UPSC Civil Services Examination — Environment & Ecology (Prelims GS and Mains GS-III) · India · Union Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersConservation beyond the field boundary: habitat fragmentation, corridors, land sparing versus land sharing, protected-area networks and conflict between wildlife and farmers.
In the exams: ICAR AICE subject 71 Unit 2 (national parks, sanctuaries); UPSC CSE Prelims environment; Forestry track overlaps on wildlife management
How our questions for UPSC Civil Services Examination spread across the units of Landscape Ecology, Protected Areas & Human-Wildlife Interactions. Difficulty: 15 easy, 25 medium, 9 hard.
| Human-wildlife conflict and crop raiding | 10 | |
| Wildlife trade and CITES | 10 | |
| Protected-area categories and management effectiveness | 8 | |
| Other effective area-based conservation measures and 30 by 30 | 7 | |
| Community-based conservation and co-management | 6 | |
| Connectivity and wildlife corridors | 3 | |
| Land sparing versus land sharing | 2 | |
| Habitat fragmentation and edge effects | 1 | |
| Systematic conservation planning | 1 | |
| Landscape structure: patches, corridors and matrix | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
How often are management effectiveness evaluations of India's tiger reserves carried out?
B. Every four years
NTCA and WII have conducted MEE of tiger reserves on a four-yearly cycle since 2006, alongside the All India Tiger Estimation.
Further reading: NTCA–WII
What is the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas?
D. A standard certifying good governance, management and outcomes
The Green List certifies sites meeting a global standard. The World Database on Protected Areas is the register of all sites.
Further reading: IUCN Green List
What distinguishes an OECM from a protected area?
B. Conservation need not be its primary objective
An OECM may be managed mainly for other purposes but must achieve sustained conservation outcomes. Ownership, exclusion and lack of value are not defining features.
Further reading: CBD Decision 14/8
A country of 1000000 km² has 18 % under protected areas and OECMs. How much more area is needed to reach 30 %?
D. 120000 km²
Additional = (0.30 − 0.18) × 1000000 = 120000 km². 300000 is the full target; 180000 the existing area; 12000 a decimal slip.
What is the main concern about 'paper OECMs'?
A. Areas reported without evidence of conservation outcomes
Counting areas without demonstrated, lasting outcomes would inflate progress toward 30 by 30 without benefiting biodiversity. The other options misread the term.
Further reading: OECM literature
Joint Forest Management in India was launched by a central government circular in which year?
A. 1990
The 1990 circular enabled village committees to share in the management and produce of degraded forests. 1980 is the Forest (Conservation) Act; 2006 the Forest Rights Act.
Further reading: MoEF 1990
Which mammals are often described as the most trafficked in the world?
C. Pangolins
Pangolins are trafficked for scales and meat; all eight species are in CITES Appendix I.
Further reading: CITES; UNODC
Why is wildlife trade relevant to One Health?
B. It spreads zoonoses
Trade in live wild animals can transmit zoonotic pathogens, linking biodiversity, animal and human health.
Further reading: One Health literature
Who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for work on governing common-pool resources?
C. Elinor Ostrom
Ostrom shared the 2009 prize for showing how communities can manage commons sustainably.
Further reading: Ostrom 1990
CITES Appendix I lists species that are:
A. Threatened with extinction
Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction, generally barred from commercial trade.
Further reading: CITES
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