Environment and Ecology
National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) fifth cycle of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) for 2022.
- The Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) ranked fifth and eighth among the 54 tiger reserves in the country, besides improving their ranking from ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’.
- The two are among the 12 tiger reserves in the ‘excellent’ ’ category.
- The Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) and the Kalakkad and Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) continued to be in the ‘very good’ category
- Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve, which underwent its first MEE assessment after being declared a tiger reserve in 2021, was adjudged to be ‘good’.
Periyar Tiger Reserve:
- The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala is the country’s best-maintained tiger reserve, according to the 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) carried out by the Centre.
About Periyar Tiger Reserve:
- It is located in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
- It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978.
- It gets its name from the River Periyar, which has its origin deep inside the reserve.
- Two main rivers, Pamba and Periyar, drain the reserve.
Bandipur Tiger Reserve:
- Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka has secured the second place. However, it shares the second slot with Satpura Tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
- The government has been using the MEE to assess tiger reserves across the country since its inception in 2006. The MEE report is prepared based on conservation management plans, activities, process, and results.
- This helps formulating a mechanism for preserving the forest system by making good use of local resources.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):
- It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
- It was established in 2005.
- It was constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.
