Which of the following about Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary is/are correct? 1. It is recently declared as a Ramsar Site (wetlands of international importance) 2. It is located in Uttar Pradesh Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — A, 1 only. Statement 1 holds. Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary was designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on 13 April 2021, and the designation was made public on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2022, when it was announced as India's forty-ninth Ramsar site — nine weeks before this paper was set, which is what makes 'recently' accurate. Statement 2 fails, and it is the whole question: Khijadiya is not in Uttar Pradesh but in Gujarat, about twelve kilometres from Jamnagar in Jamnagar district, on the coast of the Gulf of Kachchh. The Ramsar site covers about 512 hectares, and the sanctuary is unusual for holding freshwater lakes and salt and freshwater marshland side by side, where river water meets the sea; around three hundred bird species have been recorded there.
- (b)2 only — Keeps only the false statement. Khijadiya is a Gujarat sanctuary, in Jamnagar district, and has no connection with Uttar Pradesh.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Accepts the Uttar Pradesh location along with the Ramsar status. Uttar Pradesh does have a long list of Ramsar sites of its own, which is what makes this option tempting, but Khijadiya is not among them.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Rejects the Ramsar designation as well, which is wrong — the site was designated in April 2021 and announced on World Wetlands Day 2022 as India's forty-ninth Ramsar site.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, signed at Ramsar in Iran on 2 February 1971, commits its parties to designate wetlands of international importance and to use all their wetlands wisely. India acceded in 1982; Chilika Lake in Odisha and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan were its first two sites, both listed on 1 October 1981. India's list has grown quickly since 2019, and announcements are often timed to World Wetlands Day on 2 February, which is why the date of designation recorded on the Ramsar register and the date the public hears about it can be months apart.
This is a two-statement item where one statement is a status and the other a location, and the location is where the mark is. The reliable way in is the name: Khijadiya is a Gujarati place name, from the khijada or khejri tree, and the sanctuary sits near Jamnagar on the Gulf of Kachchh. A second check is the company it keeps — Khijadiya was announced alongside Bakhira in Uttar Pradesh as India's forty-eighth and forty-ninth Ramsar sites, and it is the Bakhira half of that pair that belongs to Uttar Pradesh. It is also worth being careful with dates on Ramsar questions generally: this site's official designation date is 13 April 2021 while the announcement came on 2 February 2022, and a question that says 'recently declared' is answerable on either.
- Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary lies in Jamnagar district, Gujarat, about twelve kilometres from the city of Jamnagar.
- It was designated a Ramsar site on 13 April 2021 and announced on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2022, as India's forty-ninth Ramsar site.
- The Ramsar site covers about 512 hectares and combines freshwater lakes with salt and freshwater marshland where river water meets the sea.
- About three hundred bird species have been recorded there, including the black-necked stork.
- The Ramsar Convention was signed at Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971; India acceded in 1982, its first two sites being Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park.
- Placing Khijadiya in Uttar Pradesh because it was announced in the same batch as Bakhira, which is a Uttar Pradesh site.
- Assuming the announcement date is the designation date. Khijadiya was designated in April 2021 and announced in February 2022.
- Memorising India's Ramsar count as a fixed number. It has risen steadily and must be dated whenever it is quoted.
As a two-statement item pairing a site with its State and its status, as a which-State question, or as a match between Ramsar sites and States.
The ‘Ramsar Convention’ relates to which one of the following areas?
- (a) Wetland preservation
- (b) Promote afforestation
- (c) Action plan on climate change
- (d) Combat desertification
Answer(a) Wetland preservation
The convention behind the designation, asked in the very next session. Once Ramsar is fixed to wetlands rather than to forests, climate or desertification, any question about a newly listed sanctuary reduces to knowing where the sanctuary is.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, a Ramsar site, is located in which one of the following States?
- (a)Uttar Pradesh
- (b)Gujarat
- (c)Rajasthan
- (d)Maharashtra
Answer(b) Gujarat — in Jamnagar district, on the coast of the Gulf of Kachchh.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which two wetlands were India's first Ramsar sites, both listed in 1981?
- (a)Loktak Lake and Wular Lake
- (b)Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park
- (c)Kolleru Lake and Point Calimere
- (d)Sambhar Lake and Harike Wetland
Answer(b) Chilika Lake and Keoladeo National Park — designated on 1 October 1981, with India acceding to the Convention in 1982.