UPSC Prelims 2023 GS Paper I · Q13 of 98 Environment & Ecology medium

Invasive Species Specialist 'Group' (that develops Global Invasive Species Database) belongs to which one of the following organizations?

  1. (a) The International Union for Conservation of Nature ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) The United Nations Environment Programme
  3. (c) The United Nations World Commission for Environment and Development
  4. (d) The World Wide Fund for Nature

Why the answer is (a)

• The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) is a global network of experts under the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• It maintains the Global Invasive Species Database, which profiles invasive alien species and their impacts, and compiled the well-known list of '100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species'.

• The IUCN also publishes the Red List of Threatened Species and the Green List of protected areas.

• UNEP, the WCED (the Brundtland Commission) and WWF are separate bodies without this group.

• Hence option (a).

Why the other options are wrong

(b) The United Nations Environment Programme
UNEP does not house the ISSG.
(c) The United Nations World Commission for Environment and Development
The WCED was a one-time commission that produced the Brundtland Report.
(d) The World Wide Fund for Nature
WWF is a conservation NGO without this specialist group.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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