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Kerala included two tribal representatives in its State Wildlife Board for the first time on August 11, 2026.
The two are Raman Raja Mannan of the Mannan community and Vinod, a researcher associated with the Cholanaikkan community of Nilambur.
The State Wildlife Board in Kerala functions under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister.
The announcement was made at Thekkady during Oorunarvu, a Forest Department outreach initiative at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Kerala also announced a Rs 50-crore ecotourism proposal including a Rs 20-crore tiger museum at Thekkady.
The State Board for Wildlife is a statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, chaired by the Chief Minister of the state. It advises the state government on the selection and management of protected areas, on measures for wildlife conservation, and on proposals affecting land inside sanctuaries and national parks. The national counterpart is the National Board for Wildlife, chaired by the Prime Minister. Placing tribal representatives on such a board is significant precisely because it is statutory rather than advisory in an informal sense — it puts indigenous knowledge inside the formal decision-making structure for forest and wildlife governance.
Simple Analogy: The difference between being consulted at the door and having a seat at the table where the decision is recorded.
GS Paper II > Governance and Vulnerable Sections; GS Paper III > Conservation
General Awareness > State Current Affairs
A statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, chaired by the Chief Minister, advising the state on wildlife conservation and protected areas.
An indigenous community of Kerala associated with the Nilambur forests in Malappuram district.
A Kerala Forest Department outreach initiative for interaction between tribal communities and forest officials.