RAS question
Bhitarkanika Mangroves Ramsar site is in:
Correct answer: (D) Odisha.
Bhitarkanika Mangroves Ramsar site is in Odisha.
Explanation
Bhitarkanika is in Kendrapara, Odisha, and the official Ramsar Sites Information Service page lists Bhitarkanika Mangroves as Ramsar site no. 1205, with its designation date as 19-08-2002. Ramsar Sites Information Service describes it as one of the finest remaining patches of mangrove forests along the Indian coast, which supports why the site is asked under Environment and Ecology rather than as a bare map-location fact. It is India's second-largest mangrove ecosystem and is important for saltwater crocodiles and Olive Ridley nesting sites. Since the Ramsar entry places the site in Orissa, the present-day state answer is Odisha.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Andhra Pradesh is wrong because the official Ramsar entry places Bhitarkanika Mangroves in Orissa, now Odisha, not AP.
- (B) West Bengal is wrong because the Ramsar site named in the question is Bhitarkanika Mangroves, which the official listing places in Orissa, now Odisha.
- (C) Tamil Nadu is wrong because the Ramsar record does not locate Bhitarkanika Mangroves there; it lists the site in Orissa, now Odisha.
Concept
This tests Ramsar wetland location-mapping and major Indian mangrove ecosystems. It recurs in RAS because environment questions often combine protected-area status, state location, and distinctive ecological features.