Destructive cyclones and dreamlike scenery: award-winning photos show beauty and destruction

Taken by Indian photographer Supratim Bhattacharjee, it shows the aftermath of a cyclone in the Sundarbans, a huge mangrove forest that lies at the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.

Extreme weather is becoming more frequent in the region, leading to the destruction of homes and businesses, and the mass displacement of people.

In this case, the girl’s tea house was destroyed in the storm. “We see the girl’s life turn upside down … her look of helplessness reflecting the turmoil of life for many people on the southern coast of the Sundarbans in India,” Leo Thom, founder of the Mangrove Photography Awards and creative director of Mangrove Action Project, told CNN.

“As sea levels rise and storms breach the protective embankments, their land becomes inundated with saltwater from the sea, making it impossible to grow crops for years to come,” he added.

In its tenth year, the photography awards are intended to drive awareness of the beauty and fragility of mangrove forests like the Sundarbans and highlight the urgent need for their protection.

Found in 123 countries, the unique ecosystems are key in the fight against climate change, acting as a giant carbon store. They also serve as a natural barrier against flooding, and provide a habitat to threatened animal species like tigers and jaguars.

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“Known as the ‘roots of the sea,’ our coastal forests are crucial for the survival of millions of coastal communities, providing protection from the extremes of nature and acting as nurseries for fish and marine life,” said Thom.

Yet despite this, they are also one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. According to a recent report from the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, more than half of global mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050.

The awards, which received more than 2,500 entries from 74 nations, selected winners in six categories, including one dedicated to mangrove threats. This category’s winning image, taken by Dipayan Bose in India, shows a man standing in his flooded home; other commended images depict urban development encroaching on mangrove forests, and pollution ranging from fishing nets to toxic chemicals.

Other categories celebrate the beauty of mangroves, with stunning aerial images of mangrove forests lining turquoise channels, and shots of amazing wildlife that lives within these ecosystems. A “young mangrove photographer of the year” title was awarded to Australia’s Nicholas Alexander Hess, for his intense multiple exposure photograph of a saltwater crocodile’s eye peering out of a mangrove forest at low tide.

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“Captured at night, the image gives off a slightly unsettling feeling, such as what one may experience in a mangrove, unknowing of what predators may be lurking nearby, hidden by the dense network of the mangrove,” said Hess in a press release.

The awards’ organizers believe that the wide variety of images from all corners of the world can help to raise awareness of the ecological role mangroves play and catalyze their protection.

“We hope the photography awards can help connect people to mangrove forests and their conservation, by exciting them about the diversity of life found within them,” said Thom. “We want to see existing healthy mangroves protected and improve restoration of our lost forests.”

-CNN