Kerala's Periyar Tiger Reserve bagged NTCA award for public participation

The Kerala situated Periyar Tiger Reserve has got the National Tiger Conservation Authority Award on January 20, 2015. The reserve has been awarded for having brought about awareness amog people for managing the reserve and working effectively towards development and thereby leading to more of public participation for the cause. The reserve is spread over 925 sq. km.

The reserve for protection of tigers was an initiative by the India Eco-Development project (IEDP). People's participation started in the reserve in December 1996. This was a community based initiative and worked for promotion of eco-tourism in the area along with cultivation of pepper and its marketing.

The Periyar Foundation in 2006 was thereby a set for other reserves adhering to biodiversity conservation and community participation in order to manage natural resources. The activity involved about 75 communities living in the area already. Tribal people were also a part of the entire initiative and promotion.

In total there are 19 eco-tourism programmes. These are apart from village eco development programmes. All these programmes promote and involve a large amount of public participation in managing the reserve.

The community-based eco-tourism activities help visitors and there are night scouting programmes with the help of expert trackers as well. As mentioned above earlier pepper growing and marketing was an initiation in the area, now, there are also self-help groups involved in honey processing and other income-generating activities.