Minimalist IAS
Environment & ecology

Prelims · Environment & ecology · 23 questions

Protected areas & conservation

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Protected areas & conservation questions per year: 2016: 1, 2017: 4, 2018: 1, 2019: 2, 2020: 4, 2021: 0, 2022: 1, 2023: 1, 2024: 0, 2025: 0, 2026: 1 Asked in 8 of 11 years · most in 2020 (4)

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UPSC syllabus: “General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

Prelims 2026 · Q22

Easy Provisional key

वेस्टर्न हूलॉक गिबनों के संबंध में निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा/कौन-से कथन सही है/हैं ?

  1. 1.पूर्वोत्तर भारत में एक अभयारण्य इस वानर जाति (species) का घर है जिसे अंतर्राष्ट्रीय प्रकृति संरक्षण संघ (आई.यू.सी.एन.) की लाल सूची में लुप्तप्राय (Endangered) के रूप में सूचीबद्ध किया गया है ।
  2. 2.उनके पास विशिष्ट बाहुगमन (ब्रैकिएशन) की क्षमता है और वे आसानी से पेड़ों के बीच झूल सकते हैं ।
  3. 3.गोरिला की भाँति, वे मज़बूत और स्थूलकाय होते हैं, तथापि वे असाधारण रूप से फुर्तीले वृक्षारोही हैं ।

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर उत्तर चुनिए :

Read this question in English

With respect to the Western Hoolock Gibbons, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. A Sanctuary in North-east India is home to this ape species listed as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

2. They have specialized brachiation and can easily swing between trees.

3. They possess a strong and heavy build like gorillas, yet are remarkably agile tree climbers.

Select the answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only · (b) 1 and 2 · (c) 2 and 3 · (d) 3 only

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) 1 और 2

The western hoolock gibbon, India's only ape, is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, and Assam's Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat is named after it. Gibbons are expert brachiators that swing arm over arm through the canopy, but they are small, light apes, not heavily built like gorillas.

  • ✓ 1. Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary (about 21 sq km, Jorhat district, Assam) is named after the hoolock gibbon; the western hoolock (Hoolock hoolock) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
  • ✓ 2. Gibbons have very long forearms and move mainly by brachiation, swinging from branch to branch and covering more than 3 m in a single swing.
  • ✗ 3. Gibbons are the lightest apes, weighing roughly 4–13 kg; the agility comes from a slender, light build, not a heavy gorilla-like body.

Remember · Western hoolock gibbon: India's only ape, IUCN Endangered, Schedule I; Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Jorhat (Assam); moves by brachiation.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

मंगोलिया से प्रत्येक वर्ष नागालैंड के दोयंग झील में अमूर बाज़ों (Amur Falcons) के आगमन के संबंध में निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा/कौन-से कथन सही है/हैं ?

  1. 1.यह दर्शाता है कि कैसे निरंतर स्थानीय संरक्षण प्रयास अंतर्राष्ट्रीय प्रवासी पक्षियों के आगमन और संरक्षण में योगदान दे सकते हैं ।
  2. 2.यह उन उन्नत ट्रैकिंग प्रौद्योगिकियों की वैश्विक सफलता को दर्शाता है जो प्रवासी पक्षियों को अपने प्रवास स्थल (स्टॉपओवर साइट) पर वापस जाने का मार्ग दिखाती हैं ।
  3. 3.यह पुष्टि करता है कि अमूर बाज़ों ने अनुकूल आवास संबंधी परिवर्तनों के कारण भारत को स्थायी निवास स्थल (रेजिडेन्सी) के रूप में अपना लिया है ।

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर उत्तर चुनिए :

Read this question in English

Which of the following statements with regard to the arrival of Amur Falcons at Doyang Lake in Nagaland each year from Mongolia is/are correct?

1. It showcases how sustained local conservation efforts can contribute to the arrival and protection of international migratory birds.

2. It reflects the global success of advanced tracking technologies that guide migratory birds back to their stopover sites.

3. It confirms that Amur Falcons have adapted to permanent residency in India due to favourable habitat changes.

Select the answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only · (b) 1 and 2 · (c) 2 and 3 · (d) 3 only

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) केवल 1

Amur Falcons stop over in the Doyang area of Wokha district for about a month each October–November on their long migration to southern Africa. Mass hunting in 2012 gave way to protection by villagers, churches, youth groups and the forest department, which is why the roost now thrives. Satellite tags only record their routes; they do not guide the birds, and the falcons do not stay in India.

  • ✓ 1. After the 2012 slaughter, local communities around Pangti and Doyang turned protectors, enforcing hunting bans; the safe roost is the product of that sustained community effort.
  • ✗ 2. Satellite tagging (from 2013) was used to study the falcons' routes; migratory birds navigate on their own, and tags play no part in guiding them back.
  • ✗ 3. The falcons are passage migrants: they spend about a month in Nagaland and then continue to southern Africa, so they have not become permanent residents.

Remember · Amur Falcon: breeds in Siberia–China–Mongolia, stops over in Nagaland (Pangti, Doyang, Wokha) in Oct–Nov, winters in southern Africa; a community-conservation success after 2012.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2026 · Q32

X-Ray · Core #23 Medium Provisional key

माधव राष्ट्रीय उद्यान के संदर्भ में, निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा/कौन-से कथन सही है/हैं ?

  1. 1.इसे वर्ष 2025 में भारत का बाघ अभयारण्य (टाइगर रिज़र्व) घोषित किया गया था।
  2. 2.साख्य सागर, जिसे रामसर स्थल के रूप में नामित किया गया है, इस राष्ट्रीय उद्यान के भीतर स्थित है।
  3. 3.इसका क्षेत्रफल मध्य प्रदेश और राजस्थान के बीच में साझा होता है।

नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर उत्तर चुनिए :

Read this question in English

With reference to Madhav National Park, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It was declared a Tiger Reserve in India in 2025.

2. Sakhya Sagar, which is designated as a Ramsar Site, is situated within this National Park.

3. Its area is shared between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Select the answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only · (b) 1 and 2 · (c) 2 and 3 · (d) 3 only

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) 1 और 2

Madhav National Park, near Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, became Madhav Tiger Reserve in 2025, and Sakhya Sagar, a Ramsar site since 2022, lies inside it. The park is wholly in Madhya Pradesh, so the claim of a share with Rajasthan is wrong.

  • ✓ 1. In March 2025 the Prime Minister announced Madhav Tiger Reserve as the country's 58th and Madhya Pradesh's 9th tiger reserve.
  • ✓ 2. Sakhya Sagar, a man-made reservoir in the core zone of the reserve, was designated a Ramsar site in July 2022 and is a wetland of Madhya Pradesh.
  • ✗ 3. The park lies in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. It is not a transboundary area and no part of it is in Rajasthan.

Remember · Madhav Tiger Reserve (Shivpuri, MP): 58th in India, 9th in MP, announced March 2025. Sakhya Sagar, a Ramsar site since 2022, lies inside it. All within Madhya Pradesh.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

1 of its 7 sub-topics is Core

1 Core · 0 High · 2 Steady · 4 Rare

  • Core #23National parks, sanctuaries & tiger reserves · 9 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

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