Contents
Mangrove Photography Awards 2026 is open for submissions, bringing attention back to one of the world’s most distinctive coastal ecosystems. The contest focuses on mangrove forests, their wildlife, the communities connected to them, and the pressures these habitats face. Entries close on June 1, 2026, with winners announced on July 24, 2026, ahead of World Mangrove Day.
Entry is free, making this a strong option for photographers looking for a free photography contest with a clear environmental focus. The awards include cash prizes, category recognition, certificates for finalists, and publication opportunities through media and conservation partners. For readers comparing broader opportunities, Deartline’s photography competition listings are a useful place to find similar calls.
The Mangrove Photography Awards is built around six categories: Wildlife, People, Landscape, Threats, Underwater, and Conservation Stories. Photographers may submit up to 12 photographs in total, including single images and a six-image portfolio for the Conservation Stories category. The theme makes it especially relevant for those working in conservation photography competitions contexts, as well as environmental storytelling, wildlife, underwater, and community-based documentary work.
Prizes
The Mangrove Photography Awards 2026 includes cash awards, titles, certificates, and visibility through media and conservation partners.
- Overall winner: $1,000 and the title Mangrove Photographer of the Year.
- Category winners: $500 for each category or subcategory winner.
- Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year: $250 for one overall winner aged 23 or younger on July 24, 2026.
- Finalists: up to six finalists in each single-image category and subcategory receive a Mangrove Photography Awards Certificate of Recognition.
- People’s Choice Award: $250 for one overall winner selected through a public vote on Instagram in August.
- The Emirates Award: $500 for one overall winner selected across all categories by the judging panel and regional partner Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.
- The Arabian Gulf Award: $500 for one overall winner selected across all categories by the judging panel and regional partner Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.
Selected results may also be showcased by media publications and conservation partners. Winners are regularly published in BBC News, The Guardian, BBC Wildlife Magazine, and other photography magazines, making the awards relevant for photographers seeking publication opportunities alongside cash recognition.
Other Free Contests
Categories or Themes
The Mangrove Photography Awards are structured around six categories, each connected to mangrove ecosystems.
- Wildlife: animals in mangroves worldwide, above the waterline, including behavior, rare species, and small organisms.
- People: relationships between people and mangrove forests, including livelihoods, coastal communities, and conservation work.
- Landscape: wide views, details, patterns, close-ups, aerial perspectives, ground-level images, and black and white work.
- Threats: human impact and natural events affecting coastal ecosystems.
- Underwater: aquatic life beneath the mangrove waterline, including split-shots.
- Conservation Stories: a six-image portfolio showing long-term commitment to mangrove conservation.
Dates and Entry Fees
Submissions opened on April 1, 2026, and close on June 1, 2026. The closing time is 11:59 pm BST.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Submissions open | April 1, 2026 |
| Submissions close | June 1, 2026 |
| Winners announced | July 24, 2026 |
| People’s Choice Award | August 2026 |
Entry is free. This also places the awards among free to enter photo awards with international access.
How to Enter
Photographers may submit up to 12 photos in total and may enter as many categories as they wish. A maximum of six photos can be submitted through each form. Up to six images may be entered across the single-image categories: Wildlife, Landscape, People, Threats, and Underwater. The Conservation Stories category requires a portfolio of six images.
Accepted file types are JPG, PNG, and TIFF. Each file must be no larger than 4MB, submitted in high resolution, and free of borders, watermarks, or signatures.
About the Jury
The Mangrove Photography Awards is judged by a panel and a chair. Entries are reviewed anonymously across two rounds, with the final round including an authenticity check. The judging criteria include originality, narrative, and ethical practice.
The 2026 panel includes Karine Aigner, Dhritiman Mukherjee, Morgan Heim, Esther Horvath, Steve Winter, and Pier Nirandara, bringing experience across photojournalism, wildlife photography, conservation storytelling, polar science, big-cat photography, and underwater work.
Why Enter Mangrove Photography Awards?
The Mangrove Photography Awards stands out for its clear thematic focus and strong connection to environmental storytelling. Rather than a broad open call, it centers entirely on mangrove ecosystems, encouraging submissions that explore biodiversity, coastal communities, and the fragile balance between nature and human activity. This specificity makes it particularly relevant for photographers working in long-term projects or field-based documentation.
Alongside its focused theme, the contest combines financial recognition with meaningful exposure. Cash prizes reward both overall and category winners, while shortlisted work is regularly published by international media and conservation platforms. This dual emphasis on visibility and support gives the awards a practical relevance beyond simple recognition.
For those browsing the best online photography awards, this competition offers a more targeted alternative to broader contests. It is especially aligned with photographers engaged in wildlife photo contest, underwater photography awards, or environmental documentary practices, where subject matter and impact are closely connected.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the Mangrove Photography Awards has been generated automatically. If you are interested in participating in this contest we suggest you review the complete rules provided by the contest.
Rules
Entries must be created by the photographer entering them. Images previously awarded in the Mangrove Photography Awards should not be submitted again. Photographers aged 23 or younger on July 24, 2026, are automatically considered for the Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year Award.
Ethical practice is central to the rules. Entrants must confirm that images were made naturally, without interference with wildlife or damage to the environment. Caption information must be complete, true, and accurate. Photographers are responsible for complying with national and international laws, including drone rules and any required permits. For portraits, the subject’s permission is required.
Copyright and Image Usage
The contest information reviewed states that post-processing is allowed, but the image must remain truthful to the original scene. Editing must not deceive the viewer, misrepresent reality, or remove elements of the natural world. Finalists may be asked to provide RAW files or original untouched JPEGs for verification.
—
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
