Download biodiversity hotspot

BIODIVERSITY
HOTSPOT
Certain areas that have large numbers of endemic species
UNIT 4
• Original developed by Norman Myers in 1988
• A method to identify regions/places where
most common extinctions occur and people
invest money to save and preserve it
• Large regions contain exceptional concentrations
of plant endemism and high rates of habitat loss
TO QUALIFY AS A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT, A
REGION MUST MEET TWO STRICT CRITERIA:
• Must have 30% or less of its
original natural vegetation. The
species must be threatened
(this means it has to have lost bigger or equal to 70%
of its original habitat)
• Must have at least 1.500 vascular
plants as endemics
(this means it must have high percentage of plant life
found nowhere else, it’s irreplaceable)
WHY DO WE
NEED
BIODIVERSITY
HOTSPOT?
• Species are relevant to human
because they provide air, food and
water
• Biodiversity underpins all life on
Earth
• The map of hotspots match up
well with the natural places that
most benefit people
• The hotspots are home to many
vulnerable populations who are
dependent on nature to survive
• The hotspots are among the
richest and most important
ecosystem
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Todays species extinct at the fastest rate
Species aren't evenly distributed around the planet
Certain areas have large numbers of species and those found nowhere else
Many of these are threatened by habitat loss and other human activities
Hotspots have lost around 86% of their original habitat and
threatened by extinctions induced by climate change
ASIA PACIFIC
Large land areas, island dotting the Pacific seas,
those 13 hotspot represents important biodiversity.
POPULAR
BIODIVERSITY
HOTSPOTS
SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil’s Corrode to the Tropical Andes, SA has some
of the rich and most diverse life on Earth.
EUROPE AND CENTRAL AMERICA
Plays host to thousands of acres of important habitat
AFRICA
Diversity of plant and animal life, most of them are
found nowhere else on Earth