Which of the following has been identified as a ‘biodiversity hot-spot’ in India?

The correct answer is B) Western Ghats. The Western Ghats, together with Sri Lanka's wet zone, is one of the recognised global biodiversity hotspots, and it is a strong candidate for the 'hotspot' label because of its high endemism and threatened species. India has four hotspots in all: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Sundaland (covering the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka hotspot.

• A) Sundarban is a mangrove delta ecosystem. It is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger, its tiger reserve status and its Ramsar and World Heritage recognition, but it is not a hotspot.
• C) Manas is a tiger reserve, a biosphere reserve and a World Heritage Site (1985). It is a protected landscape, not a hotspot designation.
• D) Cherapunji (Sohra) is a place in Meghalaya noted for extremely high rainfall. It is a climate reference, not a biodiversity category.

The core concept is the hotspot: an area with at least 1,500 endemic plant species that has lost at least 70 percent of its primary vegetation. The concept was introduced by Norman Myers in 1988. For Mains, link it to the conservation versus development debate in GS III, especially the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghats and the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports.

Trap: candidates pick Sundarban or Manas because they are famous protected areas. Remember that 'hotspot' is a separate classification from protected area status.