PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE

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Context

• The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala is the best-maintained of all tiger reserves in the country, according to the 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) carried out by the Centre.

About MEE

• India is the only country in the world that has institutionalized the MEE process. It has successfully completed five cycles of MEE of Tiger Reserve in the country.
  • First cycle 28 Tiger Reserves 2006
  • Second cycle 39 Tiger Reserves 2010
  • Third cycle 43 Tiger Reserves 2014
  • Fourth cycle 50 Tiger Reserves 2018
  • Fifth cycle 51 Tiger Reserves 2022

Findings of MEE

• The MEE results suggested an overall improvement in the management effectiveness of the tiger reserves.
• The overall mean MEE score in the second cycle in 2010 was 65%, 69% in third cycle in 2014, and 70% in fourth cycle of evaluation in 2018 and 77.92% in present assessment.
• In the 5th cycle, there are 12 Tiger Reserves that have scored 90% and above and therefore a new category of ‘Excellent’ has been added.
• Twelve 12 tiger reserves have ranked in the “Excellent” category, followed by 20 in the ‘Very Good’ category, 14 in the ‘Good’ category and 5 in the ‘Fair’ category. None of the country’s tiger reserves was graded as ‘Poor’.
• The report, however, points out that the headline indicator — ‘carbon capture and climate change’ — has received the lowest score in the current cycle, as there is no mandate for it in Tiger Conservation Plans.
• Periyar reserve has obtained an MEE score of 94.3%.
• The other top rankers are:
  • Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh
  • Bandipur in Karnataka and
  • Nagarhole in Karnataka.

About MEE of tigers

• The government has been using the MEE to assess tiger reserves across the country since its inception in 2006.

• 53 Tiger Reserves have been notified, which serve as an additional layer of protection around PAs.
• Of these 53 tiger reserves, however, only 51, covering a total area of 73,765 sq km, were evaluated as two newly declared tiger reserves, Ramgarh Visdhari and Ranipur, have not been included in the current cycle of MEE.

About Periyar Tiger Reserve

• The Periyar Tiger Reserve, named after the Periyar River, is one of our prestigious possessions on the High Ranges of Western Ghats.
• Area:777 sq. km.
• Year of formation: Declared a Sanctuary during 1950 and declared as Tiger Reserve during 1978.
• Topography: Altitude ranging from 900 to 2000m . Highest peak is Kottamala (2016m).
• Drainage: The major rivers through the reserve are Mullayar and Periyar. Several streams feeding these two rivers and the  amba and Azhuta River from the major source of water for the reserve
• Forest Types: The forest types include Tropical evergreen forests, tropical semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests,  rasslands and eucalyptus plantations.
• Biodiversity: 
  • The major tree species are Vateria indica, Dipterocarpus indicus, Cullenia excelsa, Palaquium ellipticum etc.
  • 62 species of mammals, 315 sp. of birds, 45 species of reptiles, 16 species of amphibians and 38 species of fishes are reported from the sanctuary.
  • Elephant, Gaur, ,Panther, Sambar, barking deer, Wildboar, Sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, Lion-tailed macaque, Otter, Malabar  giant squirrel, Wild dog etc are the major mammals.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/periyar-tiger-reserve-gets-top-rank-in-management-review-none-poor-8547546/