Only one pair is correctly matched. The correct pair is as follows:
1. Bandipur National Park Karnataka Hence pair 1 is INCORRECTLY matched.
2. Tadoba National Park Maharashtra Hence pair 2 is CORRECTLY matched.
3. Vansda National Park Gujrat Hence pair 3 is INCORRECTLY matched.

• Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is incorrect.
• Biodiversity increases as we move from the poles towards the equator. India is located between 8°4′ North and 37°6′ North latitudes and 68°7′ East and 97°25′ East longitude. Due to this position, India has such rich biodiversity. Although India has only 2.42% of the world’s land area but its contribution to the world’s biodiversity is approximately 8% of the total number of species which is estimated to be 1.75 million (As per Global Biodiversity Assessment of UNEP of 1995). 6% of the world species are found in India. 45000 plants species comprising about 12 % of world’s flora are found in Indian forests. Two of the twelve biodiversity hotspots in the world are in India. They are the North-Eastern region and the Western Ghats. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Tropical rainforests occur in areas by having high temperature and high humidity and receives above 200 cm of rainfall per year. Soil is rich in humus. Hence, these forests have a very rich biodiversity e.g. Brazilian tropical rain forests have more than 300 species of trees in an area of 200 square kilometer.
• Biodiversity, as measured by the numbers of plant and vertebrate species is greatest in the Western Ghats and the northeast. This is because of the presence of tropical rainforests that are typically the richest habitats for species diversity. Both these areas are included in the world’s list of hotspots of biodiversity: small geographic areas with high species diversity. Of the two, the Western Ghats have more endemic species, those that are found nowhere else. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• More than 70 per cent of all the species recorded are animals, while plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) comprise no more than 22per cent of the total. Among animals, insects are the most species-rich taxonomic group, making up more than 70 per cent of the total. That means, out of every 10 animals on this planet, 7 are insects. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is incorrect. In the wake of the Bhopal Tragedy, the Government of India enacted the Environment Protection Act of 1986 under Article 253 of the Constitution.
Statement 1 is correct.
The purpose of the Act is to implement the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
Statement 2 is incorrect.
One of its many objectives is to provide for the creation of an authority or authorities for environmental protection.
Statement 3 is correct.
Section 2 of the EPA deals with some definitions, for example:
• Section 2 (a) “Environment” includes water, air, and land and the interrelationship that exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property. This definition is not exhaustive but an inclusive one.
• Section 2 (b) “Environmental Pollutant” means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be injurious to the environment.
• Section 2 (c) “Environmental Pollution” means the presence in the environment of any environmental pollutant. This implies the imbalance in environment. The materials or substances when after mixing in air, water or land alters their properties in such manner, that the very use of all or any of the air water and land by man and any other living organism becomes lethal and dangerous for health.

• Pair 1 is incorrectly matched. Dibru-Saikhowa NP is located in Assam.
• Pair 2 is correctly matched. Raimona NP is located in Assam.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched. Intanki NP national park is located in Nagaland.
• Pair 4 is incorrectly matched. Murlen NP is located in Mizoram.

• Option C is correct.
• National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries along with Biosphere Reserves are created exclusively for protecting some of the rare and endangered species of both flora and fauna. The wildlife sanctuary and national parks are protected areas and both support wide variety of wild animals and birds. A Sanctuary can be upgraded to a National Park but not vice versa.
• Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Though their status is internationally recognized.
• A National Park is a natural area designated to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations. Many Wildlife Sanctuaries are upgraded to the status of a National Park in India, to grant greater protection to the area and enhance conservation efforts in the area.

All the pairs are correctly matched. Manas National Park:
It is a national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam, India. Pair 1 is correctly matched.
Fourteen captive-bred pygmy hogs were released in Manas National Park by the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) in 2020.
Dachigam National Park:
It is located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pair 2 is correctly matched.
The park is best known as the home of the hangul, or Kashmir stag. It is categorized as critically endangered.
Silent Valley National Park:
It is located in the state of Kerala. Pair 3 is correctly matched.
Silent Valley Park is known for many highly endangered species such as lion-tailed macaque, tiger, gaur, leopard, wild boar, panther, Indian Civet, and Sambhar.

• Options 1 and 2 are correct. Option 3 is incorrect.
• Ex situ conservation literally means, “off-site conservation”. It is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its natural habitat; for example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, an artificial environment which is similar to the natural habitat of the respective animal and within the care of humans.
• Examples of ex-situ conservation methods are Zoological parks, botanical gardens, and wildlife safari parks.
• Examples of in-situ conservation methods are biosphere reserves, national parks, sanctuaries, and sacred groves.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is incorrect.
Critical wildlife habitats (CWH) are defined under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, as the “areas of national parks and sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
The new guidelines released by ministry of environment and forests in 2011 envisage a bigger role for the gram sabha, whose free informed consent must be given before any relocation is carried out. It also seems to ensure that forest rights are settled under the FRA before a CWH can be declared in an area.
Statement 3 is correct.
An expert committee – which includes members of the gram sabha, an ecologist, a tribal welfare NGO and a social scientist apart from the Forest Department’s officers – will now take the main responsibility for determining the habitats.

Options 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Rhododendron: Rhododendron is a large genus of flowering plants and is found mainly in Eastern Himalayas, Western Himalayas and Nilgiris. Some plants of Rhododendron are evergreen and some are deciduous in nature.
Options 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Rhododendron is naturally found ine Kanchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, Neora Valley National Park, Singalila National Park.
Option 2 is incorrect. Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary mainly consists of mainly mangrove scrub, forest and swamp.

Pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched. Pair 2 is incorrectly matched.
1. Haiderpur Uttar Pradesh
2. Wadhvana Gujrat
3. Bhindawa WLS Haryana