The management of wildlife and its habitat is primarily the responsibility of the concerned State Government. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 empowers State Government for declaration of any private or community land, as a community reserve, for protecting fauna, flora and traditional or cultural conservation values and practices. Sacred groves are generally very small patches of trees traditionally protected by local communities for their religious and cultural significance and also contribute in conserving local biodiversity. The funds released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Development of Wildlife Habitat’ to State of Kerala for the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve during the last three years and current year is as given below:

 

S.No	Year	Funds allocated (in Rupees Lakhs)
1	2020-21	11.195
2	2021-22	3.1125
3	2022-23	2.574
4

No specific reports have been received from the Government of Kerala regarding destruction of mangroves in the State of Kerala. As per the India State of Forest Report-2021, there has been an increase of 0.46 % in mangrove cover from the 2019 assessment in the State of Kerala.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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MJPS/NSK

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