5th Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation

• 10 Apr 2023

On April 9th, 2023, the Centre released the 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE), which assesses the management of tiger reserves in India.

• The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala has been ranked as the best-maintained tiger reserve in India.
• While Periyar reserve has obtained an MEE score of 94.3%, it is followed closely by the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Bandipur in Karnataka and Nagarhole in Karnataka.
• None of the country's tiger reserves were graded as 'Poor' in the MEE report.
• The overall mean MEE score has increased from 65% in the second cycle in 2010 to 77.92% in the present assessment, indicating continuous improvement in management effectiveness.
• 12 tiger reserves ranked in the 'Excellent' category, followed by 20 in the 'Very Good' category, 14 in the 'Good' category, and 5 in the 'Fair' category.
• The headline indicator 'carbon capture and climate change' received the lowest score in the current cycle due to the absence of a mandate for it in Tiger Conservation Plans.