Himalayan Hotspot (formerly Eastern Himalayan Hotspot)

This Himalayan Hotspot stretches over the Himalayas, covering Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and eastern states of India. Most of the highest peaks of the world are located in this region. In the Himalayas, there are altitudinal zonation of ecosystems. The growing population, deforestation, agricultural encroachment and developmental activities have disturbed the ecosystems of the Himalayans. Many of the species of plants and animals of this region have been threatened.

Indo-Myanmar (Burma)

Surrounding more than two million square km of tropical Asia, Indo-Myanmar is still revealing biological treasures. The Indo-Burma Hotspot begins at the evergreen forests in the foothills of Chittagong in Bangladesh and extends through Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland to encompass Myanmar. A wide diversity of ecosystems is represented in this hotspot including mixed wet evergreen, dry evergreen, deciduous, and mountain forests. There are also tracts of shrub-lands and woodlands on limestone outcrops and in some coastal areas, scattered heath forests. It is also characterized by swamps, mangroves and seasonally inundated grasslands. This hotspot covers about 2,373,000 sq km. The over-interaction of man in this region has threatened the ecosystems.

Japan

The islands that comprise the Japanese Archipelago first retch from the humid subtropics in the south to the boreal zone in the north, resulting in a wide variety of climates and biotic diversity in ecosystems.

Mountains of South-West China

The province of Yunnan (China) and surrounding mountainous areas have great diversity in endemic plants and animals.

New Caledonia

An island in South Pacific Ocean, New Caledonia is the home of more than five endemic plant families.

New Zealand

It is a mountainous archipelago once dominated by temperate rainforest. New Zealand has great biodiversity in endemic plants and animals.

Philippines

This biodiversity hotspot is spreading over 7000 islands. It is identified as one of world’s biologically richest countries.

Polynesia and Micronesian Island Complex, including Hawaii

Based on 4500 islands, this biodiversity hotspot is the epic center of current global extinction crisis.

South-western Australia

The forests, woodlands, shrub-lands and heath of this hotspot, are characterized by high endemism among plants and reptiles.

Western Sunda (in Indonesia, Malay, and Brunei)

Stretching over Indonesia, Borneo, Brunei, Celebes, and Malaysia, this biodiversity hotspot is quite rich in endemic plants and animals.

Wallacea (Eastern Indonesia)

The fauna and flora of Wallacea are varied that every island in this hotspot needs secure protected areas to preserve the biodiversity of the region.

The Western Ghats of India and the Island of Sri Lanka

This biodiversity hotspot sprawls over Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. In this region there is great diversity in terrain, topography, climate, natural vegetation and soils. In fact, it is a unique mosaic of ecosystems. Its natural vegetation varies from the tropical evergreen forests to deciduous and thorny bushes. The forests of the Western Ghats are adversely affected by the rapid growth of population and over interaction of man with nature. Deforestation in Sri Lanka for the purpose of timber has threatened this biodiversity hotspot. It has 15,000 flowering plants species in India. It also has a large number of amphibians, freshwater fishes and invertebrate groups of endemic to Western Ghats.