KERALA LEADS IN MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION (MEE) FOR PROTECTED AREAS (2020–25)

Current Context: In the 2020–25 MEE of 438 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, Kerala (76.22%) and Chandigarh (85.16%) topped state/UT rankings .

 ABOUT MEE

• Conducted by: Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change via Wildlife Institute of India (ICCON, Dehradun) .
• Scale & Criteria:
  • 438 protected areas across India
  • Evaluated every 5 years on 32 parameters (habitat management, species monitoring, anti-poaching, eco-tourism)
  • Scores graded: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
• National Findings:
  •  National average improved from 60.5% to 64.4%
  • 84 sites rated ‘Very Good’
  • Ladakh scored lowest (34.9%)

 KERALA & PROTECTED AREAS

• Kerala MEE Score:22% – highest among states.
• Top Parks:
  • Eravikulam National Park (92.97%) – tied with Dachigam, excelled in community-led conservation.
  • Mathikettan Shola NP (90.6%), Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (89.8%) – both Kerala parks in top six.
• Areas for Improvement:
  • Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary (Kochi): suffers pollution and urban pressure.
  • Idukki & Wayanad sanctuaries: face challenges like cattle intrusion and human-wildlife conflict