World biodiversity hotspots pdf files

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 environmentalist 1988, and 1990 revised after thorough analysis by myers and others hotspots. Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among all groups of living organisms and ecosystem complexes in which they occur. Biodiversity can be estimated at a number of levels of organization of living organisms. Report protecting biodiversity by empowering people. This study focuses on the assessment of the status of worlds remaining closed forests wrcf, population distribution, and protected areas in global biodiversity hotspots using remote sensing and geographic information system gis. Definition large regions containing exceptional concentrations of plant and animal endemism and experiencing high rates of habitat loss. Only recently have we begun to test key assumptions that determine how useful a hotspot. They are also areas with a high diversity of locally endemic sp. 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 the philippines. The loss of biodiversity is dangerous and its consequences are immediate. Focusing on the western ghats of india, one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, this volume looks at a crosssection of local communities living within or near sanctuaries and reserve forests such as coffee growers, indigenous people and farmerscum. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. Received october 2005 received in revised form 17 april 2006 accepted 26 may 2006.

Two decades ago, at the first earth summit, the vast majority of the worlds nations declared that human actions were dismantling the earths ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. Key issues article pdf available in biodiversity 104 december 2011 with 23,699 reads how we measure reads. The 25 hotspots contain the remaining habitats of 3,149 plant species 44% of all plant species worldwide. Focusing on the western ghats of india, one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, this volume looks at a crosssection of local communities living within or near sanctuaries and reserve forests such as coffee growers, indigenous people and farmerscumpastoralists to assess the use and nonuse values that people derive from tropical. An assessment of biodiversity hotspots using remote.

Biodiversity and conservation although india h as only 2. Biodiversity hotspots a biodiversity hotspot is a region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction. This term was introduced by myers in 1988, who has presently recognized twentyfive such hotspots of biodiversity on a global level. Indoburma is one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots, due to the rate of resource exploitation and habitat loss. The area must contain at least 1500 species of vascular plants 0.

Threats and their impacts change, meaning that some places may become more threatened while others may recover. Only about 5% of natural habitats remain in relatively pristine condition, with another 10 to 25% of the land in damaged, but ecologically functional, condition. That is what makes our country one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world. The umnp is a hikers haven with easy access to forest trails, various. The hotspot label was developed by an ecologist norman myers to identify areas that have high numbers of endemic. Sadly, human activity has seen typical extinction rates increase by 100 to 10 000 times, mainly due to the. What is more, natural sites must meet criteria of integrity, protection and management, in addition to the biological criteria. They are home to nearly 60 percent of the worlds poorest people. Biodiversity hotspots will include areas of high biodiversity importance as well as degraded land and urban areas and therefore more detailed assessments are needed to locate the actual distribution of biodiversity within these areas. Measuring the overlap of human poverty and the biodiversity hotspots brendan fisher. Ranking americas biodiversity offers new information on state patterns of biological wealth and riskwhere our wild plants and animals are found, and how they are. Areas which exhibit high species richness as well as high species endemism are.

These estimation indices, which came from information theory, are most useful as a first step. Biodiversity hotspots of the world these hotspots regions support a rich biodiversity because of geologic formations and endemic flora and fauna and also exhibit exceptional scientific interest. Microfinance as a tool to protect biodiversity hotspots. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria it must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. It was also envisioned that they could be further taken up by existing initiatives and standards that address the interface of biodiversity and.

Maintaining plant biodiversity in hotspots is a critical challenge. 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. The map shows 34 biodiversity hotspots which cover 2. The conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of wider. Ecological impacts of palm oil expansion in indonesia given that global land area for agriculture is limited tilman et al. The twentyfive biodiversity hotspots green as indicated in myers, n. The earth is on the verge of a global biodiversity catastrophy steve connor biodiversity is essential to every aspect of human life u. The critical ecosystem partnership fund cepf is designed to safeguard the worlds threatened biodiversity hotspots in developing countries.

International agreements such as world heritage convention attempts to protect and support many hotspots of. Nearly 45,000 species of plants and twice as many of animals have been recorded from india. International agreements such as world heritage convention attempts to protect and support many hotspots of biodiversity in different parts of the world. Read download biodiversity hotspots pdf pdf download. It is one of the world s greatest centers of endemic biodiversity due to the regions geography and climate, and is one of the world s 35 biodiversity hotspotsearth s most biologically rich yet threatened areas. Udzungwa mountains national park is one of the worlds thirty four world biodiversity hotspots and one of the 200 world wide fund for nature ecoregions of global critical importance. To qualify as a hotspot, an area must contain at least 0. The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to 25. Biodiversity hotspots revisited, conservation international. Biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to meet immediate human needs, such as clean, consistent water flows, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate.

Includes entire northeastern india, except assam and andaman group of islands and myanmar, thailand, vietnam, laos, cambodia and southern china. The four vertebrate groups, mammals, birds, reptiles and am. The 18 global hotspots defined by norman myers have since been used by the macarthur foundation to target its grantmaking. In 19 of these, population is growing more rapidly than in the world as a whole. These hotspots include 49955 endemic species which account for about 20% of worlds total plant species, mittermeir and werner 1990 on the basis of species richness put forth the concept of mega diversity centres. It is evident that highertaxon richness patterns can be combined to create even better surrogates for overall species diversity. 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. Springer, heidelberg description biodiversity hotspots are a method to identify those regions of the world where attention is. Its status as a hotspot, as well as the unique biological, economic and cultural importance. Biodiversity hotspots the most threatened areas of high species diversity on earth have been labeled biodiversity hotspots and include mostly tropical rainforests, coastal areas, and islands. Jul 12, 20 hotspots analysis is in constant evolution. How a new understanding of biodiversity underscores the global significance of canadas boreal forest.

The word biodiversity describes the richness of an area in terms of its genes, species and ecosystems. Division of ecology and biodiversity, school of biological sciences, the university of hong kong, hong kong, peoples republic of china abstract. This book written by international experts from different disciplines comprises general chapters on diversity and its measurement, human impacts on biodiversity hotspots on a global scale, human diversity itself and various. Facility, the government of japan and the world bank. This being the case, it appears likely that there are. The sonoran desert ranks high in plant diversity compared to the worlds other deserts, with 2,000 species including giant saguaro cactus found. But while the concept of biodiversity has global connotations, conservation is a quintessentially local activity. The vast majority of biodiversity resources in the world are found in populated landscapes,and it can be argued that the biodiversity that underpins ecosystem services critical to human health and livelihoods should have high priority in conservation efforts. To place conservation efforts in context, states of the union. Places with the highest levels of biodiversity in the world tend to be concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions. Biodiversity hotspots conservation international for a region to qualify as a conservation international biodiversity hotspot, they have set two strict criteria. Peatlands, climate change mitigation and biodiversity.

There are two major ways in which hotspots can change over time. Reid hotspots of biodiversity areas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributes are increasingly being delineated to help set priorities for conservation. Fortunately, india which is rich in biodiversity is also capable of making good use of it in biotechnology and genetic engineering. 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.

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 worlds 34 recognized biodiversity hotspots only cover 2. It is a joint initiative of conservation international ci, the global environment facility gef, the government of japan, the macarthur foundation and the world bank. It was also envisioned that they could be further taken up by existing initiatives and standards that address the interface of biodiversity and agricultural commodities. Myers, although without quantitative criteria but relying solely on the high levels of habitat loss and the presence of an extraordinary number of plant endemism, identified ten tropical forest hotspots mittermeier et al. Freshwater habitats occupy,1% of the earths surface, yet are hotspots that support,10% of all known species, and,m of vertebrate species. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities nature.

The second is that our knowledge of biodiversity, threats, and costs is continually improving. Although the seychelles archipelago has a total land area of only 540 km2, their exclusive economic zone eez is 1. Traditionally, ecologists have measured biodiversity, a general term for the number of species present in the biosphere, by taking into account both the number of species and their relative abundance to each other. Pollination as a croprelated genetic resource 7 18 iv. Agency for international development biodiversity is important to medicine, bioengineering. The terrain forms topographic channels that funnel seasonal monsoon rains up. Its status as a hotspot, as well as the unique biological, economic and cultural importance of the caribbean islands hotspot, led the critical ecosystem partnership fund cepf to. Fresh waters also are hotspots for human activities that. To qualify as a hotspot a region must contain at least 1 500 endemic species of vascular plants 0. The resulting biodiversity impact indicators for commodity production biicp provide a tool for testing and use by these actors. In fact, 15 of the 25 hotspots contain at least 2,500 endemic plant species, and 10 of them at least 5,000. Synergies between world heritage sites and key biodiversity areas. About 80% of native plant species are endemic, meaning that they are not native to any other parts of australia or the world beard et al. The first is the national performance index which documents the hotspot nations in regard to 1 perceptions of corruption, 2 environmental performance, 3 the status of national biodiversity planning, 4 evidence of spatial land use planning, and 5 national biocapacity and ecological footprints.

Norman myers the hotspots idea was also promoted by russell mittermeier in the popular book hotspots revisited 2004 to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on myers 2000 edition of the hotspotmap, a. Biodiversity hotspots are a method to identify those regions of the world where attention is needed to address biodiversity loss and to guide. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable it must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. Ecological impacts of palm oil expansion in indonesia. These grants have been implemented in 24 biodiversity hotspots, covering 93 countries and territories. Most 96% of palm oil production occurs on the island. Neglected biodiversity of importance to food and agriculture table of contents paras. From this perspective, cepf seeks to identify and support a regional, rather than a national, approach to achieving conservation.

Pollinations contribution to seed production and plant genetic diversity 19 21. Peatlands, climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation an issue brief on the importance of peatlands for carbon and biodiversity conservation and the role of drained peatlands as greenhouse gas emission hotspots policy brief hans joosten institute of botany and landscape ecology ernstmoritzarndtuniversity of greifswald, germany. This hotspot occurs at the juncture of mountain systems where precipitation can vary tremendously due to a com bination of topography, climate, and hydrology. The british ecologist norman myers first published the biodiversity hotspot thesis in 1988. Includes the entire indian himalayan region and that falling in pakistan, tibet, nepal, bhutan, china and myanmar 2. An estimated 240 million rural people live in the worlds highcanopy forest landscapes. The cepf program contributes to four categories of impact, known as the pillars of cepf. Earths biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions and a paper published in.