Extensive mangrove areas at Pazhayangadi, Kannur District in Kerala, are under threat of logging. Local groups and activists have been taking legal steps like getting a stay order from the court and writing to various Government bodies on such destructive practises.
These are the only remaining mangrove areas of the state, both in terms of species diversity and spatial extent. Large flocks of migratory birds seek there refuge from the northern winter. For centuries local communities have practiced traditional methods of saline resistent-paddy cultivation alternate with shrimp filtration. Kerala is one of the first states of India to initiate decentralised planning at local level (popularly known as “People's Planning”), which has been considered a step in the right direction. However, paradoxical it may seem, presently elected local bodies seem to turn a deaf ear to the people’s claim.
Source: D.Nandakumar, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Geography, University College, Kerala, India