UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 76 of 98

UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Birdlife International

With reference to an organization known as 'BirdLife International', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a Global Partnership of Conservation Organizations.

2. The concept of 'biodiversity hotspots' originated from this organization.

3. It identifies the sites known/referred to as 'Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas'.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: C. 1 and 3 only

Verdict

The answer is 1 and 3 only. BirdLife International is a global partnership that identifies Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, but the biodiversity hotspot concept did not originate with it.

Analysis

Statement 1 is CORRECT. BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations, with the Bombay Natural History Society as its Indian partner. Statement 3 is CORRECT. Identifying and documenting Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas is its signature programme. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. The term biodiversity hotspot was coined by the British biologist Norman Myers in 1988, and the hotspot concept is associated with Conservation International rather than with BirdLife.

Source

BirdLife International official material.

How to crack it

Attribute every conservation concept to its originator, because misattribution is the standard way these questions are falsified. Hotspots belong to Norman Myers and Conservation International, the Red List belongs to IUCN, Important Bird Areas belong to BirdLife, and the Living Planet Index belongs to WWF. Note also the internal clue: an organisation named for birds is unlikely to have originated a concept covering all biodiversity, so the mismatch of scope is itself a warning.

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