a maximum size of 4 MB per image.
📅 Important Dates
- Entries open: 1 April 2026
- Submission deadline: 1 June 2026
- Deadline time: 11:59 PM BST on 1 June 2026
- For Indian participants, this is approximately 4:29 AM IST on 2 June 2026.
- Winners announced: 24 July 2026
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligibility: The competition is free and open to photographers worldwide, across all ages and experience levels.
- Young Photographer category: Entrants aged 23 years or younger on 24 July 2026 will automatically be considered for the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year award.
- Original work: All entries must be created by the photographer submitting them.
- Ethical photography: Photos must be taken without harming wildlife, disturbing habitats, or misleading viewers.
- Drone and permit rules: Participants must follow all applicable laws, including drone regulations, permits, and subject permissions for human portraits.
- Editing rules: Post-processing is allowed, but edits must not misrepresent the original scene. Finalists may be asked to submit RAW files or original untouched JPEGs.
- Judging process: Entries are judged anonymously by a panel through two rounds, with an authenticity check in the final round.
- Evaluation criteria: Judges look for originality, strong narrative, ethical practice, and conservation impact.
🏆 Prize Details and Value
- Overall winner: USD 1,000 cash prize and the title of Mangrove Photographer of the Year
- Category winners: USD 500 cash prize for each winning category or subcategory entry
- Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year: USD 250 cash prize
- People’s Choice Award: USD 250 cash prize, selected through public voting on Instagram
- Emirates Award: USD 500 cash prize
- Arabian Gulf Award: USD 500 cash prize
- Finalists: Up to six finalists in each single-image category/subcategory receive a Certificate of Recognition