Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar Sites: Zones and Facts

The correct answer is A, 1971. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, which gave the treaty its popular name. It is the oldest of the modern global environmental agreements and its secretariat is at Gland in Switzerland.

Option B, 1975, is the year the convention came into force after the required number of ratifications, so it is a real date attached to a different event and is the commonest trap here. Option C, 1982, is the year India acceded to the convention and designated its first sites in the previous year. Option D, 1992, is the year of the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, which produced the Convention on Biological Diversity and the climate change convention, not the wetlands treaty. Read whether the question asks for signing, entry into force or India's accession.

The correct answer is A, 2 February. The Ramsar Convention was signed on 2 February 1971, and that anniversary is observed each year as World Wetlands Day to draw attention to the services wetlands provide, such as flood control, groundwater recharge, water purification and habitat for migratory birds.

Option B, 22 March, is World Water Day, which deals with freshwater resources in general rather than with wetlands as ecosystems. Option C, 5 June, is World Environment Day, observed since the Stockholm Conference of 1972. Option D, 16 September, is the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, marking the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Environment days are a favourite cluster in general studies papers, so learn these four together with the event behind each.

The correct answer is B, Nilgiri. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in the Western Ghats, was designated in 1986 as the first biosphere reserve of India, and in 2000 it also became the first Indian reserve to be included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It contains well-known protected areas such as Mudumalai, Bandipur, Wayanad, Nagarhole and Silent Valley.

Option A, Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, was designated in 1988 and lies in the Himalayas. Option C, the Sunderbans in West Bengal, was designated in 1989 and is famous for mangroves and the royal Bengal tiger. Option D, the Gulf of Mannar, was also designated in 1989 and is a marine reserve known for coral reefs and the dugong. The order to remember is Nilgiri 1986, then Nanda Devi and Nokrek in 1988, then four in 1989.

The correct answer is C, Loktak Lake. Loktak, in Manipur, is the largest freshwater lake of north-east India, and its surface carries phumdis, thick floating mats of vegetation, soil and organic matter that rise and fall with the water level. Keibul Lamjao National Park is established on such a mass rather than on solid ground, and it is the last natural home of the sangai or brow-antlered deer, the state animal of Manipur.

Option A, Wular in Jammu and Kashmir, is the largest freshwater lake in India and a Ramsar site, but it carries no floating park. Option B, Chilika in Odisha, is the largest brackish water lagoon in the country, known for migratory birds and the Irrawaddy dolphin. Option D, Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh, is a large freshwater lake between the Krishna and the Godavari deltas. Fix the chain Loktak, phumdi, Keibul Lamjao, sangai, since the same fact is asked from any of the four names.

The correct answer is A, UNESCO. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization launched the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1971 as an intergovernmental scientific programme to improve the relationship between people and their environment, and the sites recognised under it form the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Option B, the United Nations Environment Programme, was set up in 1972 after the Stockholm Conference and is the United Nations body for environmental matters, but the biosphere reserve network is not its programme. Option C, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is the body that publishes the Red List of threatened species and the protected area categories. Option D, the World Wide Fund for Nature, is a non-governmental conservation organisation. Note that UNESCO also runs the World Heritage programme, so the same organisation answers two different questions.

The correct answer is B, Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park. Both were placed on the Ramsar list in 1981 and were the first Indian wetlands to be so recognised. Chilika in Odisha is the largest brackish water lagoon in India and shelters migratory birds and the Irrawaddy dolphin, while Keoladeo at Bharatpur in Rajasthan is a man-made wetland, once a duck shooting reserve, famous for its heronry and its winter bird population.

Option A names two genuine Ramsar sites, Wular in Jammu and Kashmir and Harike in Punjab, but both were designated later. Option C pairs Loktak in Manipur with Sambhar in Rajasthan, the largest inland saline wetland of the country, and again both came later. Option D names Bhitarkanika in Odisha and Point Calimere in Tamil Nadu, also later designations. The year to fix is 1981 and the two names that go with it.

The correct answer is C, Core zone. The core zone is the innermost and the only strictly protected part of a biosphere reserve, usually already notified as a national park or a wildlife sanctuary. No human activity is permitted there except non-destructive research and monitoring, so that species, genetic resources and natural ecological processes remain undisturbed.

Option A, the buffer zone, surrounds the core and permits research, environmental education, training, restoration work and regulated eco-tourism, all of which are activities that would not be allowed in the core. Options B and D name the same outermost zone, called the transition or manipulation zone, where settlements, cropping, forestry, grazing and recreation are permitted under sustainable management. That the outer zones allow people is exactly what makes a biosphere reserve different from a national park, and it is a standard statement question.

The correct answer is B, Gulf of Kachchh Biosphere Reserve. Designated in 2008 in Gujarat, it covers the largest area of any biosphere reserve in India, taking in the marine national park and sanctuary of the gulf together with its islands, coral reefs, mangroves and mudflats, which support corals, dugongs, dolphins and large numbers of migratory shorebirds.

Option A, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is the oldest in India, designated in 1986, but it is smaller in area than the Kachchh reserve. Option C, the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal, designated in 1989, holds the largest mangrove forest of the country and the royal Bengal tiger, but again it is not the largest by area. Option D, the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve of Himachal Pradesh, designated in 2009, covers the high Himalayan cold desert and is known for the snow leopard. Note that first and largest are different questions.

The correct answer is B, listed wetlands whose ecological character is threatened or changing. The Montreux Record names sites already on the Ramsar list where the ecological character has changed, is changing or is likely to change because of pollution, drainage, encroachment or other human interference. A site is entered at the request of the country concerned and is taken off once the problem has been addressed.

Option A is wrong because new designations simply go on the List of Wetlands of International Importance and carry no adverse implication. Option C states the opposite of the record's purpose, although a restored site is indeed removed from it, as Chilika was in 2002 after its mouth to the sea was reopened. Option D is wrong because the convention protects wetland habitats rather than keeping a species register. The Indian sites currently on the record are Keoladeo National Park and Loktak Lake, both entered in 1990.

The correct answer is C, the largest inland saline wetland in India. Sambhar Lake lies west of Jaipur in Rajasthan, has no outlet to the sea and loses water only by evaporation, so salts brought in by seasonal streams accumulate in it. It has been worked for common salt for centuries and is an important wintering ground for flamingos and other waterbirds, and it was designated a Ramsar site in 1990.

Option A describes Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, the largest freshwater lake in India, also a Ramsar site. Option B describes Chilika Lake in Odisha, the largest brackish water lagoon in the country and one of the first two Indian Ramsar sites. Option D points to the high altitude wetlands of Ladakh such as Tsomoriri and Tso Kar, which are notable for their elevation rather than their size. Fix one superlative to each lake, because papers ask them as a matching set.