About M-STrIPES
M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers—Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), launched in 2010 by NTCA with WII, uses a mobile app and central analytical system to record patrolling, wildlife sightings, poaching signs and ecological data through GPS/GPRS and GIS tools.
Initially developed for tiger reserves, it is now also used for wider wildlife monitoring, including frontline staff training under the Clouded Leopard Conservation Action Plan (CAP).
Key Facts on M-STrIPES
| Particular | Details |
| Full form | Monitoring System for Tigers — Intensive Protection and Ecological Status |
| Launched | 2010 |
| Developed by | National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) |
| Components | Android mobile app (field data capture) + central desktop analytical engine |
| Core technologies | GPS, GPRS, remote sensing |
| Key modules | Patrol tracking, sign survey, line transect, vegetation analysis, human-disturbance and human-wildlife conflict recording |
| Extended use | Deployed under the Clouded Leopard CAP for frontline capacity building |
Key Functions of M-STrIPES
- Strengthens patrolling and surveillance by mapping forest-guard patrol routes at the beat level, the smallest unit of forest administration in India.
- Supports wildlife crime data recording and evaluation of human pressure on habitats.
- Enables information-based adaptive management for wildlife managers through centralised, geo-tagged data.
- Records human-wildlife conflict incidents — attacks on humans/livestock, crop and property damage — with spatial and photographic evidence.
Conclusion
M-STrIPES exemplifies India’s shift from manual, ad-hoc patrolling records to technology-driven, real-time wildlife monitoring — a model now extended beyond tiger reserves to species-specific efforts such as the Clouded Leopard CAP.
| This concept has been elaborately discussed in the following article – India Launches Clouded Leopard Conservation Action Plan for Northeast India |