Originally published in Outpost Magazine
The gorillas of Uganda's mountains, the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia, the mind-boggling array of plant and animal species that populate Ecuador's Galapagos Islands - the diversity and uniqueness of plant and animal life is increasingly a determining factor in deciding where we wish to travel. Biodiversity is a buzzword often used to promote the dazzling spectacle of natural worlds rich in animal and plant life, places that are home to a bewildering array of species. But while the biodiversity of places such as the Galapagos, the Amazon and Madagascar has become an attraction for travellers, it comes with a big caveat: these are places facing terrible crises that threaten to undermine the very world that appeals to us. Species extinction has been a biological reality ever since the beginnings of life. Now, however, human activity has greatly increased the rate at which species vanish.
In September 2000, anthropologists for the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York announced that an African monkey had disappeared. Extinction has been a biological reality ever since the existence of life, but now more than ever, human activity has greatly increased the rate at which species vanish. Recently conservation efforts have been targeting "hotspots" - a term coined by the environmentalist Norman Myers in the 1980's. These are regions that have the most endemic species and yet are most in danger of habitat and species loss. A variety of conservation organizations focus on different parts of the globe, but many have common priorities, including land protection, improvements to the standard of living for local peoples, studying endangered animals and educational efforts promoting the necessity of conservation. Here are ten of the most critical biodiversity hotspots in the world.
Madagascar and the surrounding islands off the southeast coast of Africa separated from the Gondwanaland super-continent nearly 160 million years ago. As a result these landmasses spawned unique biodiversity that evolved in isolation from the rest of the world. They became home to 10 plant families, 5 bird families and 5 primate families. Today as a result of over-population, slash and burn agriculture, hunting, logging and mining, only 10 percent or 60,000 square kilometers of the original 594,150 square kilometers of natural habitat remain. Forty-six known species have gone extinct since the 1500's, including 12 species of lemurs, the pygmy hippopotamus, an aardvark, the giant flightless elephant birds, giant land tortoises, 20 species of birds and eight species of reptiles. Only three percent or 17,103 square kilometers of Madagascar's land area is officially protected at present. The Madagascar government has announced a plan to triple the amount of protected land, with the aim of having 10 percent protected in the next five years.
The Philippines include approximately 7,000 islands lying east of Vietnam and north of Indonesia. This country, the size of Italy, has one of the richest marine bio-diverse regions in the world, with 500 of the world's 700 known coral species. The Philippine Hawk-Eagle, Eagle-Owl, and Kingfisher are just some of the 74 threatened bird life in the hotspot. Ninety-four percent of the Philippines were once covered by rain forest, but extensive logging has left roughly seven percent of the original primary forest intact. In addition, mining, plantation clearing, and habitat settlement into areas that were once inaccessible due to a lack of roads, has put tremendous pressure on the environment. Today, only nine percent of the total land area of the Philippines is protected.
Located between the Asian mainland and Australia, Sundaland is made up of roughly 17,000 islands with Borneo and Sumatra being the largest. Home to a variety of critically threatened species including 31 bird species, the most endangered are large mammals, such as the orangutan. These animals once flourished all over Asia. Today their numbers have dwindled due to logging, fires, and slash and burn agriculture. In total there are 55 mammal species threatened in this hotspot, including the Probiscus monkey, two rhinoceros species, and two tiger species. Deforestation is the primarily cause of endangered species with 700,000 square kilometers left of 1.6 million square kilometers of original forests. However, a close second is the wildlife trade with orangutans, rhinoceroses and tigers - often shipped to China for medicinal uses. Roughly six percent of the total land area is protected.
Home to two indigenous peoples, the Tupi and the Guarani, and situated along Brazil's Atlantic coast, the Atlantic forest region stretches for thousands of kilometres and extends inland to eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. The symbolic leader of the threatened species are the primates of which one-third are critically endangered. The original forest spread over 1.4 million square kilometers, but as a result of extreme logging, only eight percent remains. The forests first began to fall in the 16th century with the arrival of French and Spanish colonial settlements. Now not only logging threatens species, but poaching and animal trading, tourism, pollution, roads and major infrastructure; invasive species such as pigs, rats and dogs have also had a huge impact. About 30 percent of the Atlantic Forest is under some sort of protection.
The Caribbean hotspot includes the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the southern tip of Florida. Today, roughly 11 percent of the 263,500 square kilometres of forest and wetlands remain and in the past 500 years, 51 species have gone extinct. This area also has two surviving species of large primitive insectivores considered among the most endangered mammals in the world. The introduction of non-native species such as goats, rats and cats has had a serious impact on reptilian and amphibian species as these non-native animals eat eggs and the young. Tourism and expanding population is also a major threat to the natural habitat, as more resources are needed such as roads, buildings and tourist infrastructure to accommodate the populace. Currently 15.6 percent of the vegetation is protected.
Encompassing 2,060,000 square kilometres this hotspot includes Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, parts of Nepal, eastern India, southern China and several islands. Less then five percent or 100,000 square kilometres of the original forests remain, with another 20 percent damaged but repairable. Because of social and political restriction not much is known about the area, thus the region is still giving up hidden riches. Three new mammal species have been discovered in recent years, including a new species of deer discovered in 1998. The Asian elephant and tiger are among the growing list of endangered species. Increases in population, logging, and rubber plantations are just some of the reasons for the decline in species. Thailand has the most area protected for conservation purposes, which covers nearly 13 percent of the country's territory.