Context: Recently, the Forest Department is procuring forest produce collected by the tribes people of the Agasthyavanam Biological Park (ABP) and surrounding forest ranges to be sold to commercial establishments and various collectives to deal with the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Agasthyavanam Biological Park

• It is a biological park in Kerala which has been established in the year 1997 and part  Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR) was notified on 12 November 2001 under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme. 
• It is contiguous to Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The park has been named after the Agasthyamalai Agasthyakoodam Peak, which is very closer to the park.
• It is located in the southernmost end of the Western Ghats.
• It covers 3,500 km2 and encompasses tropical forest ecosystems that fall within the Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu and the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts of Kerala.
• It is spread over an area of 23 sq. km., of which 17.5 sq. km. of the park has been dedicated for natural regeneration to develop into a dense forest.
• The rest area of the park is left for systematic conservation programs.
• The Park has endemic medicinal plants and rich biodiversity.