UPSC Prelims 2017 Q80: Environment & Ecology – Protected Areas & Wildlife

UPSC Prelims 2017, General Studies Paper I · Environment & Ecology

The term 'M - STrIPES' is sometimes seen in the news in the context of

Answer: (b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves

Explanation

M-STrIPES

Full form: Monitoring System for Tigers - Intensive Protection and Ecological Status.

Launched in 2010 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) with the Wildlife Institute of India.

Feature	Detail
What it is	A software and mobile app based monitoring system
Used by	Forest guards on patrol in Tiger Reserves
Records	GPS tracks of patrols, animal signs, poaching and other threats
Purpose	Better protection and maintenance of Tiger Reserves

The other options:

Option	Related term
(a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna	Conservation breeding programmes of the Central Zoo Authority
(c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System	NavIC (IRNSS)
(d) Security of National Highways	Not related

Answer: (b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves.

(a) Incorrect. M-STrIPES tracks patrols in the wild; it is not about captive breeding.
(b) CORRECT. M-STrIPES is a monitoring system for the maintenance of Tiger Reserves.
(c) Incorrect. The indigenous satellite navigation system is NavIC, not M-STrIPES.
(d) Incorrect. It has nothing to do with the security of National Highways.

M-STrIPES (2010): NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India; GPS-based patrol and ecological monitoring system for Tiger Reserves.

M-STrIPES = tiger reserve patrol monitoring.

Guessing highways from the word 'stripes'.
Confusing M-STrIPES with the four-yearly All India Tiger Estimation; it is one tool used in it.
Thinking it is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs as a security system.

Stripes = tiger. The name itself gives the answer.