Which is the ‘Hot Spot’ for biological diversity of India?

The correct answer is Western Ghats.

Key Points

Biodiversity hotspots:

• Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism.
• The British biologist Norman Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.
• Conservation International (CI) adopted Myers’ hotspots and in 1996, the organization made the decision to undertake a reassessment of the hotspots concept.
• According to CI, to qualify as a hotspot a region must meet two strict criteria:
  • It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the world’s total) as endemics – which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found no where else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
  • It has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. (It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation). In other words, it must be threatened.

Important Points 

Biodiversity hotspots in India:

• Himalaya: Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region (and that falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar).
• Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-eastern India, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands (and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and southern China)
• Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: Includes the entire Western Ghats (and Sri Lanka). Hence, option 1 is correct.
• Sundalands: Includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Philippines).