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 and released alongside the Tiger Census.
The Periyar Reserve tops the list with a Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) score of 94.38% among the 51 reserves evaluated.
It was followed by Satpura and Bandipur at the second position (93.18%), while Nagarhole stood third (92.42%).
This is followed by 20 in the 'Very Good' category, 14 in the 'Good' category and 5 in the 'Fair' category. None of the tiger reserves in the country has been classified as 'poor'.
Of these 53 tiger reserves, only 51 covering a total area of 73,765 sq km were assessed, not including the two newly declared tiger reserves, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Ranipur.
MEE is the most significant approach to enhance the management perspectives of reserves and their associated landscape connectivity.
