How many more 'Ramsar Sites' were added to Uttar Pradesh in January, 2020 ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, six. Around January 2020, six Uttar Pradesh wetlands were designated Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance), taking the state's tally from 1 to 7. The six were Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary, Saman Bird Sanctuary, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary, Sandi Bird Sanctuary and Sarsai Nawar Jheel — added to UP's only earlier Ramsar site, the Upper Ganga River (Brijghat–Narora stretch, designated 2005).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Three is too few — six new UP wetlands received Ramsar status in this round, not three.  (c) Nine overstates the addition; the correct number of new UP Ramsar sites in early 2020 was six (taking the state total to seven).  (d) Twelve is far too high; UP added six new Ramsar sites in this batch, and even its later total remained well below twelve at the time.

Concept: The Ramsar Convention (signed 2 February 1971 at Ramsar, Iran) is an intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and 'wise use' of wetlands; sites of international importance are listed as 'Ramsar Sites'. India acceded in 1982, and its first two sites — Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) — were designated in 1981. World Wetlands Day is observed on 2 February.

State PCS 2020 Q48 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q48 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer