Which of the following are UNESCO's natural world heritage sites in India?

Question

Which of the following are UNESCO's natural world heritage sites in India?

i. Kaziranga national park

ii. Manas wildlife sanctuary

iii. Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary

iv. Western Ghats

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Correct Answer

Option B — i, ii and iv

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is i, ii and iv.

Key Points

• Three of the four listed are UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites in India:
  • Kaziranga National Park (i) — inscribed 1985, Assam
  • Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (ii) — inscribed 1985, Assam
  • Western Ghats (iv) — inscribed 2012, a serial site of 39 properties across Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra
• The Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary (iii) is not a World Heritage Site. The Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann is a protected area of national importance, but it does not carry the UNESCO inscription.

Additional Information

• India's Natural World Heritage Sites number seven: Kaziranga NP, Manas WLS, Keoladeo NP (all 1985), Sundarbans NP (1987), Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers NPs (1988, extended 2005), Western Ghats (2012) and Great Himalayan National Park (2014).
• Kaziranga holds roughly two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinoceros population, and is also a Tiger Reserve with one of the highest tiger densities anywhere. It sits on the Brahmaputra floodplain, where the annual flood is essential to the grassland ecology.
• Manas is unusual in carrying multiple designations at once — World Heritage Site, Tiger Reserve, Elephant Reserve, Biosphere Reserve and National Park. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992 during a period of unrest, and was removed from it in 2011 after recovery.
• The Western Ghats are one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity, older than the Himalayas, and the source of the rivers of peninsular India. The Gadgil Committee (2011) and the Kasturirangan Committee (2013) proposed contrasting approaches to demarcating their Ecologically Sensitive Areas.
• India has 43 World Heritage Sites in total — the majority cultural, seven natural, and one mixed: Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim, inscribed in 2016 under both natural and cultural criteria.
• The World Heritage Convention was adopted in 1972 and is administered by UNESCO; IUCN is its advisory body for natural sites, and ICOMOS for cultural ones.