The European Environment Agency (EEA) announced on 9 October 2026 the winners of its "Resilient by Nature" photo competition, a Europe-wide contest that invited photographers to document ecological resilience through the categories of Harmony, Disruption and Renewal. Close to 2,800 entries were submitted from 35 countries, with an external jury selecting category winners alongside a youth prize, and the public determining a separate public choice award through an online vote.

The Harmony prize went to Ali Aslan for Sanctuary, a drone photograph of the ancient delta ecosystem of Dalyan, Muğla, in which the intricate waterways of vast reed beds resemble the branching roots of a tree. The image captures small boats moving through the channels and, according to the EEA, illustrates the delicate balance between human activity and a wetland ecosystem that sustains biodiversity.

Julián Fernandez Quilez claimed the Disruption category with El tubo de la contaminación, shot from inside a drainage pipe using a remote-triggered ultra-wide-angle setup. The photograph places a water rail amid murky water and accumulated litter, exposing, in the EEA's framing, the lasting impact of human activity on wildlife forced to endure and adapt to degraded habitats.

The Renewal winner, titled Where life returns, depicts a single plant emerging from blackened, fire-scarred ground — a quiet sign of regeneration in a landscape marked by loss. No photographer name was attributed to this image in the source material. The youth prize was awarded to Denat Lahi for City Marten, showing a marten sheltering among industrial structures, offered by the EEA as a hopeful illustration of wildlife adapting to human-modified environments.

Radoslav Sviretsov won the public choice award for Tree of life, a top-down aerial photograph taken above the Icelandic Highlands in which meltwater channels and glowing green moss form a pattern resembling the branches and roots of a tree. The EEA described the image as a symbol of strength and resilience in the northern wilderness.

The EEA noted that the richness of submissions made the jury's final selection a particularly challenging task, reflecting the remarkable diversity of Europe's natural environments and the many ways photographers document their relationship with nature.

This article is based on a primary source and has undergone editorial review prior to publication.