The stories behind the photos: MRLG Photo Competition 2025 winners

In April this year, MRLG launched a photo competition to raise awareness on land governance issues in the region. The contest invited photographers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam to share images that highlight land governance issues in their communities. We received many strong entries, and we thank all participants for their creativity and commitment. The winning photos were featured in an exhibition coinciding with the Mekong Regional Land Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand, and was well-received by the crowd, composed of representatives from various donor agencies and development agencies across the Mekong region.

A sincere thank you to all participants for using photography as a tool for advocacy and awareness. Your lenses are shaping a more just and sustainable future for land rights in the region. To honor the winners, we have produced a short video showcasing their work and the stories behind the images.

See the video here: shorturl.at/l366a
Also check out the equally amazing runners-ups! shorturl.at/LdOnN

Tam Chúc, Vietnam. This man, once a forest worker, now fishes to survive after a tourism project flooded local forests to create an artificial lake. Launched in the 2010s, the project turned the area into a major religious and eco-tourism site, displacing ecosystems and altering traditional livelihoods. With little access to former forest resources and few alternatives, some residents have taken up fishing despite having no experience. (photo: Hai Thinh, Grand Prize Winner)

This image captures the daily lives of people living along the Mekong River, who rely on fishing both to feed their families and to earn a living. The scenes are from the Koh Samseb Community base eco-tourism in Kratie province, where traditional fishing remains a vital part of local culture and livelihood. (photo: Kouy Socheat, Cambodia Prize Winner)

Beneath a sky veiled in smoke, two men quietly sort freshly dug cassava – the remains of life pulled from dry earth, bound for the currents of global trade. Flames crawl along the mountainside like orange threads stitching the divide between nature and human hope. The high-voltage tower looms, a symbol of energy and a silent marker of a new world encroaching on old ways. The mountain burns to make way for an uncertain future, sowing seeds that may never root, or perhaps simply erasing the past. In their stillness echoes an unspoken question: When the land can no longer breathe, how long can its people stand? (photo: Willie Xaywouth, Laos)

In a quiet moment of patience and purpose, two farmers in Hakha,Chin State carefully uproot young rice seedlings from a lush nursery bed. This intimate step in the rice cycle speaks to care, knowledge, and the slow, deliberate rhythm of farming life — a tradition rooted in sustainability and respect for the land. (photo: Jerry Heilianmang, Myanmar Prize Winner)

This photo captures ethnic Thai and Hmong villagers planting trees to restore forests for the benefit of future generations. Taken in Xuan Nha, Son La Province on Earth Day, April 22, 2024, during a community reforestation event, and again on August 8, 2025, as part of the ongoing “Regreening Forest” initiative. (photo: Nguyễn Văn Cường, Vietnam Prize Winner)