UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 70 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Wetlands International

With reference to a conservation organization called 'Wetlands International', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is an intergovernmental organization formed by the countries which are signatories to Ramsar Convention.

2. It works at the field level to develop and mobilize knowledge, and use the practical experience to advocate for better policies.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 2 only. Wetlands International works at field level and advocates for better policy, but it is a non governmental organisation, not an intergovernmental one.

Analysis

Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Wetlands International is a global non governmental organisation dedicated to wetlands. It works with the Ramsar Convention but was not created by its signatories and is not composed of member states. Statement 2 is CORRECT. Its stated method is to develop and mobilise knowledge from field level work and to use that practical experience to advocate for better policies.

Source

Wetlands International material on the organisation.

How to crack it

The tell is that statement 2 reads like an organisation's own self description while statement 1 makes a hard institutional claim, and hard claims are where questions are decided. Ask three things about every conservation body: who founded it, who its members are, and whether it was created by a treaty. States as members means intergovernmental; individuals and institutions as members means non governmental. Wetlands International, BNHS and WWF all sit on the non governmental side, and UPSC tests that boundary repeatedly.

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