Question

India is one of the seventeen megadiversity centers of the world. It has three of 34 hotspots of biodiversity. What do you understand by the two terms? State the values attached to them.

Answer 1

Hint: Biodiversity refers to variability among different species on the earth or it is defined as great variability among all the living organisms living in terrestrial, aquatic, and all other habitats including diversification among different species and within species.

Complete answer: The term megadiversity or megadiverse country defined as a group of nations that are known to house the majority of the species on the earth and having the highest number of endemic species. Conservation International in the year 1998 identified 17 megadiverse countries and India is one of those 17 countries having so much biodiversity. A country should have at least or more than 5000 endemic species of plants and animals to be defined as a megadiverse country. According to ranking, India stands 9th in the list of megadiverse countries having higher plant species.
-Mega diversity is known to have small areas as compared to their biodiversity i.e., the richness of the species. The megadiverse of the world are known to cover only 10% of land area with about 70% endemic species on the earth.
-A biological or biodiversity hotspot is a geographic area having huge biodiversity and threatened by human activities. India is known for its rich biodiversity and has a geographical area of about 23.39% which is covered by forests and trees. These hotspots are known to have the richness of endemic species.
-India has 3 of the major hotspots of the world among a total of 34 hotspots of the world. These include- Western ghats, Indo-Burma, and Himalaya. The biodiversity found in India is nature's gift and it should be preserved from human activities and all the endemic species should be preserved. These hotspots provide richness in the beauty, natural resources to any geographical area.

Note: Biodiversity is known to form the backbone of the viable ecosystems of the earth on which we depend for our basic needs including food, shelter, etc. This biodiversity has much importance in providing us with clean air in which we breathe oxygen. They act as natural purifiers of the earth.