Periyar Tiger Reserve turns 75

 
Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), the first wildlife sanctuary in Kerala, has turned 75. the year-long platinum jubilee celebrations of the sanctuary eill begin with a two-day national seminar on "people and Tigers Shifting Trajectories of Ecology and Co-existence" at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for nature Education and Research in Thekkady on September 22 and 23. The subject to be discussed at the seminar are: Status and distribution of Tigers and co predators at national and regional and local levels, threat to ti tiger conservation at national regional and local levels abd technology for investigation of wildlife crimes and related trade, emerging trends and recet advances in estimation techniques of monitoring tigers, co-presators and prey and their habitat, participatory management of tiger reserve, eco-tourism, its livelihood potentials and conservation significance and critical tiger habitats and conservation at the level of landscape. The seminar being organized jointly by the PTR and the Periyar Foundation Society, will be addressed by national and international experts on the subjects. Around 200 delegates from across the country will attend the seminar. The other highlights of the celebrations are: Workshops, nature camp, conservation campaigns, research activities and community-centered initiatives. It was a gentile revolution brought about by hard-work, innovation and dedication of three generations if foresters and individuals who strove hard to maintain the unique identity of the Periyar. But the present changes and potentials arising out of globalization, peopl'es movement, global-warming and food security can be effectively managed only by collective thinking and action, say the PTR and the Foundation.

The New Indian Express, 2nd September 2008