Biodiversity hotspots are regions that harbour
disproportionate biodiversity, especially of species with small ranges, and
regarded as major conservation priorities (Zachos and Habel 2011). Biodiversity hotspots occur
in some of the most exotic and romanticized regions around the world, such as
Madagascar, the Caribbean Islands, the Western Ghats of India, and the
Succulent Karoo of South Africa. By preserving these regions, we
disproportionately preserve the diversity of life on Earth, and thus these
conservation efforts are seen as critically important.
However, some argue that the emphasis on global biodiversity
hotspots leaves other unique or less diverse regions open to human impacts
since they have a perceived low natural value, and certainly not valuable
enough to stem other economically motivated activities. This mind set may put
large habitats under increased risk. This conflict is front and center in a
recent paper by Durant and colleagues in Diversity and Distributions (Durant et al. 2013).
In this paper, Durant et al. argue that large, globally relevant systems like
hot deserts are under-protected, leading to potentially major collapses in
these systems.
Ahaggar Mountains Oasis, from Wikipedia
They use the Sahara desert as the case study and show that
while conservation efforts have been focused on hotspots, the majority of large
vertebrates in the Sahara desert are now extinct or critically endangered. System like hot deserts are important
for human economic well-being, but our activities there have greatly reduced
the amount of intact, undisturbed habitat.
Durant et al. argue, that had there been greater
conservation effort and scientific interest in the Sahara, the catastrophic
declines in large vertebrates may have been averted. This paper highlights the
reality that we often undervalue certain ecosystems, regardless of the
important ecosystem services and functions that they deliver.
S. M. Durant, T. Wacher, S. Bashir, R. Woodroffe, P. De Ornellas, C. Ransom, J. Newby, T. Abáigar, M. Abdelgadir, H. El Alqamy, J. Baillie, M. Beddiaf, F. Belbachir, A. Belbachir-Bazi, A. A. Berbash, N. E. Bemadjim, R. Beudels-Jamar, L. Boitani, C. Breit (2013). Fiddling in biodiversity hotspots while deserts burn? Collapse of the Sahara's megafauna
Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12157
