Includes entire northeastern india, except assam and andaman group of islands and myanmar, thailand, vietnam, laos, cambodia and southern china. Global mammal distributions, biodiversity hotspots, and. Terrestrial biodiversity and the world heritage list iucn portals. Conserving the species residing there will have a colossal impact in protecting the global biodiversity.
Pdf global changes are predicted to have severe consequences for. Biodiversity and biodiversity hotspots iasmania civil. Biodiversity hotspots are geographic areas that contain high levels of diversified species, but are threatened with extinction. The hotspots are home to around 2 billion people, including some of the worlds poorest, many of whom rely directly on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood and wellbeing. There are two main components to hotspot identification 1. Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Along the way it has generated an unusual amount of interest among conservation biologists, with several hundred journal articles published on one aspect or another. Finally, it is becoming clear that the biodiversity hotspots approach represents a shortcut for a more complicated concept that is part of a bigger picture that includes consideration of ecosystem services. There are only 35 such regions, called biodiversity hotspots. In other words, maps of how many different kinds of plants and animals are in different parts of the world. Many global organizations are working to conserve these biodiversity hotspots, such as the world. Here at the site you will find many maps of our worlds biodiversity. The word biodiversity describes the richness of an area in terms of its. Pdf vulnerability of biodiversity hotspots to global change.
The british biologist norman myers coined the term biodiversity hotspot in. These hotspots include 49955 endemic species which account for about. There are currently 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Biodiversity hotspots around the world and in india by, r. Sbcd published texts to promote general understanding of the. The extinction crisis is vast, and conservation funds are limited, so focus is a critical element of cepfs approach. List of global hotspots of biodiversity biology discussion. Whats more, conservation international is an investor in the critical ecosystem partnership fund. Learn how do we determine which places on earth require the greatest attention and. These issues were a great concern in the 1980s and the subject of many discussions among scientists and conservationists until the biodiversity hotspots concept was introduced in 1988, which was. It is evident that highertaxon richness patterns can be combined to create even better surrogates for overall species diversity.
In fact, by definition, a biodiversity hotspot must have lost at least 70% of its habitat. Biodiversity hotspots around the world and in india. Research vulnerability of biodiversity hotspots to global. Africas hotspots of biodiversity redefined wur edepot. In 1999,when norman myers published the book,hotspots. Biodiversity hotspots and ocbil theory springerlink.
Biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities this chapter explains the concept of biodiversity hotspot and why conservation efforts should be prioritized to certain zones. The biodiversity hotspots are regions known to hold especially high numbers of species found nowhere else, yet their remaining habitat combined covers a little more than two percent of. Reid hotspots of biodiversity areas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributes are increasingly being. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. Hotspots, which have played a central role in the selection of sites for reserves, require careful rethinking. This means that these areas and the species present within them are both under. The two sets of hotspots overlap by 485tc our redefined hotspots. Iucn, international union for conservation of nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most. Find out the concept of biodiversity hotspots, criteria to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot and the name of hotspots regions of the world, which is very useful for the competitive examinations. The contribution of protected areas to human health 2010 pdf. Hotspot areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in montados report 2010, from wwf. We carried out a global examination of distributions of all nonmarine mammals to. The worlds 34 recognized biodiversity hotspots only cover 2. Biodiversity and biodiversity hotspots biodiversity.
These hot spots support nearly 60% of the worlds plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species. One way to protect, track and monitor areas where diversity is declining and provide an increase in conservation efforts to that area is to identify biodiversity hotspots 1 norman myers first proposed the topic in 1998 and it was later adapted into the current standard practices. Biodiversity conservation of the worlds lakes page 3. Biodiversity hotspots are locations with many endemic, native species that are highly threatened. The hotspot expanses comprise 303% of the red areas. Includes the entire indian himalayan region and that falling in pakistan, tibet, nepal, bhutan, china and myanmar 2. While earths biodiversity is so rich that many species have yet to be discovered, many species are. Our diversity hotspots cannot be equated to the biodiversity hotspots normally mentioned in the conservation literature, as the latter usually consider also aspects of species traits and identity. The temporal dimensions of biodiversity are less well studied, however, and it is the aim of this special issue on biodiversity hotspots through time.
Biodiversity hotspot a biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of. In this context, it is especially striking that relatively few studies have tried to assess the vulnerability of biodiversity hotspots to climate change, landuse changes, and ias. Indonesia is an archipelago made up of about 17,000 islands throughout which. This term was introduced by myers in 1988, who has presently recognized twentyfive such hotspots of biodiversity on a global level. Ocbil theory aims to develop hypotheses explaining the evolution and ecology of, and best conservation practices for, biota on very old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes ocbils. As a result, some researchers have questioned global analyses and postulated that the lack of biodiversity hotspots in developing countries may well be the result of lack of data rather than a. Biodiversity and sustainable development 2002 pdf unepsecretariat of the convention on biological diversity scbd. Biodiversity therefore is an integral part of the diversity of our lives, linking human and physical environments of our planet. Indoburma is one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots, due to the rate of resource exploitation and habitat loss. Biodiversity importance the biodiversity importance of hotspots is due to the high vulnerability of habitats and high irreplaceability of species found within large geographic regions.
Slideshow biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities. How many biodiversity hotspots are in the world, 34 or 25. These sites support nearly 60% of the worlds plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian. According to our estimates, from 1995 to 2000, human population was still growing in all but one of. Hotspots of biodiversity refer to biogeographic regions where significant levels of biodiversity with richness and unusual concentration of endemic species are found, however, they are threatened with. Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the present and coming generations. The worlds biodiversity hotspots see also table 1 for hotspots names.
Geographic distribution of biodiversity healingearth. However, hotspots represent conservation priorities in terrestrial ecosystems but remain largely unexplored in. Earths biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregoins, 25 biodiversity hotspots were identified. Only about 5% of natural habitats remain in relatively pristine condition, with another. One of the worlds hottest hotspots on its way out article pdf available in oryx 354. The hotspots of biodiversity identified by conservation international aim. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities pdf. Intuitively, we want to conserve the most threatened areas.
Plant and animal species in biodiversity hotspots are currently suffering devastating losses. Definition large regions containing exceptional concentrations of plant and animal. Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is. Cepf is an alliance of leading conservation donors that provides grants to nonprofit and privatesector. It is evident that highertaxon richness patterns can be combined to. Biodiversity hotspots are home to thousands of irreplaceable species that are facing. Data compilation, as well as the coordirlation of the merged databases at the nees institute for biodiversity of.