Sunday July 11, 2004

                  The hotspots of biodiversity in the world will lose more animal and plant species if habitat depletion is not stopped, said New Zealand botanist Dr David Given. He said that in the 17 tropical regions designated as biodiversity hotspots, only 12% of the original primary vegetation remained. “It is predicted that even if all the remaining habitats were protected immediately, there would still be a loss of almost 20% of their species. “If habitat depletion continues at the present rate, in a decade the loss could rise to 40%. Many of the animals and plants we see today will be lost,” added Dr Given, the botanical services curator of Christchurch City Council, in the paper he presented at the New Zealand Alumni Convention at the Crowne Plaza Riverside Hotel here yesterday.

              His paper was entitled “Is our world too small for biological diversity?” Dr Given said New Zealand and Sarawak were biological hotspots that were particularly rich in animal and plant species not found elsewhere. He said analysis by ecologist Norman Myers showed 30% to 50% of plants, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds were found in 25 hotspots that each occupied no more than two per cent of available land area. New Zealand and Sarawak, he said, both reached the global target of protecting 10% of their land for conservation. Dr Given said large areas of land in the world did not enjoy protection and were largely available for exploitation. “The World Health Organisation has estimated that up to 80% of the world’s people rely primarily on raw nature in the form of many thousands of plant species for their health.” He said governments needed to encourage the development of farmlands and forests so that indigenous biodiversity would not be depleted. “We need to encourage landscapers and horticultural outlets to use a greater variety of local species in their designs. “We also need to prevent the spread of weed and pest species as a suffocating blanket that swamps locally evolved and unique flora and fauna,” he added.