The first Biodiversity Heritage Site declared in India was:
- A.Mawphlang sacred forest, Meghalaya
- B.Nallur tamarind grove, Karnataka
- C.Majuli, Assam
- D.Chilika, Odisha
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the Nallur tamarind grove in Karnataka. Nallur, near Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru, is an old stand of tamarind trees, some of them several centuries old, and Karnataka declared it the first Biodiversity Heritage Site of the country under section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act. The declaration is made by a state government in consultation with local bodies, and the local Biodiversity Management Committee looks after the site; the status does not take the land away from its owners.
Option A is wrong because Mawphlang is a famous sacred grove but was not the first heritage site. Option C is wrong because Majuli is a large river island known for its satras. Option D is wrong because Chilika is a brackish lagoon and a Ramsar site, which is a different international designation.
Read the full article: Sacred Groves and Community Conservation: Exam Notes
Practice Questions
View allSacred groves are known as Kavu in which state of India?
- A.Kerala
- B.Karnataka
- C.Odisha
- D.Manipur
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In Kerala a sacred grove is called a Kavu, and a grove kept for the serpent deities, which almost every old family compound of the state once had, is called a Sarpa Kavu.
Read the full explanation →The sacred groves called Orans are a feature of which state?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Rajasthan
- C.Haryana
- D.Madhya Pradesh
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An Oran is a patch of desert vegetation in western Rajasthan dedicated to a folk deity, made up of khejri, kair, jaal and rohida trees and the grass between them.
Read the full explanation →The famous Mawphlang sacred forest, kept by the Lyngdoh clan, is in which state?
- A.Nagaland
- B.Mizoram
- C.Meghalaya
- D.Tripura
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Mawphlang lies in the Khasi hills south of Shillong and is the best known sacred grove of India.
Read the full explanation →At Khejarli in 1730, the Bishnois led by Amrita Devi gave their lives to protect which tree?
- A.Khejri
- B.Banyan
- C.Sandalwood
- D.Teak
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Khejri, the Prosopis cineraria of the Thar, is the tree the Bishnois hold sacred, and it is the state tree of Rajasthan.
Read the full explanation →The founder of the Bishnoi sect, whose twenty nine rules forbid the felling of green trees, was:
- A.Guru Jambheshwar
- B.Sant Pipa
- C.Dhanna Bhagat
- D.Jasnath Ji
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Jambheshwar, known affectionately as Jambhoji, founded the Bishnoi sect in 1485 in the Bikaner desert. He laid down twenty nine rules of conduct, and the name Bishnoi comes from bis, twenty, and noi, nine.
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