UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — World Wildlife Day 2026

Q1. World Wildlife Day is facilitated every year, in collaboration with other relevant United Nations organizations, by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The CITES Secretariat
  • B. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • C. The IUCN Species Survival Commission
  • D. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Q2. World Wildlife Day, observed on 3 March, specifically commemorates which one of the following events?

  • A. The adoption of CITES in 1973
  • B. The entry into force of CITES in 1975
  • C. The adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992
  • D. The establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme in 1972

Q3. The first World Wildlife Day was observed in which year?

  • A. 2013
  • B. 2014
  • C. 2015
  • D. 1973

Q4. India is estimated to harbour approximately how many medicinal plant species, of which about 8,000 are used in Indian systems of medicine?

  • A. 5,000
  • B. 8,000
  • C. 15,000
  • D. 45,000

Q5. Under CITES, Appendix II — under which most internationally traded medicinal plants are regulated — comprises species that are best described as:

  • A. Not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but which may become so unless their trade is strictly regulated
  • B. Threatened with extinction, for which commercial international trade is generally prohibited
  • C. Protected within a single Party's borders, listed at that Party's discretion seeking cooperation
  • D. Already extinct in the wild and surviving only in cultivation or captivity

Q6. As of 2026, how many States are party to CITES, the convention that regulates international trade in Appendix-II-listed medicinal plants?

  • A. 120
  • B. 150
  • C. 183
  • D. 196

Q7. The 2026 World Wildlife Day theme, sub-titled 'Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods,' is dedicated to which one of the following?

  • A. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
  • B. Migratory bird species
  • C. Coral reef ecosystems
  • D. Pollinator insects

Q8. Which international instrument is the primary global framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, including that linked to medicinal plants?

  • A. The Nagoya Protocol under the Convention on Biological Diversity
  • B. CITES
  • C. The TRIPS Agreement of the WTO
  • D. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Q9. In the context of India's status as a megadiverse country hosting endemic medicinal plants, a 'biodiversity hotspot' is best defined as a region that:

  • A. Is exceptionally rich in endemic species and has lost a large proportion of its original natural habitat
  • B. Is entirely free of human habitation and all economic activity
  • C. Contains the single largest number of national parks in the country
  • D. Has the highest percentage of forest cover among all regions