Three of the world’s biodiversity hotspots cover India’s regions of exceptionally high biodiversity. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Eastern Ghats
Biodiversity hotspots are regions with very high levels of species richness and a high degree of endemism, picked out for maximum protection. Of the hotspots of the world, NCERT names three that cover India’s regions of exceptionally high biodiversity: the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and the Himalaya.
Option (1) Western Ghats and Sri Lanka — Incorrect. The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka form one of the three hotspots that cover India.
Option (2) Indo-Burma — Incorrect. Indo-Burma is another of these three hotspots.
Option (3) Himalaya — Incorrect. The Himalaya is the third hotspot that covers India’s high-biodiversity regions.
Option (4) Eastern Ghats — Correct. The Eastern Ghats is not among the three hotspots. NCERT even uses it for contrast: the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.
NCERT Extract:
How do we Conserve Biodiversity? – “… They identified for maximum protection certain ‘biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness and high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region and not found anywhere else). … These hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss. Three of these hotspots – Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and Himalaya – cover our country’s exceptionally high biodiversity regions.”