Conservation strategy and real time monitering of periyar tiger reserve, kerala.

1. Biodiversity Conservation and Real
time monitoring in Periyar tiger
reserve
Submitted by,
Shamnas M N , R.No:29
Shinu s muhammad, R No:30
Sivasanth P, R No:31
Sooraj Bhaskar, R No:32

2.  Periyar Tiger Reserve is located in
the Southern part of Western Ghats
 PTR is one of the most visited
protected areas in India, bagged the
title of the Best managed Tiger
Reserve among 54 Tiger Reserves
in the country
 PTR falls in the Idukki, Kottayam,
and Pathanamthitta districts of
Kerala.
 The Sanctuary was brought under
Project Tiger in 1978 as the
10th Tiger Reserve in the country
and named Periyar Tiger Reserve
PTR- INTRODUCTION

3. Core: 881
Km2
Buffer:
44 Km2
East Div.
707 Km2
West Div.
218 Km2
Total Area:
925Km2
ADMINISTRATIVE AREA

4. Nellikkampetty Game Sanctuary
1934
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
1950
Periyar Tiger Reserve
1978
Periyar National Park
1982
Project Elephant Reserve
1992
India Eco-development Project
1996
Periyar Foundation
2004
Addition of 148 km2 as Core or Critical Tiger Habitat
2007
Periyar Foundation as Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation
2012
Timeline of PTR

5. Why to conserve PTR
ECOLOGICAL
Water shed-tropical & subtropical rain forests (74%)
1980+ plant species- 26% endemic, 7.5% threatened
76 mammals (13 WG endemic), 338 birds ( 14 WG endemic),
68 reptiles (27 WG endemic)
68 fish (7 endemic) 262 butterflies (20 WG endemic)
ECONOMIC
Subsistence & Supplemental income
Irrigation & Power
Tourism
CULTURAL
Religious Sites
Indigenous people- Mannan, Paliyan, Urali, Ulladan,
Malaarayas, Malampandaram

6. Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Sambar (Cervus unicolor)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Leopard (Prionailurus bengalensis)
Indian Wild dog (Cuon alpinus)
Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak)
Mouse deer (Tragulus meminna)
Monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis)
Wild life of PTR

7.  Periyar Tiger Reserve a model for participatory approach of conservation
 Tribal communities resided in the interior areas voluntarily shifted to fringe of the Park
in 1940’s before launching of Relocation projects
 The eco development activities features People centered approach that leads to successful
conservation.
 A total of 81 Eco development committees were formed in Periyar Tiger Reserve.
 Providing alternate livelihood for ex poachers transformed them in to protectors of PTR
through Ecotourism activities
 Livelihood improvement and Social status upliftment a key approach to transform
poachers to protectors
CONSERVATION

8. 1996
• IEDP Project Start Year
2004
• Inception of Periyar Foundation to continue the programs of IEDP
2006
• The report “Joining the dots” recommended all Tiger Reserves in the country
to form a Foundation. Indian Wildlife Protection (1972) Act, amended section 38
X, making it mandatory to have Tiger Conservation Foundations in all Tiger
Reserves.
2012
• The Periyar Foundation was made Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation (PTCF)
in 2012.

9.  Operations Manual got approved by State Government on 01/11/2017
 Trust Deed was Registered on 25/07/2012
 Operations Manual is an administrative code for the PTCF based on the objectives envisaged
under Section 38(X)(2) of The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
 Contains 7 Chapters which deals with
• Administration
• Asset Creation and Financial Management
• Office Administration and Staff Pattern
• General Conditions of Service
• Procurement of Goods and Services
• Dealing with Projects
• Miscellaneous

10. VASANTHASENA
 Women Eco development
committee
 Well known for voluntary
conservation/protection
activities
 Voluntary Sandal protection
and plastic collection

11. HONEY PROCESSING UNIT
 Honey processing unit
 a facility to process honey collected
by tribal communities.
 Value addition done through
processing ,bottling and labelling of
raw honey received at the unit

12. ORGANIC PEPPER FARMING - COMMUNITY FARMING
 Livelihood support to forest
dependant tribal communities by
Periyar Tiger Reserve
 Cleared tribals from debt
/exploitation through IEDP project
 Export of organic pepper certified
by Lacon Quality certification Pvt.
Ltd
 Organic pepper farming activity by
Mannakudy, Paliyakudy and
Vanchivayal Ecodevelopment
commitees.

13. WOMEN SELF HELP GROUPS
 Women Self Help Groups of
Koruthode ecodevelopment
committee involved in
income generating activities
-improved livelihood …
 Units for paper bag
production, manufacture
ready to eat food.

14. Vanambadikal -Folklore Theatre programme

15.  Mannan tribal community earlier resided in the interior forest areas of Periyar
Tiger Reserve
 Resettled in the fringe of the Park in recent past
 An alternate livelihood support to the tribal community
 Presents the traditional art form before the ecotourists that helps visitors to
understand rich tribal culture and tradition.
TRIBAL FOLK DANCE

16.  Periyar Tiger Reserve was ranked as the top
scorer with 94.38 and was officially declared as
first among the Tiger Reserves in India during
the Commemoration of 50th year of Project
Tiger, April 2023.
 Periyar Landscape - PTCF – Implementation of
All India Tiger Estimation for 5 cycles from
2006-21
 Implementation of All Kerala tiger monitoring
in Periyar LS
 The ranking was carried out on the basis of
tiger monitoring, community participation,
protection and perambulation, human-wildlife
conflict management, utilization of funds,
activities of Periyar Tiger Conservation
Foundation, Training ...
 Capacity building of frontline staff of the State
in Tiger monitoring exercises

17. The MSTrIPES Application is a comprehensive platform that comprises of four modules –
Administrative, Patrol, Ecology and Polygon. Monitoring System for Tigers Intensive Patrolling and
Ecological Status is an application developed for National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) by
Wildlife Insitiute of India.
The Administrative module provides a user-friendly interface to manage users, roles, and access
control.
The Patrol module helps in tracking patrolling activities and monitoring the progress of anti-poaching
activities.
The Ecology module enables data analysis and visualization of tiger population dynamics and habitats.
The Polygon module helps in mapping tiger habitats, analyzing land use patterns, and predicting the
impact of climate change on tiger populations.
 This application is designed to help strengthen tiger conservation efforts by providing better data,
enhanced monitoring, and improved decision-making.

18. SL.
NO
ACTIVITY Local Benifit IMPACT MITIGATION
MEASURES
1
Restructuring of PTR into
periyar East and Periyar
West divisions
Improved administrative
structure for better
management
Lack of integration
Mechanism for ensuring
information and
exchange between two
division
2 Road improvement
Improved infrastructure
for patrolling
Improved access for
illegal activities
Regulation of speed and
construction of barriers
3
Wireless steel towers (28
in number) and fire watch
towers
Improved infrastructure
for better
communication
Some likely visual and
aesthetic impact
Camouflaging may
improve aesthic value

19. 4
Improvement of
Vayals
Provide good feeding
ground for herbivores
Provide hunting ground
for carnivores
Pressures from cattle
grazing and human
interference may lead to
poor utilization of some
vayals and invasion by
weeds may have
degradational impacts
Maintenance of vayals
important for
conservation of marshy
vegetation
Care should be taken
to regularly uproot
exotic weeds such as
Eupatorium and Lantana
5
Weed removal
(Lantana,
Eupatorium, Mikania
spp.)
Improved habitat quality
Removal of Lantana will
reduce cover for grey jungle
fowl, reduce habitat for
butterflies and reduce cover
for otters
Eradication of Lantana to
be confined to Vayals.
Avoid eradication of
Eupatorium along the
lake fringes used by
otters

20. Poachers Turned to Protectors
Ex-vayana bark
collectors
Vidiyal EDC
Ex-Thelli collectors
EDC

21.  An in house team of frontline staff established in 2017
 Trained in Jungle Combat and Survival Techniques
 Engaged for Special Perambulation activities in
Periyar TR and adjoining areas
 Involved in Rescue operations outside TR during
emergency /crisis situations
(Valient Intrepid Powerful Enigmatic Raiders)

22.  Dog squad established in 2016 trained at Border
Security Force, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
 A Periyar Tiger Reserve -WWF- India initiative
 Deals with detection of wildlife crime and
protection activities

23. Rescue of snakes from human habitations
It is intended to minimize threats to snakes and
humans
To avoid any negative interaction between
them
Aims to create awareness among public
regarding snakes and the service they provide to
the ecosystem
It handles snake-bite cases and will help public
to find the nearest place where treatment is
available

24. COMMUNITY BASED ECOTOURISM PROGRAMMES

25. Programmes
Additional Patrolling (Man
hours)
Guest Guids Staff
Tiger Trail 9960 22200 4440
Bamboo Rafting 22563 12645 2529
Jungle Patrol 7557 1662 831
Border Hiking 7965 5544 1386
Nature Walk 7746 1014 0
Jungle Inn 636 636 0
Total 56427 43701 9186
Year
Number of
cases
Number of
persons arrested
2018 22 20
2019 16 22
2020 9 14
2021 6 10
2022 7 11
Total 40 47

26. Real Time Monitoring (Video Surveillance cum communication
enhancer INTRANET) Network
Objectives :
Keeping latest technology cameras deep inside forest which is devoid of any
communication networks and to stream it live back at division office with the
facility of controlling the camera and recording the video
Creating an INTRANET for providing better connectivity including internet
inside our areas including core area camp sheds
Devising a new generation of networking and camera techniques

28. Phase – I
PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) Camera deployed in Poovarassu

29. Phase – I
PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) Camera deployed in Poovarassu
Poovarassu
Mangaladevi
Division Office
PTZ Camera

30. Working Principle
The initiative came from Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation & Amal Jyothi College of
Engineering, Kottayam.
A night vision camera unit, tower, Microwave antenna has been installed at Poovarashu, a
marshy field which is 13 km into the Periyar forest.
The connectivity uses frequency 2.5 GHz to 5 GHz free bandwidth & the method of
transmission is Point to Point
The network is powered by solar panels and the antenna, camera and solar panels are set up at a
height inaccessible to animals.
During daytime, the field of the cameras will be 1 km and 100 metres at night. The camera can
be remotely panned 360 degrees and tilted to cover a wide range of field.
The cost of the system worked out to ₹4.5 lakh, which is inexpensive when compared to other
systems available

31. Phase II- Cameras at Manammutty mala, Kumarikulam and Internet to
Vallakkadavu

32. Deployment of towers
The network was extended to 16 locations
Expense for the second phase was 26 lack.
Total 36 Cameras installed in different locations
& cameras are solar powered.

33. Phase–III Proposed – Connectivity to all Campsheds in PTR East Division

34. Benefits of Real time monitoring system
The Field Director and other officers can have video conferencing to all the field staff sitting in his
office.
Enable paperless communication from field camps to Range Offices and then to Field Director’s office
through Deputy Director.
Field Director or any officer with user credentials can login to the network from any part of the world
and see the cameras setup in the field.
Real time monitoring of flora and fauna
Negligible radiation impact to environment through PTP transmission.
Camera Trap Images can be transmitted directly from field to office, without the physical transportation
of the camera trap devices from the field to office.
Daily M stripes data can be uploaded to the network and managers can evaluate the perambulation
pattern.
Can be used to track radio collared animal Etc.....

35. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
 MEE- Evaluation - Periyar Tiger Reserve was ranked as the top
scorer with 94.38 declared as first among the Tiger Reserves in India
during the Commemoration of 50th year of Project Tiger, April 2023
 NTCAAward for Excellence: 2016 (In recognition of outstanding
performance in the field ofAnti-Poaching)
 NTCAAward for Excellence: 2012-14 (Co-occurrence and Eliciting
Local Public support)
 WWF-Pacific Asia TravelAssociation (PATA)- Bagh MitraAward 2014
 The Chief Minister’s Award for Innovation in Public Policy 2013 –
(SAPP EDC)
 Kerala State Biodiversity Award 2013
 U.N.D.P - India Biodiversity Awards 2012 – Best PAin the country
 David Shepherd Wildlife Award – 2008
 Best EDC Award for Vidiyal EDC-2007
 Sanctuary AsiaAward for Outstanding individual performance in
Wildlife Conservation-2007

36. PUBLICATIONS- PTCF

37.  Website of Wildlife Institute of India
(https://wii.gov.in/eia/casestudies/ecodevelopment_projects_
periyar_tiger_reserve_table1)
 Official website of Periyar tiger reserve
(https://www.periyartigerreserve.org/)
 Official website of NTCA
(https://ntca.gov.in/)

38. THANKS…