Biodiversity & Biodiversity Hotspots Raminder Chowdhary Ver. 1.6

Our Biggest challenge Life on Earth faces a crisis of historical and planetary proportions. Unsustainable consumption in many northern countries and crushing poverty in the tropics are destroying wild nature. Biodiversity is besieged Extinction is the gravest aspect of the biodiversity crisis: it is irreversible. While extinction is a natural process, human impacts have elevated the rate of extinction by at least a thousand, possibly several thousand, times the natural rate. Mass extinctions of this magnitude have only occurred five times in the history of our planet; the last brought the end of the dinosaur age.

Biodiversity hotspot Defined Norman Myers in 1988 first identified ten tropical forest “hotspots” characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss In 1990 Myers added a further eight hotspots, including four Mediterranean-type ecosystems Conservation International adopted Myers’ hotspots as its institutional blueprint in 1989 To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5 percent of the world’s total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat.

Wake up call 34 biodiversity hotspots, each holding at least 1,500 endemic plant species, and having lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat extent. Overall, the 34 hotspots once covered 15.7 percent of the Earth’s land surface. In all, 86 percent of the hotspots’ habitat has already been destroyed, such that the intact remnants of the hotspots now cover only 2.3 percent of the Earth’s land surface.

Did You know…………. hotspots hold at least 150,000 plant species as endemics, 50 percent of the world’s total. The total number of terrestrial vertebrates endemic to the hotspots is 11,980, representing 42 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species. Overall, 22,022 terrestrial vertebrate species call the hotpots home, 77 percent of the world's total Total of number of species

Biodiversity Hotspots North and Central America   California Floristic Province   Caribbean Islands   Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands   Mesoamerica South America   Atlantic Forest   Cerrado   Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests   Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena   Tropical Andes Europe and Central Asia   Caucasus   Irano-Anatolian   Mediterranean Basin   Mountains of Central Asia 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 Africa   Cape Floristic Region   Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa   Eastern Afromontane   Guinean Forests of West Africa   Horn of Africa   Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands   Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany   Succulent Karoo Map of Biodiversity hotspots

Hotspot Original Extent (km 2) 741,706 Hotspot Vegetation Remaining (km 2) 185,427 Endemic Plant Species 3,160 Endemic Threatened Birds 8 Endemic Threatened Mammals 4 Endemic Threatened Amphibians Extinct Species† Human Population Density (people/km 2) 123 Area Protected (km 2) 112,578 Area Protected (km 2) in Categories I-IV* 77,739 The black-necked crane ( Grus nigricollis, VU) is the only alpine crane in the world. Its breeding range is mostly confined to China’s Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

Western Ghats & Sri - Lanka The Western Ghats of southwestern & southwestern Sri Lankaare strikingly similar in their geology, climate and evolutionary history. The Western Ghats, known locally as the Sahyadri Hills run parallel to India's western coast, about 30 to 50 kilometers inland. They cover an area of about 160,000 km² and stretch for 1,600 kilometers from the country's southern tip to Gujarat in the north, interrupted only by the 30 kilometers Palghat Gap.

Western Ghats & Sri - Lanka Taxonomic Group Species Endemic Species Percent Endemism Plants 5,916 3,049 51.5 Mammals 140 18 12.9 Birds 458 35 7.6 Reptiles 267 174 65.2 Amphibians 178 130 73 Freshwater Fishes 191 139 72.8

UNESCO – BIOSPHERE RESERVES The origin of Biosphere Reserves goes back to the "Biosphere Conference" organized by UNESCO in 1968. This Conference resulted in the launching of the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) Programme in 1970. Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are internationally recognized, nominated by national governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. There are over 500 biosphere reserves in over 100 countries. .

What are the functions of biosphere reserves? Each biosphere reserve is intended to fulfil 3 basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing: a conservation function - to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation; a development function - to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable; a logistic function - to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development

What are the biosphere reserve zones? Biosphere reserves are organized into 3 interrelated zones: the core area the buffer zone the transition area Only the core area requires legal protection and hence can correspond to an existing protected area such as a nature reserve or a national park.

Biosphere Reserves in India

Learn More ………….. Himalaya Bird Conservation Nepal Bombay Natural History Society The Institute for Himalayan Conservation International Center for Integrated Mountain Development IUCN - Nepal The Mountain Institute - Himalayan Program Royal Society for Protection of Nature WWF - Bhutan WWF-Nepal Western Ghats & Sri Lanka Ashoka Trust for Ecology and the Environment Center for Science and Environment - India The Nilgiri Tahr Foundation Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka