What Qualifies as a Bio Hotspot?

There are two criteria that an ecosystem must meet to qualify as a Bio Hotspot.

• 1) It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
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• 2) It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened.

Fun Fact: Around the world, 36 areas qualify as hotspots. They represent just 2.4% of Earth’s land surface, but they support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics — i.e., species found no place else — and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics.