18 Biodiversity Hotspots in the World We Need to Protect

There are roughly 36 biodiversity hotspots across the world. For an area to be considered a biodiversity hotspot, it must fit two criteria. The first is that roughly half of the area’s plant life, or 1,500 species, must be endemic and not found anywhere else on earth. The second is that those plants must be threatened, with the hotspot having lost a minimum of 30 percent of natural vegetation.

Biodiversity hotspots are incredibly important, not only for animals and plants, but people too. The animals and plants here are often important for people and human populations tend to unconsciously gravitate towards these areas.

Though hotspots only make up two-and-a-half percent of the earth’s total surface, they’re able to support over half of all plant species and about 43 percent of animals.

Today, we are covering 18 of the 36 total biodiversity hotspots, including some of the things that threaten these spots, the diversity in the area, and some of the endemic species. Keep reading to learn more about them.

1. The North American Coastal Plain

burrowing owl with head tilted to the side — Since European settlers took over the North American Coastal Plain, 85 percent of the area was converted to non-native species.
©iStock.com/LagunaticPhoto

Some Endemic Species: Florida yew, longleaf pine, rough-leaved loosestrife, Florida burrowing owl, and Florida bonneted bat

2. Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests

The Andean Condor can live to be 50 years old. — Deforestation, forest fires, and overgrazing are some of the biggest threats are some of the biggest threats to the forests here.
©Gus Martinie/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Monkey puzzle tree, Andean cat, Andean condor, Chile-bells, and green-backed firecrown

3. The Philippines

Giant golden crowned fruit bat or giant golden flying fox flying through the air in the Philippines. — Half of the wildlife species in the Philippines are endemic to the islands.
©Luke Marcos Imbong / CC BY-SA 4.0 - Original / License

Some Endemic Species:Begonia titoevangelistae, Tectona philippinensis, giant golden-crowned flying fox, and the Visayan warty pig

4. Cape Floristic Region

South African Western Leopard Toad — This hotspot is home to 9,000 plants, nearly 70 percent of which are endemic.
©Hurly D'souza/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Rough moss frog, Western leopard toad, and the king protea

5. Mesoamerica

raccoon mating season — Though this area, stretching from Mexico to Colombia, only covers about half a percent of the planet, it makes up seven percent of all diversity.
©Sebastian Schwegmann2/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Central American spider monkey, resplendent quetzal, big-leaf mahogany, Cozumel harvest mouse, and Cozumel raccoon

6. Eastern Himalayas

The Himalayas are home to a wide diversity of plants, animals, and plants.
©Daniel J. Rao/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species:Saussurea gossypiphora, white-winged duck, golden langur, South Asian river dolphin, and swamp deer

7. Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands

Roughly 85 percent of animals and 90 percent of plants are endemic to these islands.
©Iryna Art/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species:Crowned lemur, fossa, indri, octopus trees, and Tahina palm

8. Cerrado

Giant Armadillo walking on sand — The Cerrado is home to five percent of all animals and plants in the world, but deforestation and habitat destruction threaten most of the animals in the area.
©amareta kelly / CC BY 2.0, Flickr - Original / License

Some Endemic Species: Golden grass, blue-eyed ground dove, giant armadillo, pampas deer, and Zagaia tree frog

9. Brazil’s Atlantic Forest

Scaled Antbird female in the forest of Feliciano Miguel Abdala Private Natural Heritage Reserve, Santo Antônio do Manhuaçu, Caratinga - Minas Gerais, Brazil — Only 12 percent of the original vegetation remains in Brazil’s Atlantic forest.
©Rob Jansen/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species:Tawny-browed owl, scaled antbird, Brazilian sassafras and Brazilian walnut

10. Central Asian Mountains

Saiga antelope or Saiga tatarica drinks in steppe — This area has all sorts of habitats including deserts and high-elevation mountains.
©Yakov Oskanov/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Ili Pika, argali wild sheep, Saiga, and Menzbier’s marmot

11. Indo-Burma, Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar

Often called the Asian unicorn, little is known about the enigmatic saola in the two decades since its discovery. None exist in captivity and this rarely-seen mammal is already critically endangered. — This hotspot includes all of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of southern China.
©Bruyu/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Saola, Delacour’s leaf monkey, Mekong giant catfish, and Fissidens pseudoanomalus

12. The Caribbean Islands

Over-exploitation and high levels of poverty in the area lead to a lack of protection in this hotspot.
©John Gerrard Keulemans - Original / License

Some Endemic Species: Bahama nuthatch, Cuba’s bee hummingbird, Cuban macaw, and Chaney root

13. California’s Floristic Province

Fires. climate change and development are some of the biggest threats to this hotspot.
©Harrison, George, Public domain - Original / License

Some Endemic Species: Giant kangaroo rat, giant sequoia, and coastal redwood

14. The Mediterranean Basin

Over 5,000 islands are included in the Mediterranean Basin, which has over 25,000 different species.
©tony mills/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Aleppo pine, terebinth, Greek strawberry tree, Mediterranean monk seal, and Iberian lynx

15. Japan

Largest salamanders - Japanese giant salamander — There are thought to be over 90,000 classified species and over 300,000 unclassified species.
©iStock.com/Martin Voeller

Some Endemic Species: Okinaway woodpecker, Japanese giant salamander, Amami rabbit, Sado mole, and Kikuzato brook snake

16. Eastern Afromontane

Mountain gorilla in the Mgahinga national park. Gorila have a rest in the forest. Rare wild animal in the Uganda. Walking in tha rain forest. — The Eastern Afromonane Hotspot includes bamboo forests, grasslands, wetlands, and mountain regions.
©Martin Prochazkacz/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Taita thrush, gelada, Ethiopian wolf, Rwenzori three-horned chameleon, and mountain gorilla

17. Wallacea

babirusa standing in dirt — Over half of the mammals, 65 percent of amphibians, and 40 percent of bird species in this area are considered endemic.
©iStock.com/leungchopan

Some Endemic Species: Maleo, babirusa, Sulawesi toad, and giant bees

18. The Tropical Andes Mountains

A small baby monkey, specimen of the species Oreonax flavicauda, or yellow-tailed woolly monkey, endemic to Peru, and the Amazon rainforest of the Andes, at the Dos Loritos wildlife rescue center — A sixth of all the plants on Earth are found in the tropical Andes, and the level of endemic species increases with elevation.
©alvarobueno/Shutterstock.com

Some Endemic Species: Pencil catfish, Andean cock-of-the-rock, yellow-tailed woolly monkey, and Andean bromeliad,

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About the Author

Nina Phillips

Nina is a writer at A-Z Animals, FIDIS Travel, and Giant Freakin Robot. Her focus is on wildlife, national parks, and the environment. She has been writing about animals for over three years. Nina holds a Bachelor's in Conservation Biology, which she uses when talking about animals and their natural habitats. In her free time, Nina also enjoys working on writing her novels and short stories. As a resident of Colorado, Nina enjoys getting out in nature, traveling, and watching snow hit the mountains from her enclosed porch.