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 papersWetlands, mangroves, seagrasses and estuaries: their ecology, the services they give agriculture and fisheries, their carbon stores, and the Ramsar and coastal-zone rules that protect them.
In the exams: ICAR AICE subject 71 Unit 2 (wetlands, mangroves, Ramsar); ICAR AICE Aquatic Environmental Management; UPSC CSE environment
How our questions for UPSC Civil Services Examination spread across the units of Wetlands, Coastal Ecosystems & Blue Carbon. Difficulty: 16 easy, 20 medium, 5 hard.
| Ramsar Convention and wetland inventories | 11 | |
| Mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes and estuaries | 7 | |
| Wetland definitions and classification | 6 | |
| Peatlands: drainage, fire and rewetting | 5 | |
| Integrated Coastal Zone Management | 5 | |
| Wetland functions and services | 4 | |
| Rice paddies as managed wetlands | 2 | |
| Blue carbon: stocks, fluxes and accounting | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Under the Ramsar definition, marine water is included as wetland up to what depth at low tide?
A. Six metres
Ramsar Article 1.1 includes areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.
Further reading: Ramsar Convention
According to India's National Wetland Atlas (2011), wetlands cover roughly what share of the country's area?
D. About 4.6 %
The atlas mapped about 15.3 million ha, around 4.6 % of India's area. 15 is the area in million hectares, not the percentage.
Further reading: SAC National Wetland Atlas 2011
Which migratory flyway passing through India links Siberian breeding grounds to wintering wetlands in South Asia?
A. Central Asian Flyway
The Central Asian Flyway connects Arctic and Central Asian breeding areas with wintering grounds in India and neighbouring countries; India hosted CMS COP13 in 2020 partly on this theme.
Further reading: CMS
Roughly what share of anthropogenic methane emissions comes from rice cultivation?
C. About a tenth
Rice contributes on the order of 8–10 % of anthropogenic methane, after livestock, fossil fuels and waste.
Further reading: Global Methane Budget
What is paludiculture?
D. Productive land use on wet or rewetted peat
Paludiculture grows wetland crops such as reeds, cattails, Sphagnum or sago on wet peat, keeping carbon stored. The other options degrade peat.
Further reading: Paludiculture literature
The 2015 peat fires in which country caused severe regional haze in Southeast Asia?
D. Indonesia
Drained peatlands in Indonesia burned extensively in 2015 (and 1997–98), releasing huge emissions and haze. Indonesia then created a peatland restoration agency.
Further reading: UNEP Global Peatlands Assessment 2022
Under CRZ 2019, what is the no-development zone for CRZ-III A densely populated rural areas?
B. 50 m from the high tide line
CRZ-III A areas (population density above 2161 per km²) have a 50 m no-development zone; CRZ-III B areas have 200 m.
Further reading: CRZ Notification 2019
On which date is World Wetlands Day observed?
D. 2 February
World Wetlands Day marks the Ramsar Convention's adoption on 2 February 1971. 5 June is World Environment Day; 22 April Earth Day; 16 September World Ozone Day.
Further reading: Ramsar Convention
A waterbird population numbers 150000. How many must a site regularly support to qualify under Ramsar criterion 6?
A. 1500
Criterion 6 = 1 % of the population = 0.01 × 150000 = 1500. 15000 is 10 %; 150 is 0.1 %; 20000 is criterion 5.
Further reading: Ramsar Convention
What is peat made of?
C. Partly decayed plant material
Peat accumulates from partly decomposed plant remains under waterlogged conditions.
Further reading: Mitsch and Gosselink, Wetlands
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