Arrange the following biodiversity conservation efforts in India in chronological order from earlier to later:

Question

Arrange the following biodiversity conservation efforts in India in chronological order from earlier to later:

i. Project Hangul

ii. Project Elephant

iii. Project Snow leopard

iv. Project Tiger

The correct answer/s is/are:

1. A. i, ii, iii, iv
2. B. i, iv, ii, iii (Correct answer)
3. C. i, ii, iv, iii
4. D. iv, i, ii, iii

Correct Answer

Option B — i, iv, ii, iii

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is i, iv, ii, iii.

Key Points

• Arranging the conservation projects from earliest to latest:

• The sequence is therefore i → iv → ii → iii.

Additional Information

• Project Hangul (1970) was launched with the IUCN and WWF to save the **Kashmir stag (*Cervus hanglu hanglu*), the state animal of Jammu & Kashmir and the only surviving Asiatic subspecies of the red deer. Its stronghold is Dachigam National Park near Srinagar. Numbers had fallen to around 150 by the 1970s, and it remains Critically Endangered** on the IUCN Red List.
• Project Tiger (1 April 1973) began with nine reserves, including Jim Corbett — the first — Bandipur, Kanha, Manas, Melghat, Palamau, Ranthambore, Simlipal and Sunderbans. It is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), given statutory status by the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006. The All India Tiger Estimation, conducted every four years, is among the largest wildlife surveys in the world.
• Project Elephant (1992) aims to protect elephants, their habitat and corridors, address human–elephant conflict, and provide for the welfare of captive elephants. The elephant was declared the National Heritage Animal in 2010. MIKE — Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants — operates under CITES.
• Project Snow Leopard (2009) covers the high-altitude habitats of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and is built on a landscape approach involving local communities. The SPAI (Status of Snow Leopard in India) report of 2024 estimated 718 snow leopards in India.
• Other species programmes: Project Crocodile (1975), Project Red Panda (1996), Project Dolphin (2020) and Project Cheetah (2022), under which cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa were introduced at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.