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Environment and Disaster Management › Protected areas and habitats

Protected area management

How India's tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries are run and evaluated, including the Management Effectiveness Evaluation.

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See all: Prelims · Mains

StandardPrelims and Mains25 Sep 2026

The Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEE-TR) is a systematic assessment of how well a reserve is managed to achieve its conservation objectives: the adequacy of planning, resources and systems, and whether they translate into results.
India uses a framework adapted from the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, which assesses six elements: context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Independent multidisciplinary teams do the evaluation.
Begun in 2006, five cycles have run at four year intervals, the last in 2022 covering 51 reserves.

On 25 September 2026 the Environment Minister launched the sixth cycle, run by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with the Wildlife Institute of India, covering all 58 tiger reserves.
For the first time solid waste management is a separate criterion, covering waste at forest chowkis, from tourism, and biomedical waste at rescue centres. The assessment also covers tiger and prey conservation, habitat, protection and wildlife crime, monitoring and health, fire and disaster management, human wildlife coexistence, community engagement, tourism, landscape connectivity, and planning and resources.

The evaluation is not a census; it grades management, not tigers. A reserve can hold more tigers and still score poorly on waste, fire or community engagement, and the scores drive where the Authority's money and attention go.

Prelims: six IUCN elements; cycles since 2006, every four years; 58 reserves in 2026; the new waste criterion; NTCA with the Wildlife Institute of India.
Mains: evaluating a protected area on management rather than on headcount.

Show the questions

Prelims 2020: Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under "Critical Tiger Habitat" ?
Prelims 2026: With reference to Madhav National Park, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It was declared a Tiger Reserve in India in 2025. 2. Sakhya Sagar, which is designated as a Ramsar Site, is situated within this National Park. 3. Its area is shared between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Prelims 2014: Consider the following statements: 1. Animal Welfare Board of India is established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. 2. National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body. 3. National Ganga River Basin Authority is chaired by the Prime Minister. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Sources

PIB, 25 September 2026, “Union Environment Minister launches Inception Workshop for 6th Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in India; Technical Manual for MEE-TR 2026 released”
The Better India, 12 October 2026