Biodiversity Hotspots in the world

 Biodiversity Hotspots     The bio-geographical region of the earth, which are extremely diverse with a high proportion of endemic species are the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth. Species are under severe threat due to habitat loss or climate change. The most remarkable places on earth are also the most threatened. The hotspots area of the remaining habitat covers only 2.3 per cent of the earth’s land surface. Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 per cent of its original natural vegetation. Over 50 per cent of the world’s plant species and 42 per cent of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to the 34 biodiversity hotspots. About 25 sites world-wide are recognized as biodiversity hot spots. The 34 main hot spots are:

North and Central America

 Carlifornia Floristic Province

Caribbean Islands

Madrean Pine-Oak woodlands

Mesoamerica

South America

Atlantic Forest

Cerrado

Chilean Winter Rainfall – Valdivian forests

Tumbes –Choco-Magdalena

Tropical Andes

Europe and Cenetral Asia

Caucauss

Irano-Anatolian

Mediterranean Basin

Mountain of Central Asia

Africa

Cape Flristic Region

Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa

Eastern Afromontance

Guinean Forests of West Africa

Horn of Africa

Madagascar  and India Ocean Islands

Maputaland –Pondoland-Albany

Succulent Karoo

Asia Pacific

East Melanesian Islands

Himalaya

Indo-Burma

Japan

Mountains of Southwest China

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Philippines

Polynesia – Micronesia

Southwest Australia

Sundaland

Wallacea

Western Ghats and Sri Lanka

 The hotspots provide us with the real measure of the conservation challenge. Unless we succeed in conserving this small fraction of the plant’s land area,  we will lose more than half of our natural heritage.