Therefore, the atlantic forest is considered a priority conservational area due to its high biodiversity and threat level myers et al. Places with the highest levels of biodiversity in the world tend to be. Conserving biodiversity coldspots semantic scholar. Biodiversity hotspots are areas that support natural ecosystems that are largely intact and where native species and communities associated with these ecosystems are well represented. The 36 biodiversity 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.
It is evident that highertaxon richness patterns can be combined to create even better surrogates for overall species diversity. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities nature. The hotspots of biodiversity identified by conservation. The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to 25 biologically rich areas around the world that have lost at least 70 percent of their original habitat. Accordingly, 34 biodiversity hotspots have been so far identified. Thats because hotspots are among the richest and most important ecosystems in the world and they are home to many vulnerable populations who are directly dependent on nature to survive.
Biodiversity hotspot is a well recognised terminology and definition when it comes to land conservation and species protection. Biodiversity hotspots the tropical conservation fund. We carried out a global examination of distributions of all. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction the concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by dr. Nearly half the worlds vascular plant species and onethird of terrestrial vertebrates are endemic to 25 hotspots of biodiversity, each of which has at least 1500 endemic plant species. Plant and animal species in biodiversity hotspots are currently suffering devastating losses. Today, there are 35 biodiversity hotspots that have been identified around the world 2. Biotechnology, nanotechnology, and other new forms of tech. In 1989, just one year after scientist norman myers wrote the paper that introduced the hotspots. Gk, general studies, optional notes for upsc, ias, banking, civil services. Hotspots, which have played a central role in the selection of sites for reserves, require careful rethinking. The word biodiversity describes the richness of an area in terms of its genes, species and ecosystems. Biodiversity hotspots are a method to identify those regions of the world where attention is needed to address biodiversity loss and to guide investments in conservation.
A biodiversity hotspot is an area with unusual concentration of species, many of which are endemic. To qualify as a hotspot, an area must contain at least 0. Biodiversity hotspots are geographic areas that contain high levels of diversified species, but are threatened with extinction. How many biodiversity hotspots are in the world, 34 or 25. Biodiversity hotspots around the world and in india.
Currently, 35 biodiversity hotspots have been identified, most of which occur in tropical forests. Given are name of hotspot, running number id corresponds with table and fig. Conservation international was a pioneer in defining and promoting the concept of hotspots. The idea of defining hotspots is generally credited to the ecologist norman myers, who. At the world summit for sustainable development in johannesburg in 2002, the assembled parties endorsed the. In 1999,when norman myers published the book,hotspots. Biodiversity therefore is an integral part of the diversity of our lives, linking human and physical environments of our planet. The biodiversity hotspots of the world are given below. Biodiversity hotspots of the world essay environment.
Includes the entire indian himalayan region and that falling in pakistan, tibet, nepal, bhutan, china and myanmar 2. Biodiversity hotspots list of high impact articles. It is marked by serious threat to its biodiversity by humans. This hotspot occurs at the juncture of mountain systems where precipitation can vary tremendously due to a com. Some places in the world have a large number of endemic speciesspecies that exist only in that place. Earths biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregoins, 25 biodiversity hotspots were. In fact, 15 of the 25 hotspots contain at least 2,500 endemic plant species, and 10 of them at least 5,000. The 25 hotspots contain the remaining habitats of 3,149 plant species 44% of all plant species worldwide. Conserving biodiversity coldspots recent calls to direct conservation funding to the worlds biodiversity hotspots may be bad investment advice peter kareiva and michelle marvier peter.
Biodiversity hotspot analysis was originally used to identify large regions, typically the size of an entire nation, that deserved conservation attention, such as madagascar, northern borneo, or. Biodiversity hotspot a biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of. The four vertebrate groups, mammals, birds, reptiles and am. In fact, by definition, a biodiversity hotspot must have lost at least 70% of. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation norman myers wrote about the concept in two articles in. The worlds 34 recognized biodiversity hotspots only cover 2. Biodiversity and conservation although india h as only 2. Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among all groups of living organisms and ecosystem complexes in which they occur. Biodiversity hotspots around the world and in india by, r. There are currently 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world.
These hotspots are important because biodiversity underpins all life on earth. Biodiversity hotspots marinespecies introduced traits wiki. Collectively, the biodiversity hotspots support 60% of worlds plant and animal species with a high share of. The cape floristic region in south africa is home to about 6,200 plant. Human populations in the biodiversity hotspots article pdf available in nature 4046781. Here is an essay on biodiversity hotspots of the world for class 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Reid hotspots of biodiversity areas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributes are increasingly. A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high amount of biodiversity that experiences habitat loss by human activity.
Hotspots of biodiversityareas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributesare increasingly being delineated to help set priorities. The world s biodiversity hotspots see also table 1 for hotspots names. There are 34 areas around the world which are qualified as biodiversity hotspots. Global mammal distributions, biodiversity hotspots, and. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria.