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HOTSPOT/UPDATED OVERVIEW
source: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/
xp/Hotspots/hotspotsScience/
pages/hotspots_revisited.aspx
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Hotspots analysis is in constant evolution. There are two major ways in which hotspots can change over time…
- the first is a real effect. Threats and their impacts change, meaning that some places may become more threatened while others may recover;
- the second is that our knowledge of biodiversity, threats, and costs is continually improving. Over the last few years these data have become better compiled.
Several years after the publication* of the previous reassessment of the hotspots strategy, it was time to revisit the hotspots themselves:
- in total, this updated analysis reveals the existence of 34 biodiversity hotspots, each holding at least 1,500 endemic plant species, and having lost at least 70% of its original habitat extent;
- overall, the 34 hotspots once covered 15.7% of the Earth’s land surface. In all, 86% of the hotspots’ habitat has already been destroyed, such that the intact remnants of the hotspots now cover only 2.3% of the Earth’s land surface.
* The new book Hotspots Revisited (CEMEX, 2004) contains the results of an in-depth reanalysis of global hotspots, a widely used prioritisation strategy for allocating conservation dollars to areas where they can do the most good. Nearly 400 specialists contributed to the four-year-long hotspots reappraisal.
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