Which is your favourite biologically diverse area?
Biodiversity Hotspots
May 22 2005 is International Day for Biological Diversity.
We are raping the planet, and causing species after species to go extinct, over and above the natural extinction rates. Extinction is irreversible, but there is not enough money in conservation budgets to stop all approaching man-made extinctions. We can't save them all from us, so it is necessary to focus our efforts where they will do the most good; on the places (biodiversity hotspots) which have the most endemic species (i.e. species that only occur in a local area). Conservation International (CI) credits British ecologist Norman Myers with coming up with the concept of hotspots in 1988. It identifies 34 biodiversity hotspots on its biodiversity hotspots site, consisting of 2.3 percent of the Earth's land surface. They hold more than half of all plant species and well over a third of all vertebrates. We have less information on invertebrates, and can only hope that the same areas are important to them too. We know even less about life in the oceans, so we need to urgently research them. The hotspots are all under great pressure and have been reduced to less than a third of their original size.
It is difficult to put a financial value on a species or the ecosystem in which it lives. The more threatened a hotspot is, the more it is likely to cost to preserve it, though this is not always so. We rush to invest in the most threatened area, but this may not save the most species for our money, so we may also decide to invest in those areas which are cheapest to conserve. This is the two-pronged approach that Conservation International takes. BirdLife International focuses on "Endemic Bird Areas" (EBAs), and The World Wildlife Fund has identified "Global 200 Ecoregions". There is considerable overlap between the organisations' focus areas.
The concept of hotspots has spread. Organisations interested in donating to biodiversity conservation have joined together to form the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. These include CI, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Government of Japan. Others use hotspot information to make environmentally-friendly commercial decisions.
The list of biodiversity hotspots changes over time, as we acquire more knowledge about biodiversity and/or costs and/or threats, or the situation changes. Areas may be added to the list or drop off the bottom, or their boundaries may be changed. Whilst the discovery of an individual new or previously-though-extinct animal might not make much difference to whether or not an area makes the list, its discovery may be part of a more extensive study which might make a difference. Some threats may be targeted locally. These include logging and poaching - though even there international economics plays a role. Eradicating introduced animals or invasive species is also necessary. Global warming is a threat that can only be tackled globally. It could easily drown entire islands, and islands tend to have the most endemic species.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists species known to be Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable, though work on creating a reptiles list is still ongoing. The density of the human population in biodiversity hotspots varies, and more people does not necessarily mean more damage. Quite a few hotspots are subject to considerable violence, which makes it hard to tell what is happening to the biodiversity, and to protect it. Where action it is possible, it will depend on the nature of the threat and the local conditions. Fragmentation of the land, the situation (for instance poverty, land ownership, viability of traditional lifestyle) of the local inhabitants and local politics also have an effect. Fragmentation of habitats can also be a major problem, for instance if roads criss cross the area.
Recent news stories involving biodiversity (though not necessarily hotspots) include:
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