Component-I (A) - Personal Details

Role Name Affiliation

Principal Investigator Prof. Masood Ahsan Department of
Siddiqui Geography,
Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi
Paper Coordinator, if any Saleha Jamal Aligarh Muslim
University, Aligarh
Content Writer/Author (CW) Dr. Lubna Siddiqui Department of
Geography,
Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi
Content Reviewer (CR) Saleha Jamal Department of
Geography,
Aligarh Muslim
University, Aligarh
Language Editor (LE)

Component-I (B) - Description of Module

Items Description of Module

Subject Name Geography
Paper Name Environmental Geography
Module Name/Title Biodiversity Hotspots and Hope Spots

Module Id EG-10
Pre-requisites
Objectives
Keywords Diversity, species, ecosystem, Endangered,
Environment, Habitat
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.
References:

1. Aqua Facts (2007): Oceanic Institute: Hawaii Pacific University, [Online] Available
at: http://www. oceanicinstitute.org/aboutoceans/aquafacts.html [22 August 2017].

2. Conservation International (2017): Global Biodiversity Hotspots with Special

Emphasis on Indian Hotspots, [Online] Available at:
http://www.conservation.org/search/pages/resu lts.asp x?k=hotspots#k=hotspots [22
August 2017].
3. Garling B (2017): Hope Spots: An Actionable Plan to Save the Ocean, [Online]
Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-garling/hope-spots-an-actionable-
_b_10344592.html 22 August 2017].
4. Hope Spots (2016): Mission Blue, [Online] Available at: www.mission-blue.org[22
August 2017].
5. Hope Spots (2016): New Hope Spots, vetted by IUCN and Mission Blue to ignite
global support for ocean protection, Available at: www.mission-blue.org[22 August
2017].
6. IAS Mania (2017): Biodiversity and Biodiversity Hotspots, Available at: http:
https://iasmania.com/biodiversity-and-biodiversity-hotspots/ [22 August 2017].
7. India Line (2013): Lakshadweep Wildlife, [Online] Available at:
http://www.indialine.com [22 August 2017].
8. Lee A (2017): Biodiversity Hotspots, [Online] Available at:
http://www.perunature.com/abou
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Environmentalist, Vol. 8, pp.1–20.
10. NCERT (2007): Fundamental of Physical Geography, NCERT, New Delhi.
11. Roberts CM. et al (2002): Marine biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for
tropical reefs, Science, Vol. 295, pp.1280-1284.
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 Major Biodiversity Hotspots in the World

Source: Conservation International Foundation, 2014 Fig. 2

 Biodiversity Hope Spots in the World

Source: IUCN and Mission Blue Fig. 4