KOCHI: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Apollo Tyres have entered into a partnership for a critical project to restore mangroves in Kannur district.
“The Kannur Kandal Project (mangrove conservation) aims at ensuring survival of the existing mangroves and increasing the acreage of mangrove habitats across the district. The project will act as a potential prototype for the other coastal districts of the State, while also setting a model for the rest of the country,” said a press statement.
The site of the Apollo Tyres-WTI project will be in the Kunhimangalam village in Kannur district, which is one of the largest mangrove villages in the State.
Under the project, a hub will be established in the natural ecosystem for mangrove-based education, which will serve as an open air laboratory for conducting research and promoting restoration through community/government participation.
“Over the years, the area of mangrove forests in the State shrank drastically, and only 1,750 hectare of an estimated historical 70,000 hectare of mangroves remains. The other features of the project are setting up of a mangrove nursery, community-based initiatives to enhance public awareness and measures to reduce threats to mangroves. Special efforts will be made to generate scientific awareness on mangroves among the youth,” stated the release.
The major factors that contributed to the destruction mangroves are conversion of habitats into agricultural land like coconut plantation, aqua-culture, unscientific water regulation, population pressure, real estate development and inadequate law enforcement.
A land procured with the support of international NGO World Land Trust will serve as the nodal site for all the conservation activities under the WTI-Apollo project.
“The abuse and depletion of mangrove forests should be of particular concern to all of us, mainly for the marvelous bio-diversity and their value as a natural buffer against climate change,” said WTI executive director and CEO Vivek Menon.