Explain about biodiversity hotspots.

● Areas, where large biodiversity is found, are called Biodiversity hotspots

● At present, there are 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world, whose total area is 2.3 percent of the total land area of the earth.

● 50 percent of the world’s endemic plant species are found in these biodiversity hotspots.

● To declare any area as a biodiversity hotspot, 2 conditions need to be fulfilled

(I) more than 0.5 percent of total endemic species in the world should be present in that area. According to the number of population, there should be at least 1500 endemic species in that area

(II) 70 percent of the original residences of that area have been depleted or ruined. It means that place has been facing the difficulty of human activities in that area.

● Such areas required conservation efforts immediately, So they are declared as biodiversity hotspots, and here the conservation programs are carried out at large scale.

● In the world declared 34 biodiversity hotspots, 42% of endemic species are vertebrates, 55% of fresh water species and 50% of endemic plants species are found

● Some famous biodiversity hotspots are western Ghats, Madagascar island, east Malaysia island, northwest mountains of China, middle America, eastern Himalayas, etc