AFFORESTATION AND REGENERATION OF MANGROVE AREAS IN KUMARAKOM AREA OF KERALA

Funding Agency: World Wide Fund for Nature India, New Delhi

The vegetation cover of coastal Kerala is beset with mangrove rich areas, which play a dominant role in shaping various floral and faunal compositions. This niche functions as the breeding place for different types of birds, brackish water fishes, crabs, turtles, shrimps, prawns, etc. Now these mangroves are found isolated and degraded because of population explosion and ill-conceived developmental activities such as coastal engineering structures, tourism, fishery and agriculture. Restoration and regeneration of mangroves should be given utmost importance. With the above-mentioned objective, CED has taken up the project for afforestation and Regeneration of mangroves in Kumarakom area of Kuttanad region, which is one of the highly degraded mangrove areas in Kerala.

The major degraded mangrove areas and the native mangrove species that existed there before were identified. Studies regarding the salinity level in the channels, water quality studies, soil studies, etc. were conducted. Planting of about 5000 mangrove saplings were done and a ‘Mangrove Resource Centre’ was established.