what is a biodiversity hotspot? why is india consideres as a mega biodiversity hotspot?

Hello,

Biodiversity Hotspots :-

The hotspots provide crucial ecosystem services for human life, such as provision of clean water, pollination and climate regulation. Biodiversity hotspots are forest habitats  as they constantly face destruction and degradation due to illegal logging, pollution and deforestation. According to Myers 2000 edition of the hotspot-map, a region only qualifies as a biodiversity hotspot if it meets two criteria. To be classified as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must have lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation, usually due to human activity. There are over 30 recognized biodiversity hotspots in the world.

These hotspots are helpful in many ways like protecting natural resources like pure water, soil, maintenance of the ecosystem, controlling pollution and recycling the nutrients of the ecosystem. Biodiversity hotspots are also a good source of many of the medicinal resources, pharmaceutical drugs, and wood products. The biodiversity importance of hotspots is due to the high vulnerability of habitats and high irreplaceability of species found within large geographic regions. Social-cultural values – Given the richness of hotspot ecosystems, hotspots are often areas which offer essential ecosystem services.

India is one of the megadiverse countries where diversity of global species is found. that's because :-

1. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. Mega biodiversity refers to the diversity in various life forms.
2. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.
3. A hotspot is an area which faces serious threat from human activities and supports unique biodiversity (endemic, threatened, rare species) with representatives of evolutionary of speciation and extinction.
4. There are 4 biodiversity hotspots (the area where large species diversity is present) in India, they are Himalayas, Indo-Burma, Sundaland, The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.
5. India has the maximum number of rich biodiversity hotspots having a high level of species richness and high level of endemism i.e. species are confined to a particular region and that species do not exist anywhere else in the world. It has four exceptionally high biodiversity regions- Western ghats, Sundaland, Indo Burma, and Himalaya. India has four biodiversity hotspots out of 34 hotspots in the world. These hotspots have numerous endemic species of flora and fauna.

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