Who Is Saving Kerala’s Coastal Forests?

The mangroves in Kannur, located on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, constitute 43.08 percent of the state’s total mangrove forest cover. They span 9.1 sq km (NCESS 2023), with reports suggesting that the mangrove vegetation of the region comprises 15 species of mangroves (including the uncommon Rhizophora apiculata).

The mangroves here are crucial for this ecosystem, hubs of biodiversity, which play host to 87 species of fish, 83 species of birds, and 13 species of mammals.

Among the birds sighted are little egret, grey heron, and water birds like oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster).

But aside from their ecological importance, the mangroves are an integral part of the lives of people living in the coastal communities, who depend on them for fodder, medicines, and firewood. They also act as barriers against cyclones and tsunamis.

Despite being crucial to the environment and the locals, the mangroves are under threat. Nearly 70-75 percent of these forests are under private ownership, which compounds the problem of their protection.

Reports suggest that the acreage of mangroves in Kerala reduced from 70,000 hectares to 2116 hectares (Ramachandran et al., 1986). The reasons include real estate development, industrialisation, population growth, and the conversion of the land into coconut plantations.

So, in a bid to protect the species, in 2006, the Wildlife Trust of India started the Kannur Kandal Project (kandal translates to mangroves in Malayalam) to ensure an uptick in the numbers of the mangroves.

One of the ways was to purchase the land on which the mangroves stood, to be able to secure them better. The private-purchase model was supported by World Land Trust (WLT), Apollo Tyres, and IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare). Wildlife Trust of India has purchased a total of 37.16 acres of privately owned mangroves.

The other arms of the project are ecological restoration of degraded mangrove habitats by creating awareness among communities. To this end, Wildlife Trust of India has conducted over 400 community-led conservation awareness programmes that have reached out to more than 85,000 people.

During these awareness programmes, the focus is on educating the community about the significance of mangroves through theoretical sessions in the mangrove interpretation center in Kannur, as well as through immersive field experiences in privately owned mangrove plots.

In December 2022, Wildlife Trust of India joined hands with the SBI Foundation to restore the degraded mangroves. By March 2026, the project plans to restore 30 acres of degraded, destroyed, or damaged mangrove ecosystems in Kannur; until now, 34.12 acres have been restored.

Wildlife Trust of India has also established a mother/central mangrove nursery, which has a housing capacity of 1,00,000 mangrove saplings. It serves as the parent nursery where saplings are reared and nurtured and eventually taken to various satellite nurseries once they are ready for planting.

Along with this, five satellite nurseries have also been created to facilitate mangrove restoration. These satellite nurseries are smaller, temporary establishments close to the identified restoration sites with a housing capacity of approximately 5,000 saplings per nursery. Saplings from the satellite nursery are used for planting.