India as a Mega-Diversity Nation & Biodiversity Hotspots

🇮🇳 INDIA AS A MEGA-DIVERSITY NATION 🌏

🌿 What is Mega-Diversity?

Mega-diverse countries are those with:

• ➤ Over 5,000 plant species

• ➤ Marine ecosystems nearby

• ➤ High variety of plants, animals & microbes

✅ India’s Biodiversity Snapshot

• 🌍 One of 12 mega-diverse countries

• 🧬 45,000+ plant species

• 🐾 90,000+ animal species

• 🌎 Covers only 2.4% of Earth’s land → Hosts 8.1% of global biodiversity

🌱 Flora & Fauna in India

• 🐘 500 mammal species, 🐦 200+ bird species, 🐜 30,000 insect species

• 🌺 18,000+ flowering plants ➤ ~7% of world’s total

• 🧭 8 Floristic Zones:
  ➤ Western/Eastern Himalayas, Malabar, Assam, Deccan, Indus, Ganges, Andaman Islands

📍 Zoological Survey of India (Kolkata) → Surveys animal species in India

📍 BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA

India has 4 Biodiversity Hotspots ➤ Areas with rich and unique species, many of which are endangered or endemic.

🌊 1. Sundaland

• 🌐 Includes parts of Indonesia, Malaysia & Andaman Nicobar Islands (India)

• 🌿 25,000 vascular plant species ➤ 15,000 unique to region

• 🐠 Rich land + marine ecosystems

• ✅ UN World Biosphere Reserve (2013)

🌏 2. Indo-Burma Region

• 🗺️ Covers 2.3 million km² (includes NE India)

• 🦌 Newly discovered species:
  
  ➤ Annamite Muntjac
  
  ➤ Saola
  
  ➤ Striped Rabbit

• 🐢 Known for endemic aquatic turtles

• 🐦 1,300+ bird species ➤ Many endangered due to habitat loss & overfishing

🏔️ 3. Himalayan Region

• 🏔️ Home to Mount Everest & 8 other top-10 highest peaks

• 🌊 Source of major rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra)

• 🌱 10,000+ plant species ➤ 3,160+ endemic

• 🐃 Endangered animals:
  
  ➤ Wild Asian Buffalo
  
  ➤ One-Horned Rhino

• ⚠️ Challenges:
  ➤ Climate change melting glaciers
  
  ➤ Illegal wildlife trade
  
  ➤ Forest degradation
  
  ➤ Habitat fragmentation

🌳 4. Western Ghats

• 📍 Runs along India’s west coast

• 🌡️ Tropical climate, cooler at higher altitudes

• 🌲 Dense forests: evergreen, semi-evergreen, shola grasslands

• 🌺 Formerly covered 190,000 km², now reduced to 43,000 km²

📊 Species at risk (UNESCO data):

• 🌿 229 plant species

• 🐅 31 animal species

• 🐦 15 bird species

• 🐸 43 amphibians

• 🐍 5 reptiles

• 🐟 Many fish

🔴 Status:

• 129 ➤ Vulnerable

• 145 ➤ Endangered

• 51 ➤ Critically Endangered

🧾 Conclusion

India is one of the most biologically rich nations on Earth 🌎

✅ High species diversity

✅ Multiple unique habitats

⚠️ But facing serious threats: climate change, habitat loss, illegal trade

We must:

➤ Preserve biodiversity hotspots

➤ Protect endangered species

➤ Support sustainable development 🌱