25 August 2019


All is not well with the twin tiger reserves in Kerala.

From porous borders to illegal interstate entry points and large tracts of unprotected forests, which form the core of the reserves, much needs to be done on the ground at the Periyar and Parambikulam tiger reserves for improving their management.

The recently released Status of Tigers in India-2018 report and the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) paint a rosy picture of the two reserves. The growing tiger population in the Kerala forests and the top scores of the reserves in the MEE have hogged national attention.
Periyar reserve

On an individual scale, Periyar has scored 93.75% and is given “good” rating for management effectiveness. Evergreen forests form more than half of the core area of the reserve. The core area is free of human settlements and biotic interferences there is negligible, points out the report.

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