Q1. [5] deep thorough-understanding
Conservation planning in India has progressively shifted from protecting a few high-profile species like the tiger to protecting biodiversity as a whole, eventually including insects and plants. Analyse why this broader approach represents a more effective conservation strategy than focusing only on large, well-known animals.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:29 · grounding rag
Model Answer
The broader approach to conservation is more effective for the following reasons:
- Ecological diversity and life support: Conservation preserves ecological diversity along with essential life support systems — water, air, and soil — which cannot be sustained by protecting only a few large animals.
- Genetic diversity: It preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals, which is vital for species breeding and agricultural improvement. Traditional crop varieties and aquatic biodiversity for fisheries depend on this.
- Interdependence in food webs: Tiger conservation itself was recognised not just as saving an endangered species but as preserving entire biotopes. All species, including insects, are part of interconnected food webs.
- Legal expansion: Under the Wildlife Act (1980, 1986), hundreds of butterflies, moths, beetles, and a dragonfly were protected. In 1991, six plant species were added — acknowledging that ecosystems depend on all components.
- Completeness: Focusing only on high-profile animals ignores the plants and insects that sustain entire ecosystems, making conservation incomplete and ineffective in the long run.
Source: Conservation of Forest and Wildlife in India, Chapter 2; Project Tiger, Chapter 2
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Explanation
- The examiner expects you to go beyond Project Tiger and explain why biodiversity-level conservation matters — ecological interdependence, genetic diversity, life support systems.
- Use evidence from the passage: legal additions of insects (1980/86) and plants (1991) show the progressive shift.
- Avoid padding; five crisp points with brief explanation each is ideal for 5 marks.
- Key terms to use: ecological diversity, genetic diversity, biotopes, life support systems, Wildlife Protection Act.