Indo-Burma Forests: Biodiversity at Risk Due to Urbanization
Dianna Smith
12/11/12
Forestry
“Indo-Burma Forests”
Forests, some of the most essential ecosystems in the world, house about forty to seventy-five percent all plants and animals globally. Unfortunately, the amount of biodiversity in forests is severely at risk due to the increasing deforestation over the past four decades. It is estimated in the biological community that approximately 50,000 species are completely wiped out annually as a result of urbanization, land clearance, logging, and other human techniques. Dr. Edward Wilson, a Harvard professor, predicts that half of all of earth’s species could be extinct in about 50 years, unless the deforestation rate decreases.
In 2011, Conservation International (also known as CI) conducted a study of the top ten most endangered forests in the world (half of them located Asia-Pacific Region). Of the ten, the Indo-Burma forests were deemed the number one most endangered forest. Encompassing approximately 2,373,000 km2, the forests spreads from eastern India to Southern china. The Indo-Burma forests are considered to be one of 34 “biodiversity hotspots,” a term coined by Norman Myers (a British biologist), which is a biogeographic landscape characterized by outstanding levels of habitat loss and plant endemism. Over ninety-five percent of the region’s forests have been destroyed, which leaves only about five percent of the original forest area still standing; therefore, the Indo-Burma forests are the most vulnerable forests globally.
The Indo-Burma forests are positioned in the midst of floodplains, lakes, and rivers. These various waterways give off life and prosperity, allowing richness in biodiversity as well as resources. This region is home to a number of the largest freshwater fish, bird, and turtle species. There is also, an assortment of ecosystems embodied in this hotspot, comprising of dry evergreen, wet evergreen, and deciduous forests. There are also several patches of woodlands and scrublands on karst
12/11/12
Forestry
“Indo-Burma Forests”
Forests, some of the most essential ecosystems in the world, house about forty to seventy-five percent all plants and animals globally. Unfortunately, the amount of biodiversity in forests is severely at risk due to the increasing deforestation over the past four decades. It is estimated in the biological community that approximately 50,000 species are completely wiped out annually as a result of urbanization, land clearance, logging, and other human techniques. Dr. Edward Wilson, a Harvard professor, predicts that half of all of earth’s species could be extinct in about 50 years, unless the deforestation rate decreases.
In 2011, Conservation International (also known as CI) conducted a study of the top ten most endangered forests in the world (half of them located Asia-Pacific Region). Of the ten, the Indo-Burma forests were deemed the number one most endangered forest. Encompassing approximately 2,373,000 km2, the forests spreads from eastern India to Southern china. The Indo-Burma forests are considered to be one of 34 “biodiversity hotspots,” a term coined by Norman Myers (a British biologist), which is a biogeographic landscape characterized by outstanding levels of habitat loss and plant endemism. Over ninety-five percent of the region’s forests have been destroyed, which leaves only about five percent of the original forest area still standing; therefore, the Indo-Burma forests are the most vulnerable forests globally.
The Indo-Burma forests are positioned in the midst of floodplains, lakes, and rivers. These various waterways give off life and prosperity, allowing richness in biodiversity as well as resources. This region is home to a number of the largest freshwater fish, bird, and turtle species. There is also, an assortment of ecosystems embodied in this hotspot, comprising of dry evergreen, wet evergreen, and deciduous forests. There are also several patches of woodlands and scrublands on karst