APES- Biodiversity Hotspots Activity Objective: To teach students what hotspots are as well as the characteristics of these critical

habitats !aterials: "o#puter with $nternet access Procedure: %o to the website www biodiversityhotspots or& "hoose one of the biodiversity hotspot to study "reate a ' pa&e handout that e(plains the followin& infor#ation: Analysis:

The hotspot I chose was the Caribbean islands. I chose this because Central America is a very tropical and beautiful place so I got interested in what their biodiversity may be like. What I first looked up are the animals and plants that are native to the area. There were a bunch, so I picked one of each. For plant diversity there are an estimated !,""" species, including more than #,$"" single%island endemics. Cuba, though, is by far the most important island in the region in terms of biodiversity for plants. The plant most heavily e&ploited for its timber is the Caribbean mahogany, which is a native plant. As for animals there is great variety' birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fish. The largest number of species between them are birds, with #"( species, followed by reptiles with $") species, then amphibians with *", freshwater fish with # and lastly, mammals with +, species. -ne bird that is a native bird the parrots. As for the Island.s economic status, it is said to be a developing nation because in today.s global competitive environment Cuba is at a disadvantage because their cheap labor and natural resource endowments have become outdated in a knowledge%based economy. There are low living standards, poor health and inade/uate education and limited life e&pectancy, large scale unemployment and underemployment as well. Although the Caribbean islands have a lot of biodiversity there has been the decrease in it. -ut of all the human activities contributing to the biodiversity loss, I find the biggest one is tourism development. It has put pressure on natural ecosystems on some islands, especially those who are growing non native vegetation, building golf courses, roads, and tourist infrastructure and facilities. As for what is being done about the biodiversity loss, about ! percent of the land area of this hotspot is officially protected. There is, though, a great need for much better management, monitoring, and enforcement of protected areas throughout the Caribbean. -verall the Caribbean Islands emerge as top priority for the e&pansion of the global protected areas network. -n the bright side a large variety of local organi0ations that promote conservation efforts in the Caribbean. For e&ample, 1rupo 2aragua, a group of citi0ens and scientists in the 3ominican 4epublic, helps support and manage 2aragua 5ational 6ark, one of the largest land and sea parks in the hotspot. In 7aiti, the Foundation for the 6rotection of

8arine 9iodiversity works with both fishers and the government to promote steady use of the country.s living marine resources. 9ecause of the development of partnerships between ma:or industries , such as tourism, and the governmental and private organi0ation, the prospects for biodiversity conservation has been enhanced. The 6rotocol for ;pecially 6rotected Areas and Wildlife <;6AW= which came into force in )""", was created to provide region%wide standards and mechanisms for harmoni0ing conservation efforts across the Caribbean region.