5. Chronicling Development in the Mangrove Conservation Project: Education, a Pathway for the Irula Tribe to Integrate in the Mainstream Society

The 1980s and 90s of the last century witnessed greater commitment for community participation to solve development problems. Local communities were expected to become the active collaborators in the conservation and management programs, and participatory agenda was expected to expand from narrow project objectives to broader social and economic goals which are crucial for the long-term success of the conservation. A mangrove conservation project was implemented for 5 years with multistakeholder approach to develop a Joint Mangrove Management model. Irula, a marginalized tribal group depending on the mangroves for their livelihood, was identified as one of the primary stakeholders in the project. Social issues like lack of legal identity and lack of education were identified by the community as their priorities to address; degraded mangroves, the primary source for their livelihood, were also listed as one of the priorities. The project successfully facilitated the Irula to get their legal identity and also introduced basic education to the children with the active support of the entire community. A mangrove management unit was demarked for the Irula with the approval of the state forest department in the area where they traditionally do fishing; subsequently the area was restored and managed. After a decade of the project completion, one could witness visible outcomes of the project results in the education of Irula children and the mangroves restored and managed by the Irula community.