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Introduction

KMTR is the first tiger reserve in the state of Tamil Nadu and the 17th tiger reserve in the country. It was declared in 1988. It is the southernmost habitat of tigers in the country. KMTR is located in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu.

It is one of the five tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu. It is situated at the southern end of the Western Ghats, in the Ashambu Hills. It has an extent of 1601.542 km², including a pristine core area of extent 895 km², a forested buffer of extent 236.64 km² and a 469.90 km² eco-development buffer on the eastern side. It consists of four sanctuaries, namely, Kalakad Sanctuary, Mundanthurai Sanctuary and a part of Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary as well as a part of Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary. It also forms part of the interstate Agasthiyar Malai Biosphere Reserve. KMTR has connectivity with Periyar Tiger Reserve, and the two Tiger Conservation Units form a part of the Agasthiyar Malai Landscape.

There are 13 enclaves without any habitations, four tribal settlements, three Electricity Board establishments and colonies and a leased-out area (BBTC) located within the core area of the tiger reserve. Tribals are very dependent on the tiger reserve for their livelihood. The Tiger Conservation Plan has been approved and is valid up to 2024–25

Management Strengths:

Large, contiguous habitat. KMTR consists of large contiguous patches of forest and is thus a suitable habitat for wildlife. Along with Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary and Periyar Tiger Reserve, it forms part of the interstate Agasthiyar Malai Biosphere Reserve.
Area with rich biodiversity. Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, being part of the Western Ghats, has been recognized as one of the three mega-centres of endemism in India and one of the two global hotspots of biodiversity in India. The reserve has 11 forest types with multiple habitats. This reserve has been identified as among the Type-1 Tiger Conservation Units (TCU) representing the tropical moist evergreen forests worldwide.
Excellent water regime. KMTR has three major watershed areas: Upper Kodayar, Manimuthar and Thamirabarani. The Upper Kodayar Plateau, which receives around 5000 mm of rainfall. There are as many as 14 rivers flowing through the sanctuary and meeting the irrigation and drinking water needs of Kanayakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts and the drinking water needs of part of Virudhunagar District. The reserve has seven dams, and hydroelectric power production is carried out in three dams. Due to the perennial flow of water in the River Thamirabarani and presence of 13 other rivers, the reserve is called the “River Sanctuary”, and fortunately the major portion of the catchment areas is situated in the inaccessible sholas and thick evergreen forests in the higher reaches.
Low threat of habitat fragmentation. There is a single-road network, and aconsiderable part of KMTR, especially the core, is inaccessible. There are no national highways/state highways cutting across the reserve and linking the major towns or cities outside the reserve. Most of the roads are for approaching habitations within the tiger reserve. Therefore the scope for fragmentation of the habitat due to the demand for widening of national and state highways is relatively low.
Suitable for ‘vantage-point’ monitoring. The TR area is hilly and undulating. The hills and high mountain tops, with a commanding view of the surrounding area, are suitable for look-out/vantage points for monitoring the movements of wild animals as well as humans.
Low threat of habitat modification due to invasive species. Invasive species could not find their way into KMTR, and therefore they are not a major threat except in the Mundanthurai plateau.
Low human–wildlife conflict. There are not many human–wildlife conflicts in the core area. However a few human–wildlife conflicts have been reported mainly due to crop depredation by wild elephants, wild boars and other herbivores. Leopard attacks on livestock have been reported.
Strong participatory management network. With 263 well-established eco-development/village forest committees in villages around the eco-development buffer zone of the tiger reserve, participatory management has taken roots in KMTR. Involvement of EDC/VFC members in various activities of protection, conservation and habitat management and improvement has had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the tiger reserve management.

Management Weaknesses:

Presence of human and other biotic interference, There are uninhabited enclaves, four tribal settlements with a low population density, three Electricity Board establishments and one area leased out (to BBTC) on a lease of 50 years, which expires in 2028, located within the tiger reserve. Tribal people from four settlements are still dependent on the tiger reserve for their livelihood, fuel, fodder and MFP collection and grazing. There are 241 hamlets of 55 revenue villages which are located at 5 km from the reserve boundary. They are involved in various agricultural practices, making the fringe area vulnerable to human–wildlife conflict, largely in the form of crop depredation by elephants, gaur and other wild animals. Due to legal complications, there is a delay in dealing with removal of private enclaves and encroachments from the core area.
Impact of invasive species. Mundanthurai plateau is infested with exotic weeds such as Lantana camara and Eupatorium species. They are invading the grasslands. An unpalatable thick growth of lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) is also a bottleneck in the restoration of the grasslands of Mundanthurai plateau.
Encroachment of grassland by forest species. The grasslands have also been encroached by forestry species in Mundanthurai Plateau as well as in the lowest slopes of Sengaltheri, thereby affecting the populations of many wild animals including the spotted deer.
Low population density of tigers. The 2010 estimation indicates a minimum population 3.0 ± 1.1 tigers/100 km² though the projected carrying capacity in the KMTR habitat is approximately 12.61 tigers/100 km². This may be due to many negative factors like disappearing grasslands, human disturbances and inadequate protection.
Relatively less stable position of manpower resources. The TR management is relatively less stable, especially the top-level management. The tenure of the FD is found to be on average less than 1 year during last 4 years. Similarly two divisions of the TR have seen five Dy Directors in this period of 4 years. Fast changes of managers/officers have adverse impacts on the execution of the TCP prescriptions, especially when almost all the Range Officers of the seven ranges are new in service.
Poor patrolling in inaccessible areas. Part of the tiger reserve area has been declared as inaccessible, where there is no road network and no patrolling. Such areas are quite vulnerable to poaching and smuggling of wild animals.
Lack of wildlife management-trained staff. :Most of the field staff do not have any formal training in wildlife management.
Monitoring of implementation of TCP. The TCP of the reserve is under execution since 2015–16. As per discussions with the management, though the TCP is in its eighth year of implementation, neither has the mid-term review been carried out nor has the exercise for revision been started.

Immediate Actionable Points:

Restoration of grasslands. Immediate efforts are required to restore the grasslands of Mundanthurai plateau not only by way of weed removal but also by restricting the encroachment of the grasslands by trees. A specific action plan needs to be prepared for restoring the grasslands of Mundanthurai plateau along with a strategy to execute it. It should form part of the revised TCP for the period from 2025–26 to 2034–35.
Protection in inaccessible areas. Since a road network has not been created all over the tiger reserve, areas devoid of a road network have been declared inaccessible. But these areas are accessible to poachers and smugglers of the region, and so patrolling by the field staff in such areas on foot is required. They should camp in such areas in temporary establishments like machans on tree tops or by pitching portable tents, etc. for better protection against poaching and smuggling of sandalwood, other timber species and NTFP.
Inadequacy of modern technology tools. The protection in the inaccessibleareascould be strengthened by using technology in monitoring and habitat improvement. The use of drones and high-resolution cameras in inaccessible areas could ease the problem of management.
More anti-poaching camps (APCs). Keeping in view the large area of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, extending over 1601.542 km², the number of existing APCs (39) is quite inadequate. More camps at strategic locations need to be provided immediately with adequate infrastructure.
Expeditious disposal of legal case for removal of enclaves. The ongoing efforts to acquire the land of enclaved villages and declaring it as forest land needs to be pursued vigorously for the improvement of the habitat. The state government to make special efforts to ensure expeditious disposal of court cases.
Strengthening EDCs. The good work of the Eco-Development Division of KMTR with good financial resources, as done in Mylar Kanikudieruppa EDC, needs to be adopted in other EDCs also, especially in the tribal settlements in the core area of KMTR. The main focus must be on education and skill development so that the younger generation get employment outside KMTR and the dependence on the forest is reduced.
Stability in management tenure. The Government of Tamil Nadu and CWLW Tamil Nadu to kindly ensure that officers at the Field Director, Dy Director and even at range level have relatively stable tenures of a minimum 3 years’ duration so that consistency in directions given to the field staff is maintained for better management and implementation of TCP prescriptions.
Formal wildlife management training. The state government should make efforts to ensure that at least one officer among the Field Director and Dy Directors of division has got formal basic training in wildlife management at the Wildlife Institute of India. Similarly, at least an officer at the field level, viz, Range Officer or Forester, in the tiger reserve is formally trained (viz, 3-month course at WII) in wildlife management.
Enhancing adventure eco-tourism: The TR management should revisit its eco-tourism plan and plan for adventure and nature tourism so that eco-tourism with the minimal road network and vehicular movement can be encouraged.

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Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

Introduction

Management Strengths:

Management Weaknesses:

Immediate Actionable Points:

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