List of Global Hotspots of Biodiversity

Hotspots are the areas that are biologically rich and exhibit high species diversity most of which are endemic in nature.

Endemic species are those that are restricted to a specific area. Hotspots are characterised by richness in floral and faunal wealth.

Though the area covered by the hotspots represent only two per cent of the world’s land area, it preserves about 50% of the total terrestrial biodiversity.

This term was introduced by Myers in 1988, who has presently recognized twenty-five such hotspots of biodiversity on a global level. These hotspots include 49955 endemic species which account for about 20% of world’s total plant species, Mittermeir and Werner (1990) on the basis of species richness put forth the concept of mega diversity centres. The recognized 12 countries/regions are mega diversity centres. These are Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Zaire, Madagascar China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

List of Global Hotspots of Biodiversity:

1. Tropical Andes

2. Madagascar

3. Brazil’s Atlantic forest region

4. The Philippines

5. Meso-American forests

6. South Africa’s Cape Floristic region

7. Wallacea (Western Indonesia)

8. Western Sunda (Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei)

9. Brazil’s Cerrado

10. Polynesia and Micronesian island complex

11. The Darien and Choco of Panama, Colombia, Western Ecuador

12. The Eastern Mediterranean region

13. The Western Ghats of India and the Island of Sri Lanka

14. Indo-Burma Eastern Himalayas

15. The Guinean forest of West Africa

16. New Caledonia

17. South-eastern Australia and Tasmania

18. Caribbean

19. Central Chile

20. California Floristic Province

21 . Eastern Arc and Coastal forest of Tanzania / Kenya

22. Succulent Karoo

23. Caucasus

24. South Central China

25. New Zealand.