RAS question
The Western Ghats are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since:
Correct answer: (C) 2012.
The Western Ghats have been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012, when thirty-nine places in the region were declared World Heritage Sites.
Explanation
The answer is 2012 because the Press Information Bureau fact sheet records that, in 2012, thirty-nine places in the Western Ghats region were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The year being tested is the year of UNESCO recognition, not the year when the ecological importance of the Ghats became known. The reason for that recognition was the Western Ghats' exceptional biological diversity and endemism, with the nomination covering 39 serial properties. So the key exam point is a linked pair: 2012 is the recognition year, and the basis was the region's high conservation value rather than a political or administrative milestone.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2002 is too early; the PIB source places the UNESCO World Heritage declaration of thirty-nine Western Ghats places in 2012.
- (B) 2008 predates the recognition recorded in the PIB fact sheet, which identifies 2012 as the year of UNESCO declaration.
- (D) 2015 is later than the recognised date; the Western Ghats listing had already occurred in 2012.
Concept
This tests environment and ecology, especially India's UNESCO World Heritage natural sites and biodiversity hotspots. It recurs in RAS because protected-area status, biodiversity value and official recognition years are standard static-GK anchors.