2. INTRODUCTION
The term biological diversity was coined by ThomasLovejoy, a tropical and conservation biologist.
The word biodiversity itself was coined by W. G. Rosen in 1985 while planning the 1986 National Forum on Biological
Diversity, organized by the National Research Council (NRC).
According to IUCN(1990)
“Biological diversity encompasses all species of plants,animals,and microorganisms and the ecosystems and ecological
processes of which they are parts”
It is maintained by ecological processes like hydro-bio-geo chemical cycles,photosynthesis and evolutionary changes
Biodiversity supports a number of natural ecosystem process and services.
It has the ability to create stability in ecosystem ,allowing these ecosystems to continue providing services in the face of
disturbances and reciprocate with the emerging challenges
3. MEGADIVERSITY COUNTRIES
Russell Mittermeier of CI in 1998 developed a strategy to prioritize conservation action based on primate distribution on earth.
Later the analysis expanded to include other mammals , birds, reptiles , amphibians , plants and selected groups of insects.
Mega diverse countries are a group of countries that harbor the majority of the Earth species and high numbers of endemic species.
Conservation International identifies 17 mega diverse countries in 1998.
There are 17 mega diverse countries namely , Australia , Brazil , China ,Colombia , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Ecuador
,India , Indonesia , ,Malaysia ,Mexico , Papua New Guinea ,Peru ,Philippines , South Africa , United States , Venezuela.
4. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS
The concept of biodiversity hotspot was proposed by an Oxford ecologist Dr.Norman Myers in 1998.
A biodiversity hotspot is a region of the earth which is extremely biologically diverse and also under severe threat due to habitat
loss,climate change or extensive species loss.
They are earths’s biologically richest and most endagered terrestrial eco-regions.
The primary criteria to designate an area as hotspot are species endemism and degree of threat
In addition ;the region must contain at least 0.5% or 1500 of the world’s 300,000 plant species as endemics and it should have lost
atleast 70% of its primary vegetation
5. According to the classification of Myers et al. there are 25 hotspots scattered in different parts of the world.
They together represent only 1.4% of earths land area but contain 44% of all plant species and 35 % of all terrestrial vertebrate species in
the world.
The idea of hotspots was further promoted by Russell Mittermeier et al.(1997) in the book ‘Hotspots Revisited’.
According to this analysis the total number of hotspots on the earth is 34
7. NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA
California Flloristic Province
Carribbean islands
Madrean-Pine Oak Woodlands
Mesoamerica
SOUTH AMERICA
Atlantic Forest
Cerrado
Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests
Tumbes –Choco-Magdalena
Tropical Andes
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
Caucasus
Irano-Anatolian
Mediterranian Basin
Mountains of Central Asia
AFRICA
Cape Floristic Region
Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa
Eastern Afro Montane
Guinean Forests of West Africa
Hom of Africa
Madagaskar and the Indian Ocean Islands
Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany
Succulent Karo
BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN THE WORLD
10. India is the seventh largest country in the world and second largest nation in Asia with an area of 3,287,263 km²
The Indian mainland strtches from 8°4’ to 37°6’N latitude and from 68°7’ to 97°25 E longiyude
India is a megadiversity country which accounts for 7-8 % of the recorded species of the world including over 45,500 species of plants
and 91,000 species of animals.
India is home to 8.58% of mammals,13.66% of birds,12.57% of herpeto-fauna(snakes),11.72% of fish and 11.80 % plant species
documented so far.
There are three biodiversity hotspots in India as per the Conservation International:-
Indo-Burma
The Himalaya
The Western Ghats – Sri Lanka
12. Encompass more then 2 million km² of tropical Asia.
Six large mammal species have been discovered in the last 12 years:
The large antlered muntjac
The Annamite muntjac
The grey shanked douc
The Annamite striped rabbit
The leaf deer
The saola
Endemism in fresh water turtle species.
It is holding almost 1,300 different bird species including white-eared night heron,grey-crowned crocias and orange necked patridge.
More than 70000 plant species are endemic
18 birds,25 mammals and 35 amphibians are threatened endemic animals.
17. Stretch in arc over 3000 km of Northern Pakistan ,Nepal ,Bhutan and the northwestern and northeastern states of India
It covers nearly 750,000 km² has been divided into two regions:Eastern Himalayas and Western Himalyas
Eastern himalaya covers parts of Nepal,Bhutan,The northeast Indian states of West Bengal,Sikkim,Assam,Arunachal
Pradesh,Southeast Tibet(China) and Northern Myanmar
Western Himalya covering the Kumaon-Garhwal,northwest Kashmir and northern Pakistan
In eastern Himalayas there are an estimated 9000 plant species out of which 3,500 are endemic
Atleast 55 flowering plants are endemic to this area and are fecognized as rare
The area is also rich in wild relatives of plants of economic significance
20. Considered to be one of the most biogeographic zones of India
Some regions are considered to be active zone of speciation
It as 490 arborescent taxa of which 308 are endemic
About 1,500 endemic species of dicotyledonous plants are reported from Western Ghats
In case of fauna,315 species of vertebrates belonging to 22 genera are endemic including 12 species of mammals,13 species of birds,89
species of reptiles,87 species of amphibians and 104 species of fish.
Nearly 235 species of endemic flowering plants are considered endangered.
The Travancore tortoise and Cane turtleare two endangered taxa restricted to a small area in western ghats
25. REFERENCE
WWF-India 2005.Conservation with communities in the biodiversity hotspots of India.Forest and biodiversity
conservation programme,WorldWide Fund for Nature-India,New Delhi.
McNeely,Jeffrey A.,kenton R.Miller.,Walter V.Reid,Russel A. Mittermeirand Timothy B.Werner 1990.Conserving the
world’s biological diversity.IUCN Publications Services,1196 Gland,Switzerland
MoEF,2009.State of Environment Report India-2009.Environmental Information System(ENVIS),Ministry of
Environment & forests,Govt. of India.
Biodiversity scope and challenges.,Zoological Society of Kerala
