KOZHIKODE: Showing signs of improvement in the mangrove cover across the state, the Annual Report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) 2011-12, which was released recently, notes that the mangrove cover in Kerala has increased for the first time since 2005.

According to the report, the total mangrove cover in the state is now spread across a total area of 6 km2. Though the mangrove was spread across an area of 8 km2 in the year 2003, it had declined to 5 km2 during the last survey conducted in 2009.