Wildlife Conservation: The Act, tigers and elephants

Three of the four are Endangered. The tiger is Endangered, as are the Ganges river dolphin and the Asian elephant. The Indian peafowl is widespread and common across the subcontinent and is assessed as Least Concern. The dolphin was declared the national aquatic animal in 2009 and the elephant the national heritage animal in 2010.

The WDPA is a joint project of UNEP and IUCN, compiled and managed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in Cambridge, UK, with data supplied by governments and other partners. It is published through the Protected Planet website and underpins the Protected Planet Report, which tracks progress on area-based targets such as Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. IUCN's protected-area categories are recorded in the database.

All four pairs are correct. The 2008 IUCN Guidelines list seven categories: Ia Strict Nature Reserve, Ib Wilderness Area, II National Park, III Natural Monument or Feature, IV Habitat/Species Management Area, V Protected Landscape/Seascape and VI Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources. Ia and Ib share the number 1 because both keep human impact to a minimum: Ia for science, Ib for large unmodified wilderness.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The 2008 Guidelines assign a category by the primary management objective, which should apply to at least three-quarters of the area. The categories are about objectives, not quality, so statement 2 is wrong: a Category VI area can be better managed than a Category II one, and effectiveness is assessed separately. IUCN treats category and governance type as independent axes, forming a matrix of seven categories and four governance types.

The four IUCN governance types are: A, governance by government; B, shared governance; C, private governance; and D, governance by Indigenous peoples and local communities. Governance by international organisations is not a type, because protected areas lie within national jurisdiction or are managed by actors in a country. Even World Heritage sites remain under national management; the international listing does not transfer governance.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. CBD COP14 (Sharm El-Sheikh, 2018), in Decision 14/8, defined an OECM as a geographically defined area, other than a protected area, governed and managed to achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for in situ conservation of biodiversity. Target 3 of the 2022 framework (the '30x30' target) counts both protected areas and OECMs. Statement 3 is wrong: an OECM delivers conservation regardless of its primary objective; examples include sacred groves or defence lands where conservation is a secondary or by-product outcome.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The IUCN Green List Standard (version 1.1, 2017) has four components, 17 criteria and 50 indicators. A site is Green Listed only if it meets all the criteria; indicators can be adapted to national conditions, but the criteria are global. Statement 3 is wrong: the programme covers 'protected and conserved areas' under any governance type, including community, private and shared arrangements, and even areas that are not formal protected areas.

All three statements are correct and paraphrase the 2008 Guidelines. Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) values landscapes shaped by long human interaction, such as terraced farmland. Category VI (Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources) combines conservation with low-level, non-industrial use, typically by local communities. Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) often needs active management, such as maintaining grasslands or water levels for a target species.