• Option B is correct.
Critically endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of wild species. There are five quantitative criteria to determine whether a taxon is threatened. A taxon is critically endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the following criteria:
o Populations have declined or will decrease, by greater than 80% over the last 10 years or three generations.
o Have a restricted geographical range.
o Small population size of less than 250 individuals and continuing decline at 25% in 3 years or one generation.
o Very small or restricted population of fewer than 50 mature individuals.
o High probability of extinction in the wild.

• Option A is correct.Only one pair i.e. Pair 2 is correctly matched.
• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.Hence, pair 1 is not correctly matched.
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on 12 October 2014, 90 days after the date of deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification.Hence, pair 2 is correctly matched.
• Rotterdam convention is an international environmental convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.It was adopted in 1998.It came into force in 2004.Hence, pair 3 is incorrectly matched.

• Option A is correct.
• An alien species which becomes established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat, is an agent of change, and threatens native biological diversity.
• According to the Convention for Biological Diversity, invasive alien species are the second largest cause of biodiversity loss in the world and impose high costs to agriculture, forestry, and aquatic ecosystems. In fact, introduced species are a greater threat to native biodiversity than pollution, harvest, and disease combined.
Invasive species possess characteristic features like “pioneer species” in varied landscapes, tolerant of a wide range of soil and weather conditions, generalist in distribution, produces copious amounts of seed that disperse easily, grows aggressive root systems, short generation time, high dispersal rates, long flowering and fruiting periods, broad native range, abundant in native range.Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Invasive species have relatively small amounts of DNA in their cell nuclei. Apparently, the cells in these plants are able to divide and multiply more quickly and consequently the entire plant can grow more rapidly than species with higher cellular DNA content. This gives them a leg up in disturbed sites.Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• Option D is correct.
• Western tragopan is rare and elusive bird of the pheasant family with striking plumage lives in the high altitudes of the Himalaya; the highest population of the bird is in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, 75 kilometres from Kullu town. The western tragopan, the State bird of Himachal, looks like a jungle fowl and is secretive and shy. Local residents call it jujurana, which means king of birds. The colourful bird is the theme of many folk songs describing it as a beautiful creation of God.

• Option B is correct.
Pair 1 is correctly matched: For the first time ever, the Impressed Tortoise (Manouria impressa) has been found in India. Impressed Tortoise (Manouria impressa) has been discovered in Yazali area of the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• There are only two species of tortoises under the Manouria genus. India was known to be the home of only the Asian Forest Tortoise (Manouria emys) until the discovery of the Impressed Tortoise. The Asian Forest Tortoise, the largest in mainland Asia, is found only in the northeast. Its IUCN status is vulnerable.
• Pair 2 is not correctly matched: Golden langur – an endangered primate found in forests along the Indo-Bhutan border in Assam.
• Chakrashila is India’s first wildlife sanctuary with golden langur as the primary species.
• In order to ensure them the food availability, a project was initiated under the MGNREGA to plant guava, mango, blackberry and other fruit trees in Kakoijana Reserve Forest. IUCN status is endangered.

• Pair 3 is correctly matched: Snow leopards live in the mountainous regions of central and southern Asia.
• In India, snow leopard is found along the upper reaches of the Himalayan range and, in India, it is reported to have a presence in Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh. The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species.

• Option B is correct.
• “Hope spots” is the initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Mission Blue, an organization involved in the study of oceans. Hence,statement 1 is incorrect.
• A hope spot is an area of an ocean that needs special protection because of its wildlife and significant underwater habitats.Hence,statement 2 is incorrect.
• The two groups of islands,Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep islands considered extremely rich in marine biodiversity, are the first places in India to have been added in the list of 50 global ‘hope spots’. Hence,statement 3 is correct.

• Option A is correct.
• Even though they live in the ocean all of the time, dolphins are mammals, not fish.
• Like every mammal, dolphins are warm blooded. Unlike fish, who breathe through gills, dolphins breathe air using lungs. Dolphins must make frequent trips to the surface of the water to catch a breath. The blowhole on top of a dolphin’s head acts as a “nose,” making it easy for the dolphin to surface for air.Hence,statement 1 is correct.
• Gangetic river Dolphins are categorized as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Hence,statement 2 is incorrect.
• Indus river Dolphins can only be found in the lower parts of the Indus River in Pakistan and in River Beas, a tributary of the Indus River in Punjab, India.Hence,statement 3 is incorrect.

• Option A is correct.
• Mugger (marsh/India) crocodile (Vulnerable) is a freshwater species found sparsely in various lakes, rivers and marshes in the Indian subcontinent. Saltwater Crocodile is considered as the Earth’s largest living crocodile species, infamous globally as a known maneater.Gharials are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts which resembles a pot (ghara in Hindi).
• Odisha has emerged as the only state to have all the three species of the reptile freshwater Gharials at Satakosiya in Mahanadi, muggers in Bhitarkanika National park and saltwater crocodiles.

• Option D is correct.
• Cool-spots’ are the world’s last refuges where high numbers of threatened species still persist and where wildlife is still thriving. Cool-spots could be the result of protection or because of intact habitat that has not been cleared yet. Some of the “cool spots” identified include parts of the Amazon rainforest, Andes Mountains, and tundra and boreal forests of Russia and North America. The Amazon rainforest is the overwhelmingly dominant global cool spot.Hence option D is correct.

• Option C is correct.
• An umbrella species is a certain species that has been selected for making conservation-related decisions. They have the name “umbrella” because protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of their habitat. The umbrella species can be used to help select the location of potential reserves that can help balance the ecosystem. They also help determine the size, composition, structure and ecosystems of these conservation areas.