India has achieved a significant milestone in biodiversity conservation by successfully completing two comprehensive cycles of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) for National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries. Since the initiative began in 2003 with the assessment of just three heritage sites, the MEE process has steadily expanded and adopted the internationally recognized framework developed by the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). This framework has been meticulously adapted to reflect India’s rich ecological diversity, geographical variations, and cultural contexts.

Today, India manages approximately 1,134 Protected Areas (PAs), including 106 National Parks, 574 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 58 Tiger Reserves (TRs), and 132 Coastal and Marine Protected Areas (CMPAs). In the first cycle of evaluation, 442 PAs were assessed, achieving an average MEE score of 60.52%. The most recent repeat cycle evaluated 438 PAs and showed a positive trend, with the average management score increasing to 64.41%. This upward trajectory underscores India’s ongoing efforts to strengthen management practices, improve conservation outcomes, and ensure sustainable management of its biodiversity resources.

India has also rigorously evaluated the management practices of its tiger habitats through dedicated assessments conducted across five cycles. Starting in 2006 with 28 Tiger Reserves (TRs), the scope expanded in 2010 to include 39 TRs, and further to 43 TRs in 2014. In 2018, 50 TRs were evaluated, reflecting an intensified focus on flagship species conservation. The latest evaluation in 2022 expanded this effort to 51 TRs, demonstrating India’s unwavering commitment to tiger conservation and habitat management.

A hallmark of India’s MEE initiative is its emphasis on tracking progress within individual protected areas over time. This approach fosters transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement by providing detailed SWAP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Action points, and Progress) reports that help managers refine strategies, reallocate resources, and implement targeted conservation measures. Importantly, these scores are meant for internal assessment and progress tracking rather than inter-site comparison, thereby promoting a nuanced, context-specific approach to management.

India's dedication extends beyond terrestrial ecosystems, as evidenced by the ongoing evaluation of 113 CMPAs. These systematic assessments support the country’s commitments under Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to ensure that at least 30% of protected areas are effectively managed. Collectively, these efforts exemplify India’s leadership in conservation, demonstrating a strong approach to safeguarding its vast and invaluable biodiversity heritage for present and future generations.

India has made a beginning in evaluating the management effectiveness of its world heritage sites, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves since 2003.

The abstract of MEE exercises conducted in India is given below:

In-depth Evidence based assessment

3 World Heritage Sites (https://whc.unesco.org/en/eoh/)

Rapid Expert-based scorecard : National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries

First Cycle: 2006-19

Second Cycle: 2020-2025

Comprehensive system-wide, Peer-based assessment : Tiger Reserves Network

First Cycle:

MEE of 28 Tiger Reserves (2006): completed

Second Cycle:

MEE of 39 Tiger Reserves (2010): completed

Third Cycle:

MEE of 43 Tiger Reserves (2014): completed

Fourth Cycle:

MEE of 50 Tiger Reserves (2018): completed

Fifth Cycle:

MEE of 51 Tiger Reserves (2022)