MTR being an integral part of NBR has an important ecosystem that consists of flora, fauna, and yes, the human element in its pristine tribal form. The area houses the Primitive Tribes of Irular, Kattunakayan, Kota, Kurumba, Paniyan, Toda (largely found in the hill area of Ooty/Udhagamandalam), and Badaga (Bala, n.d.,) most whom have been designated Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) by the Indian Federal Government (PVTG (n.d.,). True, there have been anthropogenic changes on account of human influx from other areas. But the place still to an extent is pristine and hence, one needs to understand the socioeconomic, and environmental characteristics from a Tribal perspective, which will mean an economy which is agriculturally oriented, maintained on the forests of the area and the influx of visitors on a day-to-day basis on account of tourism. Clearly setting into motion the human-to-human conflict under the host-guest (visitor) facet; as the human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is managed well considering the Tribes are aware of the flora and fauna for thousands of years. The human-nature conflicts from the Tribal perspective is also very rare as they are aware of the ecosystem which they have been a part of. Speaking about the floral and faunal diversity of MTR, NTCA (n.d.,) mentions of the habitat ranges from semi-evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous to scrub forests. There are several wild relatives of cultivated plants, viz. wild rice, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, solanum, guava, mango, and pepper which serve as a gene pool for the cultivated varieties. The habitat also has swampy areas (Vayals) and grasslands. The faunal assemblage include: elephant, gaur, sambar, four horned antelope, spotted deer, barking deer, blackbuck, wild pig, mouse deer and predators like tiger, leopard, and wild dog. Rajkumar and Boopathi (2022) speak of 260 bird species, which represent 8% of species found in India as well. Clearly one can see a unique ecosystem of Tribes (communities) and a phenomenal flora and fauna.

The Federal Government in India and the Provincial (State) Government of Tamil Nadu have ensured that the fragility of the ecosystem that MTR commands is maintained without much of an external interference, with Tribes themselves playing a dynamic role in managing the resources of the forests. One of the measures that has been put to play is the Ecodevelopment Committee (EDC) which creates opportunities for Community based tourism enterprises (CBTE) that are economic-based, entrepreneurship-oriented initiatives that are generally viewed for the purpose of enhancing Sustainable Tourism Development (STD) (Ngo, et al., 2018). CBTEs have three principles viz.,

1. local community members who are owners of the business,
2. full community involvement in the business management and operation, and
3. the community is the main beneficiary from the business (Spenceley, 2008; Zapata et al., 2011).

One can note and compare the theoretical facets to the actual administration implications on ground in India is that the Forest Ecosystem is managed by the Government in the provincial set-up. Hence, even if the community is part of the same, they are there not as owners, but as partners. Hence, the Forest Departments (FD) create the SPVs that will ensure a direct management by the forest administration, the bureaucracy with the support of the local community. Though community members participate in large numbers, the ultimate control mechanism rests with the FD officers. The community, the forest, the ecology, the environment, the flora, and fauna are no doubt the ultimate beneficiaries. It should be noted here that the Local-self-government (LSG) mechanism of the Gram Panchayat (Village), the taluk Panchayat (large cluster of Villages) and the Zilla Panchayat (three to seven Cluster of Taluk Panchayats) is a well-established set-up. Since the FD does not work with the LSG mechanism, the creation of the EDC construct has ensured a direct control by the forest administrators which will help in protecting, preserving, and conserving the ecosystem identified. The SPVs that have been created over a period, as seen in the later part of the research, is worth noting, and one can see the utilization of the forest resources by the community and the administration in a way as propounded by Nobel Laureate in Economics (2009) Elinor Ostrom who spoke about the common-pool (finite) resources (CPR) and the eight principles for how the commons (community, its people) can be governed sustainably and equitably. The following are the eight principles (Walljasper, 2011).

1. Define clear group boundaries
2. Match rules governing use of common goods to local needs and conditions
3. Ensure that those affected (impacted) by the rules can participate in modifying the rules
4. Make sure the rule-making rights of the community members are respected by outside authorities (in the case of the India ecosystem, it is the FD, who comes as an outsider, but works along with the community)
5. Develop a system, carried out by community members, for monitoring members’ behavior
6. Use graduated sanctions for rule violators
7. Provide accessible, low-cost means for dispute resolution
8. Build responsibility for governing the common resource in nested tiers from the lowest level up to the entire interconnected system

The MTR ecosystem is one of the finest of opportunities to promote Sustainable Ecotourism. One needs to place on record that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD) found the Mudumalai Tiger Conservation Foundation (MTCF) Trust in 2008 (was registered as a Trust in 2010 and reconstituted in 2015) as per the provisions of Section 38x of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WPA, 1972) and various laws as applicable with the following activities (Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, n.d.,):

1. Management of the Tiger Reserve and its protection from all the threats as per the approved Tiger Conservation Plan by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
2. Habitat Improvement for enhancing prey base for tiger and other sympatric carnivores in the Reserve.
3. Welfare Measures for staff of the Reserve including staff on daily wages.
4. Awareness Programmes for diverse stakeholders.
5. Maintenance of infrastructure of the Reserve.
6. Conducting Wildlife population estimation programme as per NTCA protocols.
7. Income Generation activities to enhance the livelihood options of the tribals and other fringe forest dwellers.
8. Incurring expenditure for scheme work in anticipation of the sanction of schemes/ Letter of Credit and recouping the amount back to the Foundation on receipt of Government Order and funds for the respective schemes.

A Senior officer of the FD in Karnataka, with whom the authors work on a regular basis, but wanted to remain anonymous quoted, “the aspects and thoughts provided by Elinor Ostrom are no doubt outstanding, but as a forester, we want to ensure that the community in the forest area, the flora, and the fauna are well protected, preserved and conserved and we make all out efforts to ensure the same. We work with the local-self-government institutions, and other administrative bodies, besides, the SPVs that we create to support the community and bring about a collaboration. The community no doubt accepts the interventions, and the failure rates across my area of work have been very few.”