UPSC Prelims 2010 Q59: Environment & Ecology – International Environmental Treaties & Summits
- (a) Keep all the sites completely inaccessible to man so that they will not be exploited.
- (b) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and permit tourism and recreation only.
- (c) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach for a period without any exploitation, with specific criteria and specific period for each site, and then allow sustainable use of them by future generations.
- (d) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and allow their simultaneous sustainable use.
Answer: (d) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and allow their simultaneous sustainable use.
Explanation
How Ramsar Sites should be managed under the Convention
The Ramsar Convention on wetlands promotes a specific balanced management philosophy.
| Option | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Keep sites completely inaccessible to humans | Incorrect | The Convention does not advocate total exclusion of human access |
| (b) Conserve via ecosystem approach, permit only tourism/recreation | Incorrect | This is too narrow; the Convention allows broader sustainable use, not just tourism/recreation |
| (c) Conserve without exploitation for a set period, then allow future sustainable use | Incorrect | This describes a phased moratorium approach, which is not the Ramsar Convention's actual, ongoing-use philosophy |
| (d) Conserve through an ecosystem approach, allowing simultaneous sustainable use | Correct | The Ramsar Convention's core philosophy is 'wise use': conserving wetland ecosystems while allowing ongoing, sustainable human use, not a strict exclusion or delayed-use model |
Ramsar Convention's 'wise use' philosophy:
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Approach | Ecosystem-based conservation |
| Human use | Sustainable use permitted simultaneously, not excluded or delayed |
| Goal | Balance conservation and livelihoods |
Answer: (d) Conserve all the sites through ecosystem approach and allow their simultaneous sustainable use.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Total exclusion of human access is not the Ramsar Convention's approach.
- (b) Incorrect. Limiting sustainable use to only tourism/recreation is too narrow a reading of the Convention's philosophy.
- (c) Incorrect. A phased moratorium followed by later use is not how the Convention's 'wise use' principle actually works.
- (d) CORRECT. The Convention's 'wise use' principle combines ecosystem-approach conservation with simultaneous sustainable use.
Key point
The Ramsar Convention's core principle is 'wise use': conserving wetlands through an ecosystem approach WHILE allowing simultaneous sustainable use — not total exclusion, tourism-only use, or a delayed-use moratorium.
Remember
Ramsar Sites: conserved via an ecosystem approach while allowing simultaneous sustainable use — the Convention's 'wise use' principle.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Ramsar sites must be completely protected from human use, missing the 'wise use' principle.
- Narrowing sustainable use to only tourism/recreation, when broader uses are permitted.
- Inventing a phased moratorium model that doesn't reflect the Convention's actual ongoing-use philosophy.
Exam tip
Ramsar Convention = 'wise use' = conservation AND simultaneous sustainable use, not exclusion or a delayed-use model.
Sources
- Ramsar Convention Secretariat — Ramsar Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands: Handbook 1, Wise Use of Wetlands
- Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India — National Wetland Conservation Programme: guidelines for implementation