The term megadiverse country refers to any of a bunch of countries that support many of the Earth’s species and a lot of endemic species.
This concept complements the concept of biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas to supply significant coverage of the world’s biological resources and was first proposed in 1988.
This classification is primarily intended to point out how a small number of nations hold a big share of worldwide diversity and due to this fact bear disproportionate political responsibility for the protection and management of biodiversity.
In 1998, Conservation International identified 17 countries with enormous diversity. Many of them are situated in or partially in tropical or subtropical regions.
Below is a component of the list – the ten largest megadiverse countries on this planet based on Seasia:
CONGO
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a rustic in Central Africa. Not to be confused with its neighboring country, the Republic of the Congo, it’s somewhat larger. The DRC rainforest, formerly generally known as Zaire, is home to great biodiversity, including chimpanzees and bonobos, African elephants, forest rhinos and plenty of others.
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa. In South Africa, the Bushveld, a subtropical forest region, is some of the fertile areas in all of Africa.
There are many mammals on this region, including Transvaal lions, African leopards, South African cheetahs, southern white rhinos, blue wildebeests, kudu, impala, hyenas, hippos and South African giraffes.
There are over 20,000 different plants, accounting for roughly 10% of all known plant species on Earth. There are a big variety of baobab trees on this area, near the northern end of the Kruger National Park.
MADAGASCAR
Madagascar is the fourth largest island on this planet. Madagascar, formerly generally known as the Republic of Madagascar, is home to an abundant wildlife, with over 90 percent of those species found exclusively on the island and located nowhere else on Earth.
There are over 14,000 plant species, most of that are found nowhere on this planet. Lemurs are known as Madagascar’s “flagship mammal species” since the islands are home to 103 species of lemurs. Its diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by its rapidly growing human population and its each day interactions with the environment.
INDIA
India is certainly one of 17 incredibly diverse countries with three major biodiversity hotspots. It is inhabited by roughly 8% of all mammals, 13% of birds, 8% of reptiles, 6% of amphibians and 6% of the whole population of plant species.
Most of them are present in tropical rainforests, the Western Ghats and the Himalayan forests. There are over five hundred wildlife sanctuaries and thirteen biosphere reserves in India.
CHINA
China is certainly one of the mega-diverse countries situated between two major ecozones; Palearctic and Indomalaya. There are over 34,000 species of plants and animals here, making it the third most biologically diverse country on this planet.
China is home to 551 species of mammals, 1,221 species of birds and 424 species of reptiles. China has 146,000 forms of flora and over 10,000 species of mushrooms. The country signed the Rio Convention on July 11, 1992, and a yr later became a celebration to it.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on June 12, 1993, and have become a celebration to it on June 24, 1994. It is home to roughly 20 percent of the world’s animal species. A high level of wildlife has been discovered in the varied forests of the Borneo Mountains.
There are roughly 210 species of mammals within the country. There are also a lot of endemic bird species in Malaysian Borneo. About 250 species of reptiles, 150 species of snakes and 80 species of lizards have been recorded within the country.
In addition, there are about 150 species of frogs and 1000’s of species of insects. Malaysia’s unique biodiversity attracts tens of millions of tourists from all over the world.
INDONESIA
Indonesia is essentially an island in Southeast Asia or a bunch of islands, of which there are as many as fourteen thousand. It is certainly one of the megadiverse countries, rating second in total variety of endemic species.
After Brazil, Indonesia has the best level of biodiversity, with 1,531 bird species, 515 mammal species, etc. However, resulting from Indonesia’s recent population growth, 15 of those species have been considered critically endangered, including the Bali starling, Javan rhinoceros, and Sumatran orangutan.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippine rainforest is home to a wide range of birds, plants, animals and sea creatures. It is certainly one of the ten most biodiverse countries.
There are roughly 1,100 species of terrestrial vertebrates within the Philippines, including over 100 species of mammals and 170 species of birds that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. The Philippines has the best discovery rate on this planet, with sixteen latest mammal species discovered within the last ten years.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Papua New Guinea is pronounced “Papua Niugini”. Geologically, the island of New Guinea is the northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate.
It is connected to the Australian Segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait, so most of the bird and mammal species present in New Guinea have close genetic links to those present in Australia. The most notable commonality between the 2 continents is the existence of several species, including kangaroos and possums, which can be found nowhere else.
AUSTRALIA
Despite the semi-arid and desert climate of most of Australia, it accommodates a various range of wildlife, from alpine to tropical rainforest. Due to the isolated location of the continent, most of its species are unique. Australia has the biggest variety of reptiles of any country – 755 species.
The flora is dominated by many evergreen species, especially eucalyptus. In the animal kingdom, Australian specialties include kangaroo, koala and wombat.
Source: Various sources incl RankRED.com
