In a biosphere reserve, which zone is legally protected and allows no human activity except non-destructive research?
- A.Buffer zone
- B.Transition zone
- C.Core zone
- D.Manipulation zone
Correct answer
Explanation
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.
Read the full article: Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar Sites: Zones and Facts
Practice Questions
View allThe Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in which year?
- A.1971
- B.1975
- C.1982
- D.1992
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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.
Read the full explanation →World Wetlands Day is observed every year on which date?
- A.2 February
- B.22 March
- C.5 June
- D.16 September
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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.
Read the full explanation →Which was the first biosphere reserve to be designated in India?
- A.Nanda Devi
- B.Nilgiri
- C.Sunderbans
- D.Gulf of Mannar
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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.
Read the full explanation →Keibul Lamjao, the only floating national park in the world, is situated on which lake?
- A.Wular Lake
- B.Chilika Lake
- C.Loktak Lake
- D.Kolleru Lake
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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.
Read the full explanation →The Man and the Biosphere Programme, under which biosphere reserves are recognised, was launched by which organisation?
- A.UNESCO
- B.UNEP
- C.IUCN
- D.WWF
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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.
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