Environment and Protected Areas PYQs – Geography, SSC & Railway

Correct Answer: Option 3 – Keibul Lamjao National Park
Keibul Lamjao National Park in Manipur, located on the Loktak Lake, is the world's only floating national park. It rests on phumdi (floating masses of vegetation, soil, and organic matter). It is the last natural refuge of the endangered Manipur brow-antlered deer (Sangai), the state animal of Manipur.
Option 1 (Keoladeo National Park): Located in Rajasthan; a famous bird sanctuary and UNESCO World Heritage Site; not a floating park.
Option 2 (Manas National Park): Located in Assam; a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Tiger Reserve; not a floating park.
Option 4 (Kaziranga National Park): Located in Assam; famous for the one-horned rhinoceros; not a floating park.

Correct Answer: Option 1 – Chilika Lake
Chilika Lake (Odisha) is India's first and largest Ramsar wetland site, designated in 1981. It is Asia's largest coastal lagoon (approximately 1,100 km²), situated on the coast of Odisha. Chilika is a critical habitat for migratory birds (over 160 migratory species from Central Asia, China, Iran), supports the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, and provides livelihood to fishing communities. India has over 85 Ramsar sites (as of 2024 — the most of any country).
Option 2 ( Chandubi Lake): A seasonal lake in Kamrup district, Assam; not a Ramsar site.
Option 3 (Sukhna Lake): A man-made reservoir in Chandigarh; a popular recreational lake but not a Ramsar site.
Option 4 ( Silsako Lake): A wetland in Guwahati, Assam; not an official Ramsar designated site.

Correct Answer: Option 2 – Wetland ecosystem protection
The Amrit Dharohar scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 and launched in 2023 to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands in India. It focuses on the 75 Ramsar wetland sites designated in India, aiming to enhance their biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism potential, and livelihoods of local communities. The scheme recognises wetlands as 'Amrit Dharohar' (treasure of nectar/heritage) for their ecological services: water purification, flood control, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity support.
Option 1 (River conservation): River conservation is covered under Namami Gange Programme (Ganga) and National River Conservation Plan — not Amrit Dharohar.
Option 3 (Wildlife protection): Wildlife is protected under Project Tiger, Project Elephant, and the Wildlife Protection Act — not the Amrit Dharohar scheme.
Option 4 (Air pollution control): Air quality management is under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) — unrelated to Amrit Dharohar.

Correct Answer: Option 1 – Only 1 and 2 are correct
Statement 1 (TRUE): India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted to UNFCCC in August 2022, includes a target to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels (upgraded from the earlier 33–35% target in the original 2015 NDC).
Statement 2 (TRUE): India's updated NDC commits to achieving about 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources by 2030 (upgraded from 40% in the original NDC). This includes solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, and other renewable sources.
Statement 3 (FALSE): India's current NDC does NOT specify a net-zero target by 2035. India announced a net-zero target of 2070 at COP26 in Glasgow (November 2021) — PM Modi's ' Panchamrit ' commitments. The 2035 figure is incorrect; India's net-zero goal is 2070.
Only Statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Correct Answer: Option 3 – Narmada Bachao Andolan
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), meaning 'Save Narmada Movement,' was a social movement led by activist Medha Patkar opposing the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River due to its massive displacement of tribal and rural communities. The movement began in the 1980s and became internationally recognized.
Option 1 (Save Ganga Movement): A movement focused on cleaning and protecting the Ganga river; led by environmentalists and saints, not Medha Patkar.
Option 2 (Chipko Movement): A forest conservation movement in Uttarakhand (1970s) where villagers hugged trees to prevent felling; led by figures like Sunderlal Bahuguna and Gaura Devi.
Option 4 (Project Tiger): A government wildlife conservation programme launched in 1973 to protect tigers; not a protest movement.

Answer: Option 3 — Dachigam
The Hangul (Kashmir stag) survives mainly in Dachigam National Park, near Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
It is the only surviving red-deer subspecies in India and is protected under Project Hangul.
Revision note — Dachigam and the Hangul
• Hangul is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir; IUCN status Critically Endangered.
• Dachigam was declared a national park in 1981; its name refers to the ten villages moved to create it.
• Project Hangul began in the 1970s with the J&K government, IUCN and WWF.
• Other animals of Dachigam: Himalayan black bear, leopard, musk deer.
• Dudhwa (UP) — swamp deer (barasingha) and rhino; Chandoli (Maharashtra) — part of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.
• Campbell Bay — national park on Great Nicobar Island, part of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve.
Do not mix these up
• Hangul vs sangai — Hangul is the Kashmir stag (Dachigam); sangai is the brow-antlered deer of Keibul Lamjao (Manipur).
Also asked from this topic: the animal targeted by Project Hangul (Kashmir stag).

Answer: Option 4 — 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Nokrek is in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Panna is in Madhya Pradesh and Manas is in Assam.
Revision note — Biosphere reserves of India
• Set up under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme (launched 1971); India has 18 biosphere reserves.
• First: Nilgiri (1986) — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka; the first Indian reserve on UNESCO's world network (2000).
• Largest: Great Rann of Kutch (Gujarat); other big ones: Gulf of Mannar, Sundarbans.
• Nokrek (Meghalaya) — Garo Hills; known for wild citrus (Citrus indica); UNESCO network 2009.
• Panna (Madhya Pradesh) — on the Ken river, a tiger reserve too; UNESCO network 2020. MP also has Pachmarhi and shares Achanakmar-Amarkantak with Chhattisgarh.
• Manas (Assam) — on the Bhutan border; also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tiger reserve; home of the pygmy hog and golden langur. Assam's other reserve: Dibru-Saikhowa.
• 12 Indian reserves were on UNESCO's world network at the exam. As of 2026: the Cold Desert (Himachal Pradesh) reserve was added in 2025, making 13.
Also asked from this topic: the biosphere reserve located in Madhya Pradesh (Panna); the UNESCO programme behind biosphere reserves (MAB); India's first cold desert biosphere reserve (Spiti-Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh).