Question

Explain the importance of biodiversity hot spots and sacred groves.

Answer 1

• Biodiversity hotspots are regions with very high levels of species richness and a high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region and not found anywhere else). Although all the biodiversity hotspots put together cover less than 2 percent of the earth’s land area, the number of species they collectively harbor is extremely high and strict protection of these hotspots could reduce the ongoing mass extinctions by almost 30 percent.

• Sacred groves are tracts of forest with rich diversity, which have been protected by the local people for centuries for their cultural and religious beliefs. Sacred groves act as an ideal center for biodiversity conservation. Several plants and animals that are threatened in the forest are still well conserved in some of the sacred groves. It has been observed that several medicinal plants that are not to be found in the forest are abundant in the sacred groves. Further, rare, endangered, threatened and endemic species are often concentrated in sacred groves.