Which was the first biosphere reserve to be set up in India?
- A.Nanda Devi
- B.Nilgiri
- C.Sundarbans
- D.Gulf of Mannar
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, notified in 1986. It spreads across the meeting point of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in the Western Ghats and takes in several well known national parks and sanctuaries within its area.
Option A, Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, option C, the Sundarbans in West Bengal, and option D, the Gulf of Mannar off the Tamil Nadu coast, are all biosphere reserves of India but all were declared later than the Nilgiri. The question is almost always set on which came first, so the pair to fix is Nilgiri and 1986. Remember also the framework these reserves belong to, the Man and the Biosphere Programme launched by UNESCO in 1971, and the three zones of every such reserve, namely the core, the buffer and the transition zone.
Read the full article: Biodiversity and Its Conservation: Hotspots and Laws
Practice Questions
View allThe concept of biodiversity hotspots was given by which scientist?
- A.Norman Myers
- B.Charles Darwin
- C.Robert Whittaker
- D.Alexander von Humboldt
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A region qualifies when it is exceptionally rich in species found nowhere else and has already lost most of its original vegetation.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is not a biodiversity hotspot extending into India?
- A.The Himalaya
- B.Indo-Burma
- C.The Eastern Ghats
- D.The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
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They are a broken and comparatively dry hill chain and do not meet the twin tests of exceptional endemism and severe threat that define a hotspot.
Read the full explanation →The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed at which conference?
- A.The Stockholm Conference of 1972
- B.The Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992
- C.The Kyoto Conference of 1997
- D.The Ramsar Conference of 1971
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The Convention has three objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Read the full explanation →A biosphere reserve is divided into which three zones?
- A.Core, buffer and transition
- B.Core, sanctuary and park
- C.Inner, middle and outer
- D.Protected, restricted and open
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The core zone is legally protected and left undisturbed, with no human activity allowed. The buffer zone around it permits research, education and limited use of resources that does not damage the core.
Read the full explanation →The Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed in India in which year?
- A.1962
- B.1972
- C.1980
- D.1986
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The Wildlife (Protection) Act provides the legal basis for declaring national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, lists protected species in its schedules, and prohibits hunting and trade in the species it covers.
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