UPSC Environment and Ecology – Chapter 8: Protected Areas – National Parks, Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves (34 MCQs)

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UPSC Environment and Ecology – Chapter 8: Protected Areas – National Parks, Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves (34 MCQs) – 31 questions, subject: Environment. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

Conservation reserves and community reserves were added to the Wild Life (Protection) Act by the amendment of:

Correct Answer: A [2002]

Explanation:

The 2002 amendment inserted Sections 36A and 36C, creating conservation reserves and community reserves.

2.  

As per PIB (data of 27 November 2023), India's protected areas cover about what share of its geographical area?

Correct Answer: B [5.3 per cent]

Explanation:

PIB data of 27 November 2023 show 1,014 protected areas covering about 1,75,169 sq km, or 5.32 per cent of India.

3.  

A community reserve is declared on:

Correct Answer: D [community or private land where people volunteer to conserve wildlife]

Explanation:

Under Section 36C a community reserve is declared on community or private land where people volunteer to conserve wildlife.

4.  

Tiger reserves are notified under which section of the Wild Life (Protection) Act?

Correct Answer: A [Section 38V]

Explanation:

Section 38V, inserted in 2006, provides for notifying tiger reserves on the advice of the NTCA.

5.  

Elephant reserves in India are notified under:

Correct Answer: D [Project Elephant by State governments]

Explanation:

Elephant reserves are notified by State governments under Project Elephant (1992); they are not a legal category under the WPA.

6.  

Which one of the following biosphere reserves of India is NOT part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves?

Correct Answer: C [Kachchh]

Explanation:

Kachchh in Gujarat, India's largest biosphere reserve (2008), is not in UNESCO's World Network.

7.  

In a biosphere reserve, villages and farms are found mainly in the:

Correct Answer: D [transition zone]

Explanation:

The transition zone, the outermost zone, holds villages, farms and settlements practising sustainable use.

8.  

The Indian biosphere reserve added to UNESCO's World Network in September 2025 was:

Correct Answer: A [Cold Desert]

Explanation:

The Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve of Himachal Pradesh joined UNESCO's World Network in September 2025, making 13 Indian sites.

9.  

Biosphere reserves are based on UNESCO's:

Correct Answer: B [Man and the Biosphere Programme]

Explanation:

Biosphere reserves come from UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme launched in 1971.

10.  

Eco-sensitive zones around protected areas are notified under:

Correct Answer: C [the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986]

Explanation:

The Environment Ministry notifies eco-sensitive zones under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

11.  

Assertion (A): Eco-sensitive zones act as shock absorbers around protected areas.

Reason (R): Harmful activities such as commercial mining and polluting industries are prohibited in them.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

ESZs cushion protected areas because harmful activities such as commercial mining and polluting industries are prohibited in them.

12.  

Consider the following about the Supreme Court's orders on eco-sensitive zones:

1. In June 2022 it directed a minimum ESZ of 1 km around protected areas.
2. In April 2023 it modified the order and allowed some exemptions.
3. The order made all farming illegal inside ESZs.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: C [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

The Court ordered a 1 km minimum ESZ in June 2022 and modified it in April 2023; farming is not banned in ESZs.

13.  

Similipal, notified as a national park by the Odisha Government in April 2025, lies in which district?

Correct Answer: B [Mayurbhanj]

Explanation:

Similipal National Park (845.70 sq km), now Odisha's largest national park, is in Mayurbhanj district.

14.  

Under the Environment Ministry's 2011 guidelines, an eco-sensitive zone around a protected area could generally extend up to:

Correct Answer: B [10 km]

Explanation:

the 2011 guidelines suggested ESZs of up to 10 km around protected areas, with the actual width fixed site by site.

15.  

Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana was formed from the former Telangana portion of which tiger reserve?

Correct Answer: C [Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam]

Explanation:

the Telangana part of Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam, the reserve with the largest critical tiger habitat, became the Amrabad Tiger Reserve.

16.  

Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, the boundaries of a national park or wildlife sanctuary can be altered only on the recommendation of the:

Correct Answer: C [National Board for Wildlife]

Explanation:

after the 2002 amendment, park and sanctuary boundaries can be altered only on the recommendation of the National Board for Wildlife.

17.  

Arrange in chronological order:

1. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
2. Hailey National Park
3. Wild Life (Protection) Act
4. Conservation and community reserves introduced

Select the correct order:

Correct Answer: C [2-3-1-4]

Explanation:

1936, 1972, 1986, 2002.

18.  

Consider the following about the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve:

1. It was notified in 1989.
2. It is a marine biosphere reserve.
3. It is not part of UNESCO's World Network.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, notified in 1989, is marine and is part of UNESCO's network, so statement 3 is false.

19.  

Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which of the following is not allowed in a national park but may be regulated in a sanctuary?

Correct Answer: D [grazing of livestock]

Explanation:

The WPA forbids grazing of livestock in a national park, while in a sanctuary grazing may be regulated.

20.  

The core zone of a biosphere reserve is:

Correct Answer: A [legally protected and kept largely undisturbed]

Explanation:

The core zone is legally protected and kept largely undisturbed, with no human activity except monitoring.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2023

Consider the following statements:

Once the Central Government notifies an area as a 'Community Reserve'

1. the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State becomes the governing authority of such forest
2. Hunting is not allowed in such area
3. People of such area are allowed to collect non-timber forest produce
4. People of such area are allowed traditional agricultural practices

How many of the above statements are correct?

Correct Answer: B [Only two]

Explanation:

statements 2 and 3.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

Which of the following are the most likely places to find the musk deer in its natural habitat?

1. Askot Wildlife Sanctuary
2. Gangotri National Park
3. Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary
4. Manas National Park

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: A [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and Gangotri National Park in the high Himalaya of Uttarakhand are natural habitats of the musk deer.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

Which one of the following protected areas is well-known for the conservation of a sub-species of the Indian swamp deer (Barasingha) that thrives well on hard ground and is exclusively graminivorous?

Correct Answer: A [Kanha National Park]

Explanation:

Kanha National Park conserves the hard-ground barasingha, a swamp-deer subspecies that grazes on grass.

24.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under "Critical Tiger Habitat"?

Correct Answer: C [Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam]

Explanation:

Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam has the largest area under critical tiger habitat among India's tiger reserves.

25.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

With reference to India's Desert National Park, which of the following statements are correct?

1. It is spread over two districts.
2. There is no human habitation inside the Park.
3. It is one of the natural habitats of the Great Indian Bustard.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Correct Answer: C [1 and 3 only]

Explanation:

Desert National Park spreads over Jaisalmer and Barmer and is a Great Indian Bustard habitat; villages exist inside it.

26.  
UPSC Prelims 2019

Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine zone?

Correct Answer: D [Valley of Flowers National Park]

Explanation:

The Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand lies completely in the temperate alpine zone.

27.  
UPSC Prelims 2019

Which of the following are in Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve?

Correct Answer: A [Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.]

Explanation:

Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney sanctuaries and Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve lie in the Agasthyamalai hills at the southern tip of the Western Ghats.

28.  
UPSC Prelims 2018

In which one of the following States is Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary located?

Correct Answer: A [Arunachal Pradesh]

Explanation:

Pakhui (Pakke) Wildlife Sanctuary, also a tiger reserve, is in Arunachal Pradesh.

29.  
UPSC Prelims 2015

Which one of the following National Parks has a climate that varies from tropical to subtropical, temperate and arctic?

Correct Answer: D [Namdapha National Park]

Explanation:

Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh rises from low valleys to high peaks, so its climate ranges from tropical to arctic.

30.  
UPSC Prelims 2014

The most important strategy for the conservation of biodiversity together with traditional human life is the establishment of

Correct Answer: A [Biosphere Reserves]

Explanation:

Biosphere reserves combine biodiversity conservation with sustainable use by local people living in their transition zones.

31.  
UPSC Prelims 2014

With reference to 'Eco-Sensitive Zones', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
2. The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities in those zones except agriculture.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: D [Neither 1 nor 2]

Explanation:

ESZs are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, not the WPA, and they regulate harmful activities rather than ban all but farming.

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