For involving local people in managing the habitat The Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq.km. in Kerala, bagged the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award on Tuesday for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve. There are 75 communities living around the reserve, including tribal people who are dependent on eco-development programmes, said field director of the reserve Amit Mallick on Tuesday. The community-based eco-tourism activities helped visitors and there were night scouting programmes with the help of expert trackers as well. Tourism was supplemented by pepper growing and marketing which was a value addition. Now, self-help groups were involved in honey processing and other income-generating activities, Dr. Mallick said.