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Read this question in English
Identify and discuss the factors responsible for diversity of natural vegetation in India. Assess the significance of wildlife sanctuaries in rain forest regions of India.
Approach ┬╖ directive: тАЬidentify and discuss / assessтАЭ
What it asks ┬╖ First identify and explain the factors behind India's varied natural vegetation; then assess the role of wildlife sanctuaries in the rain-forest regions.
It asks 2 things тАФ answer each
- Identify and discuss: the factors responsible for the diversity of natural vegetation in India
- Assess: the significance of wildlife sanctuaries in India's rain-forest regions, with their limits
Open with ┬╖ India has temperate vegetation on Himalayan heights, tropical rain forests in the Western Ghats and islands, thorn forests in the dry north-west and mangroves in deltas, because climate, relief and soil vary sharply.
Cover
- Rainfall: over 200 cm and mean temperature above 22┬░C gives evergreen forest; under 50 cm gives thorn forest.
- Seasonality: the long dry season makes most forests deciduous.
- Altitude, relief and aspect: Himalayan belts from tropical to alpine; windward and leeward slopes and north- and south-facing slopes differ.
- Soil, drainage and isolation: varied soils, deltaic mangroves and island vegetation; human clearing alters cover.
- Sanctuaries' significance: refuges for endemics such as the lion-tailed macaque in a 'hottest hotspot', watersheds and carbon stores, people's conservation such as Silent Valley.
- Limits and way forward: fragmentation, encroachment and conflict; corridors, community reserves and forest rights.
Close with ┬╖ Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework asks countries to conserve at least 30 per cent of land by 2030; linking rain-forest sanctuaries through community-managed corridors is India's surest path to it.
Add value (verified)
- MoEFCC (PIB backgrounder, March 2025): as of 27 November 2023 India had 1,014 protected areas, including 106 national parks and 573 wildlife sanctuaries, covering 1,75,169 sq km or about 5.32% of the country.Protected Areas of India тАФ PIB backgrounder, March 2025 тЖЧтАЬAs of 27th November, 2023 India has a network of 1014 Protected Areas including 106 National Parks, 573 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 115 Conservation Reserves and 220 Community ReservesтАЭ
- UNESCO's World Heritage listing recognises the Western Ghats as one of the world's eight 'hottest hotspots' of biological diversity.Western Ghats тАФ UNESCO World Heritage Centre тЖЧтАЬis recognized as one of the worldтАЩs eight тАШhottest hotspotsтАЩ of biological diversityтАЭ
- Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: conserve at least 30 per cent of land, inland water, coastal and marine areas by 2030.GBF Target 3 тАФ Convention on Biological Diversity тЖЧтАЬEnsure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areasтАЭ
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper I тАФ paper тЖЧ. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) тАФ UPSC publishes no model answers. ┬╖
Model answer┬╖ 364words ┬╖ Minimalist IAS
India has temperate vegetation on Himalayan heights, tropical rain forests in the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, thorn forests in the dry north-west and mangroves in deltas. This diversity flows from climate, relief, soil and history, and its rain-forest core needs protection.
Factors behind diversity of natural vegetation
- Rainfall: the decisive control; over 200 cm with mean temperature above 22┬░C gives tropical evergreen forest, while under 50 cm gives thorn forest.
- Seasonality: the monsoon's long dry spell makes most Indian forests deciduous, shedding leaves to save water.
- Altitude: the Himalaya stacks tropical, temperate and alpine belts; deodar, a valued endemic, grows mainly in the western Himalaya.
- Relief and aspect: windward slopes are wetter than leeward ones, and north- and south-facing slopes receive different sunlight.
- Soil and drainage: laterite, black, alluvial and desert soils carry different plant communities; waterlogged deltas grow mangroves.
- Isolation and people: island arcs develop distinct vegetation, while clearing, grazing and fire leave secondary growth.
тЬПя╕П Map to sketch in the exam ┬╖ India's rain-forest regions
- Shade: Kerala, Karnataka, Goa = rain forests on the Western Ghats' western slope
- Shade: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura = north-eastern hill rain forests
- Shade: Andaman and Nicobar Islands = island rain forests
Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).
Significance of sanctuaries in rain-forest regions
- Endemic refuges: UNESCO counts the Western Ghats among the world's eight 'hottest hotspots'; endemics like the lion-tailed macaque and the pitcher plant Nepenthes khasiana need protected habitat.
- Ecosystem services: these forests feed peninsular rivers, store carbon, check erosion and hold wild relatives of crops and medicinal plants.
- People's conservation: Silent Valley National Park came from a successful citizens' movement; Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala protects tigers within moist forest.
- Network scale: India had 573 wildlife sanctuaries by November 2023, within protected areas covering about 5.32% of the country.
- Limits: roads, dams, mining and plantations fragment corridors; encroachment, poaching and humanтАУwildlife conflict persist; many units are small and under-funded.
Way forward
- Connect and share: link sanctuaries through corridors and eco-sensitive zones, and recognise forest dwellers' rights so communities become guardians.
Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework asks countries to conserve at least 30 per cent of land by 2030; linking rain-forest sanctuaries through community-managed corridors is India's surest path.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) ┬╖ facts checked against official sources (how we verify) ┬╖ updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
