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Introduction

An area of the Nelliampathy–Anamalai landscape of the southern Western Ghats in India known as the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is one of the country's most ecologically significant areas. It is situated in Kerala's Palakkad District. It is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, supporting a variety of habitat types. IIt is characterized by endemism, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests, and shola forests. Low, marshy grasslands, or vayals, are another uncommon environment. With a total size of 643.66 km², including a core area of 390.89 km² and a buffer area of 252.77 km², it was designated a tiger reserve in 2010. Along with a healthy population of tigers, this area is home to large carnivores including the leopard, wild dog and sloth bear. It is also home to elephants and other herbivores, such as the spotted deer and sambar.

Management Strengths:

Due to the contiguity with Anamalai TR of Tamil Nadu and the PAs in the Munnar landscape and the interspersed forest areas in various territorial FDs in the Kerala part, the core, the buffer and adjoining areas of Parambikulam TR make one of the best potential locations for the long-term conservation of tiger and its ecosystems.
Systematic monitoring of the tiger population is in place through a well trained tiger monitoring team.
There is a good network of roads and trek paths for patrolling. Smart patrolling is in place, and arrangements for reviewing it regularly have been made. The smart patrolling system is working efficiently.
There is almost negligible biotic pressure on the habitat of the core, viz., there is no fuelwood collection, no cattle grazing and no tourism in the core area.
There is very healthy support from dependent local communities through EDCs. The EDCs are working well here, and they are involved in the management activities of the tiger reserve. Local communities are getting their livelihood through eco-tourism and other management activities of the reserve.
Several man-made reservoirs and natural river systems, besides adding to the beauty of the place, support several unique life forms. Also, Parambikulam provides the life support system for the human population living in the plains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu by supplying good water and air. Water harvested from PKMTR is used for irrigating several lakhs of hectares of farmland, in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Water is also not the limiting factor for the wild animals.
The reserve is rich in RET species and endemic plants and animals. The habitats supporting a suitable prey base (sambar and spotted deer), and thus sufficient food is available for the carnivores.
A network of patrolling camps at strategic locations has been established to undertake anti-poaching activities. Due to this effort, poaching of large carnivores is stated to be totally stopped. An extensive and well-documented protection plan is in place. The field staff are locally trained in dealing with poaching and other emergency situations.
The area is not prone to fire despite there being good numbers of bamboo clumps due to the moist conditions prevailing in large tracts, and there are no human settlements in the core confined within the enclaved villages.
There is inter-state coordination and bilateral support, fostered through regular meetings, interactions and exchange of relevant information in a planned manner.
With its biological richness, the reserve offers excellent scope for scientific research. The recently developed research infrastructure facility makes it a tempting place for the scientific community.
The aesthetic appeal of the reserve with its lush greenery, magnificent wildlife, inviting peaks, serene valleys, meandering rivers and placid lakes adds to the ecotourism value of the area.
The intangible benefits accruing from the reserve are enormous and invaluable. Specifically, this is a carbon sink and an important life-support system for the vast adjacent plains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Management Weaknesses:

Due to the hilly terrain, steep slopes and very thick vegetation, some areas become inaccessible during the monsoon, and thus there is difficulty in patrolling.
Power lines and tar roads through the core area are a source of disturbance and create protection issues and cause man–animal conflicts.
Invasions of woody and exotic species into the grasslands/vayals disturb the support system of the prey base.
Non-registration of licensed arms holders at the periphery of PA is a cause of concern for the protection of sandalwood and the fauna.
The lack of a buffer on the northern and western sides of the tiger reserve may create an adverse impact in the future.
The large size of administrative units and the inadequate staff lead to adverse impacts on the protection and management needs.
Posting of staff members without an orientation towards wildlife management is a major concern for the management.
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is landlocked and is surrounded by Tamil Nadu over a long length of the boundary, and the remaining border within the Kerala side is inaccessible, with difficult terrain. The Field Director, with HQ at Palakkad, has to access Parambikulam Tiger Reserve through Tamil Nadu only.
Inadequate communication facilities and a very poor mobile network of BSNL make the job of the Dy. Director and the other field staff difficult. In case of emergencies, they cannot get immediate support from the district administration and their own senior officers.
Poor infrastructure and camping facilities affect the management of the tiger reserve.
The long inter-state boundary, private estates on the boundary and inter-state sandalwood smuggling impact the protection of the flora and fauna of the reserve.

Immediate Actionable Points:

Local communities, mainly indigenous tribes in the enclaved villages within the core area, are totally dependent for employment and their livelihood on the tiger reserve management. This is not sustainable with the growth of the population in near future. There is a lack of higher education facilities and skill development programs for men and women to encourage them to get reasonable employment/jobs outside of the cities and come into the mainstream of development. So, the management must initiate action on these issues of education, health and skill development in an organised manner with support from the state government and make the core area inviolate.
There has been little enhancement of economic activity over the years for the forest-dependent people residing within the TR. In the past, due to sterling efforts of the TR Management, all cattle grazing was stopped in the area. As an incentive to sacrifice their cattle, the owners at the time were provided jobs and opportunities by the forest department. However, those who did not have cattle were not given the same opportunity and have started to expect and demand some opportunities. The management is to look into their expectations.
The electric lines passing through the core area need to be insulated in a phased manner to avoid electrocution of wild animals and creating fires in the forests in the future.
The vehicular traffic on the tar road passing through the core and non-core areas needs to be regulated by ensuring that there is a definite time lag between two vehicles at any point of time so that movements of a large number of wild animals are not affected by these roads on and adjoining such roads.
Due to the inaccessibility of large areas during the monsoon, more patrolling posts, communication gadgets and camping facilities are needed to monitor the sensitive areas thoroughly.
There should be a plan for the management of grasslands/vayals to keep them free of woody vegetative growth and invasions of exotic species. There should be annual habitat management operations in a well-planned manner as palatable grasslands are key to supporting the prey base of the desired number.
All vacant posts among the frontline staff should be filled up at the earliest to fulfil the managerial needs, giving priority to those who have an inclination and orientation towards working in a PA.
Female staff members need to be provided with rooms/accommodation in the camps separately, not mixed with those of the men, i.e., either in different floors in multi-storey buildings or in different wings on the ground floor. Their rooms need to be attached with bathrooms.
While on patrolling duty with men, arrangement of temporary toilets for female field staff on patrolling routes need to be provided. These may be damaged by wild animals like elephants, etc. Still they need to be provided and repaired as and when damaged.
Registration of licensed arms of villagers residing within the TR or within 10 km from the boundary of the TR needs to be taken up on priority in consultation with the district administration for an effective check on poaching and smuggling of sandalwood as per the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Infrastructure at vantage positions should be created to facilitate the working of the management in a more organized manner.
The Government of India is to take special care for the timely release of the CSP Fund under Project Tiger so that grassroots workers like watchers get their wages timely and the management is able to execute all the planned work in time.
Since there is a definite threat from poachers and smugglers, patrolling during the night time need to be more organised and as effective as it that during the daytime.
The state government to provide the Dy. Director and other Range Officers of the tiger reserve with satellite phones to overcome the poor network problem and inaccessibility to the District HQ as well as to tackle any emergency effectively.
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve has a very young Field Director whose HQ, Palakkad, is quite far from the tiger reserve boundary. He has to approach the tiger reserve through Tamil Nadu only as the approach through Kerala is very difficult. The FD has been given an additional charge of another circle also. Thus he may not be able to devote time and supervise the field work of Parambikulam TR. The state government to kindly take steps to make him free from additional charges of the other circle.

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Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

Introduction

Management Strengths:

Management Weaknesses:

Immediate Actionable Points:

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