Kadar Tribe Restoration of Devastated Forests 

The Kadar tribe in Vazhachal, Kerala, started a pioneering attempt to restore natural forests devastated by exotic species. Collaboration with a number of organizations, including WWF-India and local government entities, is part of this endeavor. The project's goals are to help local communities and revitalize the forest ecology.

Centre and State Planning jointly _Kerala Forest Restoration Project

• The project has been a joint venture of the government sectors, including the government of India and state governments, local self-governments, MGNREGA, scheduled tribes, and the writers welfare department, and the non-government sectors, including WWF-India and KFRI.
• KFRI has assessed the information on the distribution of invasive species in Vazhachal & Parambikulam forest divisions and has extended its support for the identification of areas needing restoration.
• Human-wildlife conflict and loss of non-timber forest products at risk due to invasive species limiting forage space
• The Kadar tribe is eradicating non-native plants for ecosystem restoration.
• Project targeting species dominated with natives such as Myristica beddomei, Canarium strictum, Garcinia gummi-gutta, Hydnocarpus pentandrus, Curcuma neilgherrensisAcacia sinuate, Phyllanthus emblica Entada rheedii Desmodium gangeticum pseudarthriavisCidasapindustrifoliate.
• Pothupara is the tribal hamlet with Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights where our community work takes place.
• Resources are protected and renewed through traditional knowledge, and local governance is done by Gram Sabhas.
• This project focuses on restoring natural and livelihoods ecosystems, in line with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).