Question
What are biodiversity hotspots? State the criteria for declaring a region as a biodiversity hotspot and explain why the Western Ghats qualifies as one. Name India’s four biodiversity hotspots.
This is a direct 3-mark question from NEET 2024 and appears regularly in CBSE Class 12 board exams as well.
Solution — Step by Step
A biodiversity hotspot is a region with exceptionally high species richness and endemism that is also under severe threat from human activities. The concept was introduced by Norman Myers in 1988.
To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet both of the following conditions:
- It must contain at least 1,500 species of endemic vascular plants (species found nowhere else on Earth).
- It must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat — meaning it is already heavily degraded.
Both conditions must be satisfied simultaneously. A species-rich but undisturbed forest does not qualify.
The Western Ghats clears both bars comfortably:
- It harbours over 5,000 species of flowering plants, of which roughly 1,700+ are endemic — well above the 1,500 threshold.
- Extensive deforestation for agriculture, plantations, and urbanisation has destroyed more than 70% of the original forest cover.
This combination of high endemism + high habitat loss is exactly what places Western Ghats on the global hotspot list.
India has four biodiversity hotspots:
| Hotspot | Region |
|---|---|
| Western Ghats + Sri Lanka | Southwestern India + Sri Lanka |
| Himalaya | Eastern Himalayas (shared with Nepal, Bhutan) |
| Indo-Burma | Northeast India + Southeast Asia |
| Sundaland | Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Indian portion) |
NEET frequently asks “how many biodiversity hotspots does India have?” The answer is 4, but globally there are 36 hotspots (updated count). Both numbers get asked — remember both.
Why This Works
The logic behind hotspots is one of triage conservation — we cannot protect everywhere equally, so we protect where the loss would be most irreversible. Endemic species, by definition, exist nowhere else. If their habitat disappears, they go extinct globally — not regionally. The 70% habitat-loss threshold ensures we focus on regions where the crisis is already acute, not hypothetical.
The Western Ghats is older than the Himalayas and was never covered by ice during glaciation. This gave species millions of years to evolve in isolation, explaining the extraordinary endemism — the lion-tailed macaque, Malabar giant squirrel, and hundreds of amphibian species found only here.
Understanding this logic helps us answer twisted NEET MCQs that mix up “endemic species” with “endangered species.” A species can be endemic without being endangered — though in practice, endemic species in degraded habitats are both.
Alternative Method
Some students approach hotspot questions by memorising the “critical ecosystem” angle rather than criteria. Here’s how to frame the same answer differently:
Hotspots = regions where conservation investment gives maximum return. Think of it as ROI on saving species: spend money protecting 1,500 endemic plants in one place versus 1,500 widespread plants in another — the endemic site gives irreplaceable returns. This framing helps connect the criteria to the why, which examiners reward in descriptive answers.
Common Mistake
Students often write “a region is a hotspot if it has high biodiversity” — this is incomplete and will lose marks. High diversity alone is not enough. Amazon rainforest has tremendous biodiversity but large intact areas, so sections of it don’t meet the second criterion. You must state both criteria: minimum 1,500 endemic plant species AND ≥70% habitat already lost. Missing the habitat-loss condition is the most common error in board exams.
Also watch out: the question often asks to name India’s hotspots and students forget Sundaland (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). The four names must be precise — “Eastern Ghats” is not a hotspot; “Western Ghats” is.