As threats to biodiversity continue to mount, areas of the world that exemplify tremendous biodiversity but face massive negative impacts from various forces find themselves on a poignant list – the biodiversity hotspots.

How do we decide which areas are priorities for conservation? In 1988, British ecologist Norman Myers developed the concept of biodiversity hotspots to address the dilemma of identifying areas most important for preserving Species. Many areas of global significance face tremendous pressure from logging, agriculture, hunting, and climate change, among others. The hotspots strategy emphasizes risks of species extinction, since species loss is irreversible. The strategy also emphasizes species endemism. Since these species can only be found in specific areas, the loss of such areas would be considered “irreplaceable”.

Myers developed the hotspots concept with Conservation International (CI), which adopted the strategy in 1989. CI designated hotspots as regions that must support at least 1,500 plant species found nowhere else in the world, and they must have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat. The organization employs a dual conservation strategy that always prioritizes endemic-rich areas and high risk areas, while preemptively protecting equally unique places that are not yet under extreme threat.

CI has identified of 34 biodiversity hotspots all over the world. These regions hold especially high numbers of endemic species, yet their combined area of remaining habitat covers only 2.3 percent of the Earth's land surface. Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. Over 50 percent of the world’s plant species and 42 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to these areas. Four of these hotspots are in Southeast Asia: Indo-Burma, the Philippines, Sundaland and Wallacea.