Why are the Caribbean islands a biodiversity hotspot?

The Caribbean is a biodiversity hotspot. It has over 11,000 plant species, about 72 of which are found only in this region. The world benefits from this biodiversity, so when these species are exploited for commercial use – for example in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals – source countries need to be compensated.

How many Islands make up the Caribbean?

700 islands
The region, situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, has more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays (see the list of Caribbean islands).

Why are some countries called hotspots?

What’s more, Conservation International is an investor in the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. CEPF is an alliance of leading conservation donors that provides grants to nonprofit and private-sector organizations that are working to protect the biodiversity hotspots and improve human well-being.

Is Cuba a biodiversity hotspot?

Cuba has the greatest surface area and plant diversity of any island in the Caribbean, one of the world’s Biodiversity Hotspots. Of the estimated 7020 species of vascular plants known from Cuba, 50 percent are regarded as endemic to the island.

WHO declares biodiversity hotspot?

Norman Myers
The term ‘biodiversity hotspot’ was coined by Norman Myers (1988). He recognized 10 tropical forests as “hotspots” on the basis of extraordinary level of plant endemism and high level of habitat loss, without any quantitative criteria for the designation of “hotspot” status.

Why should the Caribbean islands be protected?

Caribbean biodiversity provides subsistence, fishing, water, materials, employment, coastal protection and well-being to these populations. Protecting and caring for these resources is therefore a matter of safeguarding the very means of survival of this ‘family’.

What is the largest island in the Caribbean?

Cuba
Islands 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) and greater

Why is Madagascar a biodiversity hotspot?

While our planet is a wonderland of wildlands, there are few places as spectacular as Madagascar, a Biodiversity Hotspot. Madagascar is home to thousands of endemic plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet that have evolved over the 90 million years that it has been secluded from the rest of the world.

Is Trinidad a biodiversity hotspot?

Home to an astounding number of tropical ecosystems and over 3,000 species and counting (including 470 bird species in just 2,000 square miles), Trinidad and Tobago is an often overlooked gem in the world’s biodiversity. …

Is Puerto Rico a biodiversity hotspot?

Mapping the Forest Type and Land Cover of Puerto Rico, a Component of the Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot | Treesearch. The . gov means it’s official.