Previous Year Question
The country which has the finest system of protected lands in the world is:
China
Costa Rica
India
Switzerland
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Switzerland has developed different types of protected areas and conservation instruments at the national, cantonal and local levels for the conservation of nature and landscapes. These include the Swiss National Park, parks of national importance, wildlife reserves, Ramsar sites, biosphere reserves and the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments.
The present Swiss system also includes Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) as part of its biodiversity conservation network. According to 2026 data of Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment, approximately 13.4% of the land area is covered by protected areas and about 8% by OECMs; after removing overlaps, the total area set aside for biodiversity is about 21.4%.
An important point is that the expression “finest system” is not a presently standardized international numerical ranking. Therefore, it should not be interpreted merely on the basis of the current percentage of protected land. For example, Costa Rica's official conservation agency SINAC states that today about 25% of its national territory is protected through 145 protected wildlife areas.