Which of the following statements with regard to Biosphere Reserve is/are correct? 1. The idea of Biosphere Reserve was initiated by UNESCO in 1973-74 2. There are 18 designated Biosphere Reserves in India 3. All Biosphere Reserves in India have been included in world network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)1 and 2 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Correct — C, 1 and 2 only. Statement 1 is treated as correct: the biosphere-reserve concept grew out of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme in the early 1970s (a MAB task force gave it shape in 1973-74). Statement 2 is correct: India has 18 designated Biosphere Reserves. Statement 3 is wrong — only some of India's 18 reserves are on the UNESCO World Network, so not all qualify. Hence statements 1 and 2 only.
- (a)1 only — It drops statement 2, but India does have 18 designated Biosphere Reserves, so statement 2 is also correct.
- (b)2 only — It drops statement 1, but the biosphere-reserve idea did originate with UNESCO's MAB Programme in the early 1970s, so statement 1 is correct too.
- (d)1, 2 and 3 — It wrongly includes statement 3 — not all 18 Indian reserves are on the UNESCO World Network (only about a dozen were at the time), so statement 3 is false.
Biosphere reserves are large protected areas designated under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, each zoned into a strictly protected core, a buffer, and a transition zone that allows sustainable human use. India designates its own reserves nationally, and a subset of these are additionally recognised on the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).
The catch is statement 3's word 'All'. National designation and UNESCO World Network listing are two different steps — many Indian reserves are designated at home but not (yet) on the UNESCO list, which makes statement 3 false.
- The concept comes from UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971 and shaped in the early 1970s.
- India has 18 designated Biosphere Reserves.
- Only about a dozen of the 18 were on the UNESCO World Network at the time of the 2020 exam (13 today, after Cold Desert was added in 2025).
- Nilgiri (1986) was India's first Biosphere Reserve; each reserve is zoned into core, buffer and transition areas.
- Reading 'All ... included in the world network' as true — only a subset of Indian reserves are on the UNESCO list.
- Confusing the count of nationally designated reserves (18) with the count on the UNESCO World Network.
Asked as statement-based 'which are correct' — the false statement usually over-claims coverage or the UNESCO listing.
Out of all the Biosphere Reserves in India, four have been recognized on the World Network by UNESCO. Which one of the following is not one of them?
- (a) Gulf of Mannar
- (b) Kanchenjunga
- (c) Nanda Devi
- (d) Sunderbans
Answer(b) Kanchenjunga
Same distinction — Indian reserves versus those on the UNESCO World Network. UPSC 2008 tests which are on the WNBR; this NDA item's false statement 3 wrongly claims all Indian reserves are on that network.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which was the first Biosphere Reserve to be designated in India?
- (a)Nanda Devi
- (b)Nilgiri
- (c)Sunderbans
- (d)Gulf of Mannar
Answer(b) Nilgiri — designated in 1986 as India's first Biosphere Reserve.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A biosphere reserve's most strictly protected, legally undisturbed area is called its
- (a)buffer zone
- (b)transition zone
- (c)core zone
- (d)manipulation zone
Answer(c) core zone — the inner area kept free of human interference.