Anthropogenic Threats and Conservation Practices: Evaluating LULC Changes in Relocated Villages of Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India

Protected areas globally, including India, face anthropogenic threats despite environmental and forest protection laws. To reduce these pressures, conservation related settlement evacuation from protected areas has been a common conservation practice for decades in many countries. Controversies aside, studies have shown that evacuation of settlements from protected areas has a positive impact on forest cover change and biodiversity increase. Here in this study, we conducted this study for the 14 relocated village sites of Panna Tiger Reserve to see the changes in major Land use Land cover changes over 15 years (2004-2019). We observed a significant increase in forested areas in those regions over time, as well as prominent changes in different land cover classes. The increase in Grassland, Open Forest, and Dense Forest from 2004 to 2019 was significant, and settlements in relocated areas were mainly converted to different forest types. Additionally, fieldwork and camera trap data showed that the relocated sites with established woodlands and other forest classes supported higher animal diversity and species composition compared to other sites. This study provides a knowledge base for conservation and management practices by identifying significant changes in various land use and land cover classes.