Biodiversity Hotspots of the World

Biodiversity hotspots are best described as the regions “where there is an immense concentration of the endemic species which are undergoing a loss or a crisis of their habitat”. The concept of biodiversity hotspots is given by Norman Myers. In the year 1988, he was the first one to identify ten tropical biodiversity hotspots of the world. 

In this article, we are going to present you with the concept of Biodiversity Hotspots, we will discuss the few necessities which are required before calling any zone ‘biodiversity’. 

Also, we will be answering some interesting questions related to this topic like - How many hotspots are in the world, how can we save and uphold those diversities and other such important measures will be explained thoroughly.

Biodiversity Hotspots in World – Detailed Study

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Global Biodiversity hotspots are defined as the regions which have exceptions in identifying the endemic species and these are facing the constant threat of loss. IUCN drafts a ‘Red Data Book’, in which there are 34 areas in the world that are qualified as Biodiversity hotspots, these are total hotspots in the world. These hotspots represent only a portion of 2.3% of the total Earth's land surface. These hotspots are very much crucial because biodiversity underpins all the life present on the Earth. Without these endemic species, there would be no proper environment to thrive in. If there is a loss in biodiversity then human society will fail to exist. Thus, the hotspots are critical places for human survival. But how many hotspots in the world are left to fulfill the requirement?

Criteria required to qualify as a Biodiversity Hotspot:

1. A region should meet two of the strict criteria in order to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, these are as follows: 

Biodiversity must have at least 1,500 vascular plants which are endemic which is to say, there should be a high percentage of these plant life that is found nowhere else on this planet. 

2. It should also have 30% or a percentage less of its original natural vegetation. In simpler words, the region must be threatened by its existence.

List of Biodiversity Hotspots in World

This list will provide a glimpse of the total no. of biodiversity hotspots in the world. These hotspots regions ultimately serve the purpose of supporting rich biodiversity because of the geologic formations and the endemic flora and fauna which is also exhibited by the exceptional scientific interest in this field. This is quite important for the ecosystem in the world and its habitat of the endemic species. The no. of Biodiversity Hotspots in World is given below:

1. Africa

2. Eastern Afro-Montane

3. The Guinean forests of Western Africa

4. Horn of Africa

5. Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands

6. Maputoland, Podoland, Albany hotspot

7. Succulent Karou

8. East Malanesian islands

9. South Africa's Cape floristic hotspot

10. Coastal forests of Eastern Africa

11. Terrestrial Biomes of the World

12. Asia and Australia

13. Himalayan hotspot

14. The Eastern Himalayas

15. Japan biodiversity hotspot

16. Mountains of South-West China

17. New Caledonia

18. New Zealand biodiversity hotspot

19. Philippine biodiversity hotspot

20. Western Sunda (Indonesia, Malas and Brunei)

21. Wallace (Eastern Indonesia)

22. The Western Ghats of India and Islands of Sri Lanka

23. Polynesia and Micronesian Islands Complex including Hawaii

24. South-Western Australia

25. North and Central America

26. California Floristic Province

27. Caribbean islands hotspot

28. Modern pine-oak woodlands of the USA and Mexico border

29. The Mesoamerican forests

30. Aquatic Biomes of the World

31. South America

32. Brazil's Cerrado

33. Chilean winter rainfall (Valdivian) Forests

34. Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena

35. Tropical Andes

36. Atlantic forest

37. Europe and Central Asia

38. Caucasus region

39. Iran-Anatolia region

40. The Mediterranean basin and its Eastern Coastal region

41. Mountains of Central Asia

Why is Biodiversity So Important?

Species from the strong building blocks of the support system of life on this planet. All human beings, creatures depend on this system inherently. But as for the changing environment, pollution, degradation of the soil, and such other effects, our planet’s “biodiversity,” is facing an absolute crisis.

Development of the building, roads, urbanization of the villages, pollution in the city, disease among the human beings and animals all these lead up to crippling havoc on the life of the earth. 

At the present juncture, the species are going extinct at a very fast rate since there is an occurrence of mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

To stem and put a dead call to this crisis, we ought to protect these endangered places where biodiversity thrives and grows. But these species are not evenly distributed around the earth. There are certain areas that have a large number of endemic species — while those are found nowhere else, but around us. Many of these species are heavily threatened by the loss of habitat and by other exploiting human activities. These are the areas where the biodiversity hotspots exist, these are 36 regions where the success of conserving and protecting the species will have an enormous impact in securing the global biodiversity around the world. The forests and other of its habitats in the hotspots represent only 2.5% of Earth’s land surface.

What Should be Our Mission in Resolving the Issues of the Raging Disturbance?

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Various projects have started. From Indonesia to Madagascar, from Brazil to Southeast Asia, there is a majority of Conservation International’s global field offices which are located near the biodiversity hotspots of this region. We have to continue our good work of protecting these places for the benefit of ourselves, the people living in this world.

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (abbreviated as CEPF) is an alliance that is the prior most conservation grant to the non-profit and to the private-sectoral organizations working to protect these biodiversity hotspots and to improve the human well-being system.

Did You Know?

• Even though in the present time biodiversity has increased, but it has drastically gone down in the past 35 years.

• The current decline of biodiversity can be compared to the massive extinction of many animals that existed 65 million years ago.

• The coral reefs are the most diverse of all the ecosystems on the planet Earth.

• On the land, the areas near the equator tend to be more diverse as it has a pleasant climate in this region.  

• Biodiversity is very much important for an ecosystem as each of the species plays a different role in maintaining the ecosystem of the environment. 

• The disasters will tend to ruin an ecosystem, while if there is high biodiversity then the ecosystem will be able to recover from the loss quickly.

• The increase in global warming becomes a huge factor, and this will decrease biodiversity by destroying all the habitats of certain organisms in this region.

• Fluctuations in the oceanic temperature, the length of the seasons, and the amount of precipitation are all factors that will affect the level of biodiversity in this region.

Without these species, there will be no air left to breathe, no food to eat, and no water to drink, thus saving the natural biodiversity is an utmost task to be done. Without biodiversity, there would be no human society existing on this planet. Biodiversities that are facing threats of extinction should be handled priorly. Thus, in this way, we can hold our falling diversity with adequate support from the government.