Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: 1 and 2 only
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
The National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) 2017–2031 is an important policy document guiding wildlife conservation efforts in India. It is the third such Action Plan since independence and introduces climate change concerns into wildlife planning in a systematic way. This question presents three statements about the NWAP 2017–2031 and asks which of them are correct. Understanding the basic features and innovations of this plan is important for environment and ecology sections of competitive examinations.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
India adopted its first National Wildlife Action Plan in 1983 and the second one for 2002–2016. The plan for 2017–2031 is therefore the third NWAP, which makes Statement 1 correct. The 2017–2031 plan is widely noted as being the first to explicitly integrate concerns about climate change and its impact on wildlife and habitats, so Statement 2 is also correct. However, the plan is organised into more than ten thematic components or themes. Various references state that the plan has seventeen themes with a number of objectives and actions under each theme. Therefore Statement 3, which claims that the NWAP has ten components, is not correct.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Check the historical sequence of NWAPs. The first NWAP was for 1983–2001, the second for 2002–2016 and the third for 2017–2031. This confirms that Statement 1 is correct.
Step 2: Examine the focus of NWAP 2017–2031. It emphasises climate change as a key driver of ecosystem change and explicitly discusses the need to integrate climate change considerations into wildlife management. This makes Statement 2 correct.
Step 3: Consider the structure of the new plan. It is organised around multiple themes that are more than ten in number, most commonly cited as seventeen. Therefore the assertion that the plan has ten components is incorrect.
Step 4: Thus Statement 3 is not correct, while Statements 1 and 2 are correct.
Step 5: The option that matches this evaluation is “1 and 2 only”.
Verification / Alternative check:
A candidate can verify by recalling that the plan released in 2017 was widely discussed in news as the third NWAP and the first to focus on climate change. Many examination oriented notes highlight that it has seventeen themes, including landscape conservation, climate change, human wildlife conflict mitigation and community participation. Since seventeen is clearly more than ten, any option that treats ten as the total number of components is incorrect. This reinforces that Statements 1 and 2 are correct and Statement 3 is not.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (1 only) is incorrect because it ignores the important fact in Statement 2 about climate change integration, which is actually correct.
Option C (2 and 3 only) is incorrect because Statement 3 is wrong regarding the number of components in the plan.
Option D (1, 2 and 3) is incorrect because it treats Statement 3 as correct, which it is not.
Common Pitfalls:
A common trap is to assume that because earlier plans had fewer themes, the new plan would also have a similar number, leading to careless acceptance of the figure ten. Another pitfall is to confuse the number of years with the number of components or themes in the plan. Learners sometimes memorise only that the plan is for 2017–2031 and forget its structural details. It is helpful to remember at least two distinctive features of each major policy document, in this case “third NWAP” and “first to integrate climate change explicitly”, to answer such questions correctly.
Final Answer:
Only Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Therefore the correct choice is “1 and 2 only” for the National Wildlife Action Plan 2017–2031 question.
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