Between the Western Ghats’ recent World Heritage Site designation and Periyar Tiger Reserve’s U.N. accolades reported here, awareness of our neighborhood is most certainly on the rise.

We’ve commented on PTR’s enlightened leadership previously, but it’s always encouraging to hear additional applause.

The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) has won the coveted U.N.-India Biodiversity Governance award instituted by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the best managed protected area of the country.

According to Mr. Sanjayankumar, the holistic approach adopted towards conservation, protection and management of the park earned the reserve laurels. Equal attention was being given to research, wildlife protection, pilgrim management, and participatory forest management practices at the reserve, he said.

Experts had thoroughly assessed the management mechanism, people’s participation in conservation, and protection measures and sustainable eco-tourism practice of the PTR. The expert committee had visited the park and interacted with various stakeholders as part of the evaluation process, he said.

The recognition was conferred on the reserve in the presence of delegates from more than 100 countries attending the conference. The award is expected to bring international recognition and attention to the reserve, said an elated Mr. Sanjayankumar.

All of us at Raxa Collective share in the standing ovation!

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