UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Prime Minister lauds designation of Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary as India's 100th Ramsar site

Q1. With reference to the Ramsar Convention and the instruments developed under it, consider the following statements:

1. The Ramsar Convention was adopted in 1971, whereas the Montreux Record under it was instituted only in 1990.
2. Unlike the original Convention text, the Montreux Record exclusively lists those wetlands whose ecological character has already deteriorated.
3. India acceded to the Ramsar Convention in 1982, more than a decade after the Convention's adoption at Ramsar, Iran.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. With reference to the Ramsar Convention, which of the following Indian wetlands are NOT presently included in the Montreux Record?

1. Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan
2. Loktak Lake, Manipur
3. Chilika Lake, Odisha
4. Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 3 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 3 only
• D. 4 only

Q3. With the designation of the Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary (Surha Tal), Ballia, in June 2026, what is the total number of Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) in India?

• A. 85
• B. 99
• C. 100
• D. 110

Q4. Surha Tal, recently designated as India's 100th Ramsar site, is described as a natural perennial 'oxbow lake'. Which one of the following best defines an oxbow lake?

• A. A crescent-shaped lake formed when a meander of a river is cut off from the main channel
• B. A deep lake occupying a bowl-shaped depression carved by glacial erosion at the head of a valley
• C. A circular lake formed in the crater of a dormant or extinct volcano
• D. An elongated lake formed in a fault trough produced by tectonic rifting of the Earth's crust

Q5. With reference to Ramsar sites in India, which of the following are NOT among the first two wetlands designated by India under the Ramsar Convention in 1981?

1. Chilika Lake
2. Keoladeo National Park
3. Sambhar Lake
4. Wular Lake

• A. 1 and 3
• B. 2 and 4
• C. 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2 and 4

Q6. As of the designation of India's 100th Ramsar site in June 2026, which one of the following States has the highest number of Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance)?

• A. Uttar Pradesh
• B. Tamil Nadu
• C. Gujarat
• D. West Bengal

Q7. With reference to India's engagement with the Central Asian Flyway (CAF), consider the following statements:

1. India's National Action Plan for Conservation of Migratory Birds along the Central Asian Flyway was launched in 2018, whereas the Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway was adopted under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) only at its 14th Conference of Parties in 2024.
2. The CMS Initiative adopted in 2024 envisages establishing a coordinating unit for the Central Asian Flyway in India, with financial support from the Indian Government.
3. India hosted the CMS Conference of Parties for the first time at COP14, whereas COP13 had been hosted earlier by Germany at Bonn.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Which of the following migratory bird species are NOT associated with the Central Asian Flyway?

1. Siberian Crane
2. Whooping Crane
3. Bar-headed Goose
4. Atlantic Puffin

• A. 1 and 3
• B. 2 and 4
• C. 1, 2 and 4
• D. 3 only

Q9. With reference to the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 as compared with the 2010 Rules, consider the following statements:

1. The 2017 Rules replaced the Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority of the 2010 Rules with State/Union Territory Wetlands Authorities to be constituted in every State and Union Territory.
2. Under the 2017 Rules, the National Wetland Committee is chaired by the Prime Minister and exercises binding decision-making powers over the notification of wetlands by States.
3. Both the 2010 and the 2017 Rules have been notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, which provide for constitution of the National Wetland Committee and State Wetlands Authorities, have been notified by which one of the following Union Ministries?

• A. Ministry of Jal Shakti
• B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
• D. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

Q11. The Amrit Dharohar scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 for the conservation of Ramsar sites in India, is implemented through how many key components?

• A. Two
• B. Three
• C. Four
• D. Six

Q12. With reference to wetland and mangrove conservation in India, which of the following initiatives are launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change?

1. Amrit Dharohar
2. Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)
3. Save Wetlands Campaign
4. Namami Gange Programme

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q13. With the designation of Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary as India's 99th Ramsar site in 2026, the total number of Ramsar sites in Uttar Pradesh rose to which of the following?

• A. 10
• B. 11
• C. 12
• D. 16

Q14. Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary's designation as India's 99th Ramsar site was announced by the Union Cabinet Minister holding which of the following portfolios?

• A. Jal Shakti
• B. Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• C. Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
• D. Earth Sciences

Q15. With reference to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, consider the following statements:

1. The Convention was signed in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran, and World Wetlands Day is observed every year on 2 February to mark its signing.
2. Both Keoladeo National Park and Loktak Lake have, at some point, been placed on the Montreux Record.
3. Under the Ramsar criteria, a wetland qualifies as a site of international importance only if it regularly supports at least one lakh waterbirds.
4. India became a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention in 1982.

• A. 1, 2 and 4 only
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2, 3 and 4 only
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q16. In the context of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the term 'Montreux Record' refers to which one of the following?

• A. The register, maintained as part of the Ramsar List, of those Wetlands of International Importance where adverse changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur
• B. The list of transboundary wetlands jointly designated by two or more Contracting Parties for coordinated conservation
• C. The voluntary financial mechanism of the Convention that channels small grants for wetland management in developing countries
• D. The annual official roster in which Contracting Parties notify newly designated Wetlands of International Importance