Kadalundi–Vallikkunnu was declared in 2007 as Kerala’s first community reserve, protecting 1.5 square kilometres of tidal channels, mudflat, mangrove and islands.
Protection without emptying the landscape
Its management committee includes representatives nominated by Kadalundi and Vallikkunnu panchayats alongside the Forest Department. Local participation is part of the legal design.
Island households and nearby families depend on the estuary through fishing and cultivation. Conservation therefore has to work with livelihoods rather than pretend the reserve is uninhabited.
What to notice on the ground
Look across the bridge and channels for homes, boats and mangrove in one frame. That overlap is the central story of the protected area.