9 Biodiversity Hotspots and Hope Spots

    Structure

1.1 Biodiversity

1.2 Biodiversity Hotspots

1.3 Biodiversity Hotspots in the World

1.4 Biodiversity Hotspots in India

1.5 Biodiversity Hope Spot

1.6 Hope Spots in the World

1.7 Hope Spots in India

Objectives:

At the end of this module the student should be able to:

• Explain the difference between biodiversity hotspot and hopespot
• Recognize the distribution of biodiversity hotspot in the world and India
• Recognize the distribution of biodiversity hopespot in the world and India

1.1 Biodiversity

Biodiversity or biological diversity refers to the variety of life on earth. In other words, biodiversity simply means variety of living species of organisms of both plant and animals communities in an ecosystem having certain specific environmental conditions and larger spatial scale such as tropical rainforest ecosystem, savannah ecosystem, temperate grassland ecosystem etc.Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well-being. The term biodiversity was first coined by Walter G. Rosen in the year 1986. The term biodiversity encompasses three categories: ‘genetic diversity’, ‘species diversity’ and ‘ecosystem diversity’. Genetic diversity describes the variation of genes within a species, species diversity describes the variety of species with in a region and ecosystem diversity refers to the number and distribution of ecosystem.

    1.2 Biodiversity Hotspots

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. The term ‘biodiversity hotspots’ was first coined and used by Norman Myers, a British Ecologist, in the year 1988. He defined biodiversity hotspot as those areas which have rich biological communities including plants, animals and microorganisms wherein endemic species predominate. The biodiversity hotspots also illustrate the uneven distribution of biodiversity on the earth. According to Myers to qualify as a hotspot an area must contain 0.5 per cent of or 1500 of the world’s 300000 plant species and should have lost 70 per cent or more of its primary vegetation. Myers suggested that global conservation efforts should be concentrated in areas where there were high numbers of endemic species and the threat to those species was high. The reasoning behind this approach is that the most cost effective way of reducing species extinctions is to focus resources on saving centers of threatened endemic species.The main purpose of describing hotspots is to emphasize spatial variation in the value of biodiversity. As the locations of biodiversity hotspots describe areas of relatively high value, they are often used to guide conservation policy and planning. Conservation International adopted Myers’ hotspots as its institutional blueprint in 1989, and in 1999, the organization undertook an extensive global review which introduced quantitative thresholds for the designation of biodiversity hotspots. A reworking of the hotspots analysis in 2004 resulted in the system in place today. Currently, 34 biodiversity hotspots have been identified, most of which occur in tropical forests. They represent just 2.3% of Earth’s land surface (They once covered 15.7 per cent of the Earth’s land surface), but between them they contain around 50% of the world’s endemic plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrates. Overall, Hotspots have lost around 86% of their original habitat and additionally are considered to be significantly threatened by extinctions induced by climate change.

1.3 Biodiversity Hotspots in the World

In the contemporary times 34 biodiversity hotspots areas have been identified in the world (Fig.2). It may be mentioned that the endemic species are those species of plants and animals including micro-organisms which are found in a specific areas.

North and Central America: California Floristic Province; Madrean pine-oak woodlands; Mesoamerica

The Caribbean: Caribbean Islands

 South America: Atlantic Forest; Cerrado; Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests, Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena; Tropical Andes

Europe: Mediterranean Basin

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

Central Asia: Mountains of Central Asia

South Asia:Himalaya (Nepal) ; Indo-Burma (India and Myanmar); Western Ghats and Sri Lank (India & Sri Lanka)

South East Asia and Asia-Pacific: East Melanesian Islands; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Philippines; Polynesia-Micronesia; Southwest Australia; Sundaland; Wallacea

East Asia: Japan; Mountains of Southwest China

West Asia: Caucasus; Irano-Anatolian

Source: UNEP/Global Environment Outlook

Total Described Species – 1750000

Possible total of all species (including unknown species) – 14000000

Fig. 1

   1.4 Biodiversity Hotspots in India

India shares its territories into three biodiversity hotspots viz. Eastern Himalaya, Western Ghats and Indo-Burma (Fig. 3). There are four Hotspots regions in India namely Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Sundalands and Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Out of them, Himalaya and Western Ghats are mostly located within India’s territory. In the Indo-Burma Biodiversity hotspot, India shares only a small part in north East India.

The Indo-Burma: Indo- Burma biodiversity hotspot includes parts of northeastern India,  Bangladesh,  Malaysia,  Myanmar,  Thailand,  Vietnam,  Laos,  Cambodia  and southern China.Encompassing more than 2 million km² of tropical Asia, Indo-Burma is still revealing its biological treasures. This hotspot also holds remarkable endemism in freshwater turtle species, most of which are threatened with extinction, due to over-harvesting  and  extensive  habitat  loss.  Bird  life  in  Indo-Burma  is  also  incredibly diverse, holding almost 1,300 different bird species, including the threatened white-eared night-heron, the grey-crowned crocias, and the orange-necked partridge. The Indo-Burma hotspot encompasses 2,373,000 km² of tropical Asia east of the Ganges-Brahmaputra lowlands. Formerly including the Himalaya chain and the associated foothills in Nepal, Bhutan and India, the Indo-Burma hotspot has now been more narrowly redefined as the Indo-Chinese sub-region. The hotspot contains the Lower Mekong Catchment. It begins in eastern Bangladesh and then extends across north-eastern India, south of the Brahmaputra River, to encompass nearly all of Myanmar, part of southern and western Yunnan Province in China, all of the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic, Cambodia and Vietnam, the vast majority of Thailand and a small part of Peninsular Malaysia.A wide diversity of ecosystems is represented in this hotspot, including mixed wet evergreen, dryevergreen, deciduous, and montane forests. There are also patches of shrub lands and woodlandson karst limestone outcrops and, in some coastal areas, scattered heath forests. In addition, a widevariety of distinctive and localized vegetation formations occur in Indo-Burma, including lowlandfloodplain swamps, mangroves, and seasonally inundated grasslands. A conservative estimate of total plant diversity in the hotspot reveals about 13,500 vascular plant species, of which about 7,000 (52%) are endemic. Among the flora of the Indo-Burma Hotspot are a wide array of orchid and ginger species (there are more than 1,000 orchid species in Thailand alone) and many tropical hardwood trees, including commercially valuable dipterocarp species and teak

Fig. 3

Himalaya:  Himalaya  includes  the  entire  Himalayan  region  and  that  falling  in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. The Himalaya Hotspot is home to the world’s highest mountains, including Mt. Everest. The mountains rise abruptly, resulting  in  a  diversity  of  ecosystems  that  range  from  alluvial  grasslands  and subtropical broadleaf forests to alpine meadows above the tree line. This immense mountain range, which covers nearly 750,000 km², has been divided into two regions: the Eastern Himalaya, which covers parts of Nepal, Bhutan, the northeast Indian states  of  West  Bengal,  Sikkim,  Assam,  and  Arunachal  Pradesh,  southeast  Tibet (Autonomous Region of China), and northern Myanmar; and the Western Himalaya, covering the Kumaon-Garhwal, northwest Kashmir, and northern Pakistan. Of the estimated 10,000 species of plants in the Himalaya hotspot, about 3,160 are endemic, as are 71 genera. The region is characterized by the presence of colored rhododendrons, bamboos and variety of orchid species. This region is characterized by endangered species such as Bharal, Ibex, Markhor, Takin and others are Hungul and Musk Dear.

Sundalands: Sundalands includesNicobar group of islands and Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines.The Sundaland hotspot covers the western half of the Indo-Malayan archipelago, an arc of some 17,000 equatorial islands, and is dominated by two of the largest islands in the world: Borneo (725,000 km²) and Sumatra (427,300 km²). Politically, Sundaland covers a small portion of southern Thailand (provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat); nearly all of Malaysia (nearly all of Peninsular Malaysia and the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah in northern Borneo); Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula; all of Brunei Darussalam; and all of the western half of the mega diversity country of Indonesia, including Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali). The Nicobar Islands (a part of Andaman and Nicobar group of archipelago), which are under Indian jurisdiction, are also included. Sundaland is one of the biologically richest hotspots on Earth, holding about 25,000 species of vascular plants, 15,000 (60 per cent) of which are found nowhere else.

Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: Western Ghats and Sri Lankaincludes entire Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.Faced with tremendous population pressure, the forests of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka have been dramatically impacted by the demands for timber and agricultural land. Remaining forests of the Western Ghats are heavily fragmented; in Sri Lanka, only 1.5% of the original forest remains. The entire extent of  hotspot  was  originally  about  1,82,500  square  kms,  but  due  to  tremendous population  pressure,  now  only  12,445  square  Km  or  6.8  per  cent  is  in  pristine condition.  Population  levels  are  also  applying  increased  stress  on  the  fringes  of protected areas where many farms, loggers, and poachers use the resources illegally. Due in part to the varying effect of the yearly monsoons and the high mountain regions, this hotspot is home to a rich endemic assemblage of plants, reptiles, and amphibians. Sri Lanka alone may be home to as many as 140 endemic species of amphibians. The region also houses important populations of Asian Elephants, Indian Tigers, and the Endangered Lion-tailed Macaque. Freshwater fish endemism is extremely high as well, with over 140 native species. There are a minimum of 6,000 vascular plant species in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka hotspot, of which more than 3,000 (52 per cent) are endemic. There are also more than 80 endemic plant genera, many of which have only one species. Extremely high population pressure in both countries of this hotspot has seriously stressed the region’s biodiversity. There are more than one billion people in India and almost 20 million in Sri Lanka. Nearly 50 million people occur in the hotspot overall, at a density of 260 people/km² (one of the highest in hotspots). It is likely that no more than about 25 per cent of the extent of original native vegetation remains in relatively

1.5 Biodiversity Hope Spot

A hope spot is an area of ocean that is under special protection because of its wildlife and significant under water habitat.Since they are places where human activities and impacts will be minimized, the unique and vital ecosystems within the Hope Spots will have a chance to recover and to flourish. Work on some Hope Spots has already commenced, with advanced management plans being put in place, while others are still in the early stages. Each Hope Spot has been carefully chosen for its geographical uniqueness, its diversity of marine life, and/or its exceptional habitat. Full protection of these vital areas of the ocean must become a global priority.

1.6 Hope Spots in the World

The first question which comes into the mind is that when the ocean is so vast they why the identification of hope spots becomes necessary for the conservation and management of ocean and marine life. The answer lies in the fact that, until recently, we humans also viewed the ocean’s natural resources as limitless. In the 20th century, artisan fishing gave way to factory trawlers that pull up thousands of pounds of marine life at a time. It was not until recent decades that the effects of industrial fishing became obvious. The United Nations estimates that 60 percent of the world’s major marine ecosystems have been degraded or are being used unsustainably. Take Pacific blue fin tuna, for example, whose populations have crashed over 97 percent from historic norms. This is one side of the story that we are taking out more than enough from our oceans for satisfying our needs and wants. The other side of the story is that, beyond taking too much out, we are also putting too much into the ocean. Did you know that ships on the high seas routinely dump trash and sewage into the ocean? Or that plastic pollution has permeated the entire ocean forming massive gyres, with plastic pollution being found even in the once pristine Arctic Sea. Beyond trash, man-made carbon dioxide is also dissolving into the ocean, making it more acidic, while rising global temperatures have caused widespread coral bleaching. For example, did you know the U.S. lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one year due to a massive bleaching event?

The ocean as a system, our life support system, is in trouble and whatever we can do, whether it’s in our community, state or country, region, or in the high seas, we should really respect what the ocean gives us,” says Sylvia Earle. “Not what we can take out of the ocean in terms of pounds of fish, minerals, oil or gas or the fact that we can use the ocean as a dumpsite. What we extract from the ocean that’s most meaningful is our existence. Our job should be to return this favour and keep the ocean alive.” Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer and was born in 1935 and is also known by the term ‘her deepness’ has lead more than 50 expeditions around the world with more than 6000 hours under water. As an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, she is an advocate for underwater creatures and their ocean habitat. In recent years, Sylvia Earle has worked to create a network of marine protected areas throughout the world. From her immense effort it can be inferred that the beautiful thing about the ocean is that humans don’t have to do anything to bring it back to health. All we need to do is stop taking so much out and putting so much into it. We can accomplish this by establishing marine protected areas (MPAs), places where resource extraction, whether of fish or deep-sea oil and gas, isn’t allowed. Science shows that marine life bounces back when we take the pressure off marine ecosystems and give the fish, sharks, coral and phytoplankton some breathing room to regenerate and thrive. During the 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC 3), the Mission Blue and IUCN have launched 31 new Mission Blue Hope Spots Marine Protected Areas across the globe to massively scale up the level of marine protection that experts consider necessary for a sustainable future. A Hope Spot is an area of ocean that merits special protection because of its wildlife and significant underwater habitats. Each Hope Spot can give the ocean a breathing space from human activities so that it may recover and flourish. Dr. Earle named these areas Hope Spots because they represent a real hope to restore the health of our imperiled ocean. The 31 new announcements come in addition to the 19 Hope Spots that Mission Blue has worked to protect over the last four years. We are fortunate to live in ‘a sweet spot in time.’ Now we know what is happening to our fragile blue planet and its ocean, and we also know what steps are needed to change the course we are on. With this message of hope, Mission Blue and IUCN are mobilizing a growing international community of stakeholders to take the urgent action needed to reverse the ocean’s current state of peril while we are still in this special sweet spot in time. The geographical location of hope spots are given in Fig. 4.

1.7 Hope Spots in India

Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep islands have recently been named as the new “hope spots” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Mission Blue, an organization involved in the study of oceans. The two groups of islands, considered extremely rich in marine biodiversity, are the first places in India to have been added in the list of 50 global ‘hope spots’. Earlier, 13 hope spots had been identified all around the world. The additional list of 31 new hope spots was released by IUCN and Mission Blue on October 23, 2013. Mission Blue is an initiative of the Sylvia Earle Alliance to ignite public support for the protection of Hope Spots through the creation of a global network of marine protected areas to safeguard 20 per cent of the ocean by 2020.The Andaman and Nicobar have 556 islets with unique flora and fauna.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are home to some of the richest varieties of flora and fauna, with 86 per cent of the islands covered in primary tropical rain-forests. Of the 2000 plus species of plants that grow on the islands, at least 1,300 are exclusive and not found in mainland India. There are around 270 species and sub-species of birds in these two islands of which around 106 have been declared endemic. The Andaman Woodpigeon, Andaman Padauk and Dugong have been declared the state bird, the state tree and state animal respectively. There are about 96 wildlife sanctuaries, nine national parks and one biosphere reserve in the islands. Andaman and Nicobar islands have been declared a hope spot as it has some of world’s unique of birds and plants. In the case of Lakshadweep, the coral reefs are quite sensitive to the ocean environment and that needs protection. These are some of the reasons behind declaring these areas as areas of hope spots by IUCN. Lakshadweep is home to some of the unique plant and animal species that add to the beauty of this archipelago. However, the few studies done in these waters indicate that these systems are perhaps the richest marine environments in the country. The mangrove forests of the Andaman’s are among the most extensive in India, and perhaps the least disturbed. The extensive sea grass meadows in the north are home to the highly endangered dugong, and may represent the most feasible place for its conservation in the subcontinent.

Major Biodiversity Hotspots in the World

Biodiversity Hope Spots in the World

References

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