| Global 200 |
Article Index for Global |
Website Links For Global |
Information AboutGlobal 200 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GLOBAL 200 | |
| global 200 ecoregions | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
The Global 200 is the list of Ecoregion s identified by WWF (Worldwide Fund For Nature) as priorities for conservation. INTRODUCTION The Global 200 is based on the WWF's comprehensive system of ecoregions defined by the WWF as a :"relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species, dynamics, and environmental conditions" (Dinerstein et al. 1995, TNC 1997). The WWF has identified 867 Terrestrial Ecoregion s, which cover the earth's land surface, as well as Freshwater and Marine Ecoregion s. The goal of this classification system is to ensure that the full range of Ecosystem s will be represented in regional conservation and development strategies. Of these ecoregions, the WWF selected the Global 200 as the ecoregions most crucial to the Conservation of global Biodiversity . The Global 200 are actually 233 ecoregions, including 136 terrestrial, 36 freshwater, and 61 marine ecoregions. Conservationists interested in preserving biodiversity have generally focused on the preservation of Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests (commonly known as tropical rainforests) because it is estimated that they harbor one half of Earth's species. The WWF determined that a more comprehensive strategy for conserving global biodiversity should also consider the other half of species, as well as the Ecosystem s that support them. Several habitats, such as Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, And Shrub , were determined to be more threatened than tropical rain forests, and therefore require concerted conservation action. WWF maintains that ... :"although conservation action typically takes place at the country level, patterns of biodiversity and ecological processes (e.g., migration) do not conform to political boundaries", ... which is why ecoregion-based conservation strategies are deemed essential. Historically, zoologists and botanists have developed various classification systems that take into account the world's plant and animal communities. Two of the worldwide classification systems most commonly used today were summarized by Miklos Udvardy in 1975. The biogeographical realms divide the Earth's land surface into eight realms (formerly called kingdoms, and which the WWF calls Ecozone s) that represent the major terrestrial communities of animals and plants, and are a synthesis of previous systems of Floristic Province s and faunal regions. The Biome system classifies the world into ecosystem types (i.e. forests, grasslands, etc) based on climate and vegetation. Each biogeographical realm contains multiple biomes, and biomes occur across several biogeographical realms. A system of '''biogeographical provinces''' was developed to identify specific geographic areas in each biogeographical realm that were of a consistent biome type, and shared distinct plant and animal communities. The WWF system represents a further refinement of the system of biomes (which the WWF calls '''major habitat types'''), biogeographical realms (WWF's ecozones), and biogeographical provinces (the WWF scheme divides most biogeographical provinces into multiple smaller ecoregions). The WWF assigns a conservation status to each ecoregion in the Global 200: critical or endangered; vulnerable; and relatively stable or intact. Over half of the ecoregions in the Global 200 are rated endangered. Based on a comprehensive list of Ecoregion s, The Global 200 includes all major habitat types (biomes), all Ecosystem s types, and Species from every major habitat type. It focuses on each major habitat type of every continent (such as Tropical Forest or Coral Reef s). It uses Ecoregion s as the unit of scale for comparison. WWF say ecoregions could be considered as Conservation units at regional scale because they meet similar biological communities. Some ecoregions were selected over other ecoregions of the same major habitat type (biome) or ecozone. Selection of the Global 200 relied on extensive studies of 19 terrestrial, freshwater, and marine major habitat types. Selection of the ecoregions was based on analyses of species richness, species Endemism , unique higher Taxa , unusual ecological or evolutionary phenomena, and global rarity of major habitat type. Global 200 ecoregion list is most helpful to , depend on more complex parameters not used to define the current database, such as atmospheric currents, dynamic pelagic ecosystems, etc. These would require gathering more information, and coordination of efforts between multiple ecoregions. However, the Global 200 ecoregions can help these efforts by identifying habitat sites and resting sites for migratory animals. It may also help identify the origin of Invasive Species , and offer insights for slowing down or stopping their intrusion. LIST OF THE GLOBAL 200 ECOREGIONS Terrestrial Ecoregions Tropical And Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests '' Afrotropic '' 1 Guinean Moist Forests 2 Congolian Coastal Forests 3 Cameroon Highlands Forests 4 Northeastern Congolian Lowland Forests 5 Central Congolian Lowland Forests 6 Western Congolian Moist Forests 7 Albertine Rift Montane Forests 8 East African Coastal Forests 9 Eastern African Montane Forests 10 Madagascar Lowlands and Subhumid Forests 11 Seychelles and Mascarene Islands moist forests '' Australasia '' 12 Sulawesi Moist Forests 13 Moluccas Moist Forests 14 Southern New Guinea Lowland Forests 15 New Guinea Montane Forests 16 Solomons-Vanuatu-Bismarck Moist Forests 17 Queensland Tropical Rain Forests 18 New Caledonia Moist Forests 19 Lord Howe - Norfolk Island s forests '' Indomalaya '' 20 South Western Ghats Montane Rain Forests and Moist Deciduous Forests 21 Sri Lanka Moist Forests 22 Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests 23 Southeast China-Hainan Moist Forests 24 Taiwan Montane Forests 25 Annamite Range Moist Forests 26 Sumatran Islands Lowland And Montane Forests 27 Philippines Moist Forests 28 Palawan Moist Forests 29 Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim Moist Forests 30 Peninsular Malaysian Lowland And Montane Forests 31 Borneo Lowland And Montane Forests 32 Nansei Shoto Archipelago Forests 33 Eastern Deccan Plateau Moist Forests 34 Naga-Manupuri-Chin Hills Moist Forests 35 Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests 36 Western Java Montane Forests '' Neotropic '' 37 Greater Antillean Moist Forests 38 Talamancan-Isthmian Pacific Forests 39 Choco-Darien Moist Forests 40 Northern Andean Montane Forests 41 Coastal Venezuela Montane Forests 42 Guianan Moist Forests 43 Napo Moist Forests 44 Rio Negro-Jurua Moist Forests 45 Guayana Highlands Moist Forests 46 Central Andean Yungas 47 Southwestern Amazonian Moist Forests 48 Atlantic Forests '' Oceania '' 49 South Pacific Islands Forests 50 Hawaii Moist Forests --- Tropical And Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests '' Afrotropic '' 51 Madagascar Dry Forests '' Australasia '' 52 Nusa Tenggara Dry Forests 53 New Caledonia Dry Forests '' Indomalaya '' 54 Indochina Dry Forests 55 Chhota-Nagpur Dry Forests '' Neotropic '' 56 Mexican Dry Forests 57 Tumbesian-Andean Valleys Dry Forests 58 Chiquitano Dry Forests 59 Atlantic Dry Forests '' Oceania '' 60 Hawaii Dry Forests -- Tropical And Subtropical Coniferous Forests '' Nearctic '' 61 Sierra Madre Oriental And Occidental Pine-oak Forests '' Neotropic '' 62 Greater Antillean Pine Forests 63 Mesoamerican Pine-oak Forests - Temperate Broadleaf And Mixed Forests '' Australasia '' 64 Eastern Australia Temperate Forests 65 Tasmanian Temperate Rain Forests 66 New Zealand Temperate Forests '' Indomalaya '' 67 Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf And Conifer Forests 68 Western Himalayan Temperate Forests '' Nearctic '' 69 Appalachian And Mixed Mesophytic Forests '' Palearctic '' 70 Southwest China Temperate Forests 71 Russian Far East Temperate Forests - Temperate Coniferous Forests '' Nearctic '' 72 Pacific Temperate Rain Forests 73 Klamath-Siskiyou Forests 74 Sierra Nevada Forests 75 Southeastern Coniferous And Broadleaf Forests '' Neotropic '' 76 Valdivian Temperate Rain Forests - Juan Fernandez Islands '' Palearctic '' 77 European-Mediterranean Montane Mixed Forests 78 Caucasus-Anatolian-Hycanian Temperate Forests 79 Altai-Sayan Montane Forests 80 Hengduan Shan Coniferous Forests -- Boreal Forests/taiga '' Nearctic '' 81 Muskwa-Slave Lake Boreal Forests 82 Canadian Taiga '' Palearctic '' 83 Ural Mountains Taiga 84 East Siberian Taiga ; 85 Kamchatka Taiga And Grasslands Tropical And Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, And Shrublands '' Afrotropic '' 86 Horn Of Africa Acacia Savannas 87 East African Acacia Savannas 88 Central And Eastern Miombo Woodlands 89 Sudanian Savannas '' Australasia '' 90 Northern Australia And Trans-Fly Savannas '' Indomalaya '' 91 Terai-Duar Savannas And Grasslands '' Neotropic '' 92 Llanos savannas 93 Cerrado Woodlands And Savannas -- Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, And Shrublands '' Nearctic '' 94 Northern Prairie '' Neotropic '' 95 Patagonia n steppe '' Palearctic '' 96 Daurian Steppe -- Flooded Grasslands And Savannas '' Afrotropic '' 97 Sudd-Sahelian Flooded Grasslands And Savannas 98 Zambezian Flooded Savannas '' Indomalaya '' 99 Rann Of Kutch flooded grasslands '' Neotropic '' 100 Everglades flooded grasslands 101 Pantanal flooded savannas -- Montane Grasslands And Shrublands '' Afrotropic '' 102 Ethiopian Highlands 103 Southern Rift Montane Woodlands 104 East African Moorlands 105 Drakenberg Montane Shrublands And Woodlands '' Australasia '' 106 Central Range Subalpine Grasslands '' Indomalaya '' 107 Kinabalu Montane Shrublands '' Neotropic '' 108 Northern Andean Paramo 109 Central Andean Dry Puna '' Palearctic '' 110 Tibetan Plateau Steppe 111 Middle Asian Montane Steppe And Woodlands 112 Eastern Himalayn Alpine Meadows -- Tundra '' Nearctic '' 113 Alaskan North Slope Coastal Tundra 114 Canadian Low Arctic Tundra '' Palearctic '' 115 Fenno-Scandia Alpine Tundra And Taiga 116 Taimyr And Russian Coastal Tundra 117 Chukote Coastal Tundra -- Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, And Shrub '' Afrotropic '' 118 Fynbos '' Australasia '' 119 Southwestern Australia Forests And Scrub 120 Southern Australia Mallee And Woodlands '' Nearctic '' 121 California Chaparral And Woodlands '' Neotropic '' 122 Chilean Matorral '' Palearctic '' 123 Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, And Shrub --- Deserts And Xeric Shrublands '' Afrotropic '' 124 Namib-Karoo-kaokoveld Deserts 125 Madagascar Spiny Thicket 126 Socotra Island desert 127 Arabian Highland Woodlands And Shrublands '' Australasia '' 128 Carnavon Xeric Scrub 129 Great Sandy-Tanami Deserts '' Nearctic '' 130 Sonoran - Baja deserts 131 Chihuahuan -Tehuacan deserts '' Neotropic '' 132 Galapagos Islands scrub 133 Atacama - Sechura deserts '' Palearctic '' 134 Central Asian Deserts --- Mangroves '' Afrotropic '' 135 Gulf Of Guinea Mangroves 136 East African Mangroves 137 Madagascar Mangroves '' Australasia '' 138 New Guinea Mangroves '' Indomalaya '' 139 Sundarbans Mangroves 140 Greater Sundas Mangroves '' Neotropic '' 141 Guianan-Amazon Mangroves 142 Panama Bight Mangroves Freshwater Ecoregion s Large rivers '' Afrotropic '' 143 Congo River and flooded forests ( Angola , Democratic Republic Of Congo , Republic Of Congo ) '' Indomalaya '' 144 Mekong River (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) '' Nearctic '' 145 Colorado River (Mexico, United States) 146 Lower Mississippi River (United States) '' Neotropic '' 147 Amazon River and flooded forests (Brazil, Colombia, Peru) 148 Orinoco River and flooded forests (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela) '' Palearctic '' 149 Yangtze River and lakes (China) Large river headwaters '' Afrotropic '' 150 Congo basin piedmont rivers and streams (Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Sudan) '' Nearctic '' 151 Mississippi piedmont rivers and streams (United States) '' Neotropic '' 152 Upper Amazon rivers and streams (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana (France), Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela) 153 Upper Paraná rivers and streams (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay) 154 Brazilian Shield Amazonian rivers and streams (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) Large River Delta s '' Afrotropic '' 155 Niger River Delta ( Nigeria ) '' Indomalaya '' 156 Indus River Delta (India, Pakistan) '' Palearctic '' 157 Volga River Delta (Kazakhstan, Russia) 158 Mesopotamian Delta And Marshes (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait) 159 Danube River Delta (Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Yugoslavia) 160 Lena River delta (Russia) Small rivers '' Afrotropic '' 161 Upper Guinea rivers and streams (Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) 162 Madagascar freshwater ( Madagascar ) 163 Gulf Of Guinea rivers and streams (Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Republic of Congo) 164 Cape rivers and streams ( South Africa ) '' Australasia '' 165 New Guinea Rivers And Streams ( Indonesia , Papua New Guinea ) 166 New Caledonia Rivers And Streams ( New Caledonia ) 167 Kimberley rivers and streams ( Australia ) 168 Southwest Australia rivers and streams ( Australia ) 169 Eastern Australia rivers and streams ( Australia ) '' Indomalaya '' 170 Xi Jiang rivers and streams (China, Vietnam) 171 Western Ghats Rivers and Streams ( India ) 172 Southwestern Sri Lanka Rivers And Streams ( Sri Lanka ) 173 Salween River (China, Myanmar, Thailand) 174 Sundaland rivers and swamps (Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore) '' Nearctic '' 175 Southeastern rivers and streams (United States) 176 Pacific Northwest coastal rivers and streams (United States) 177 Gulf Of Alaska coastal rivers and streams (Canada, United States) '' Neotropic '' 178 Guianan freshwater (Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela) 179 Greater Antillean freshwater (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico) '' Palearctic '' 180 Balkan rivers and streams (Albania, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey, Yugoslavia) 181 Russian Far East rivers and wetlands (China, Mongolia, Russia) Large lakes '' Afrotropic '' 182 Rift Valley Lakes (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia) '' Neotropic '' 183 High Andean lakes (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru) '' Palearctic '' 184 Lake Baikal (Russia) 185 Lake Biwa (Japan) Small lakes '' Afrotropic '' 186 Cameroon crater lakes (Cameroon) '' Australasia '' 187 Lakes Kutubu and Sentani (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea) 188 Central Sulawesi lakes (Indonesia) '' Indomalaya '' 189 Philippines freshwater (Philippines) 190 Inle Lake (Myanmar) 191 Yunnan lakes and streams (China) '' Neotropic '' 192 Mexican highland lakes (Mexico) Xeric basins '' Australasia '' 193 Central Australian freshwater (Australia) '' Nearctic '' 194 Chihuahuan freshwater (Mexico, United States) '' Palearctic '' 195 Anatolian freshwater (Syria, Turkey) Marine Ecoregion s Polar '' Antarctic Ocean '' 196 Antarctic Peninsula & Weddell Sea '' Arctic Ocean 197 Bering Sea (Canada, Russia, United States) 198 Barents-Kara Sea (Norway, Russia) Temperate shelfs and seas ''Mediterranean'' 199 Mediterranean Sea (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey) '' North Temperate Atlantic '' 200 Northeast Atlantic Shelf Marine (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom) 201 Grand Banks (Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon (France), United States) 202 Chesapeake Bay (United States) ''North Temperate Indo-Pacific'' 203 Yellow Sea (China, North Korea, South Korea) 204 Sea Of Okhotsk (Japan, Russia) '' Southern Ocean '' 205 Patagonian Southwest Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) 206 Southern Australian Marine (Australia) 207 New Zealand Marine (New Zealand) Temperate Upwelling ''North Temperate Indo-Pacific'' 208 California Current (Canada, Mexico, United States) ''South Temperate Atlantic'' 209 Benguela Current (Namibia, South Africa) ''South Temperate Indo-Pacific'' 210 Humboldt Current (Chile, Ecuador, Peru) 211 Agulhas Current (Mozambique, South Africa) Tropical Upwelling ''Central Indo-Pacific'' 212 Western Australian Marine (Australia) ''Eastern Indo-Pacific'' 213 Panama Bight (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama) 214 Gulf Of California (Mexico) 215 Galápagos Marine (Ecuador) ''Eastern Tropical Atlantic'' 216 Canary Current (Canary Islands, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Western Sahara) Tropical Coral ''Central Indo-Pacific'' 217 Nansei Shoto (Japan) 218 Sulu-Sulawesi Seas (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) 219 Bismarck-Solomon Seas (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands) 220 Banda-Flores Sea (Indonesia) 221 New Caledonia Barrier Reef (New Caledonia) 222 Great Barrier Reef (Australia) 223 Lord Howe-Norfolk Islands Marine (Australia) 224 Palau Marine (Palau) 225 Andaman Sea (Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India), Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand) ''Eastern Indo-Pacific'' 226 Tahitian Marine (Cook Islands, French Polynesia) 227 Hawaiian Marine (Hawaii) 228 Rapa Nui (Easter Island) 229 Fiji Barrier Reef (Fiji) ''Western Indo-Pacific'' 230 Maldives , Chagos , and Lakshadweep atolls (Chagos Archipelago (United Kingdom), India, Maldives, Sri Lanka) 231 Red Sea (Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen) 232 Arabian Sea (Djibouti, Iran, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen) 233 East African Marine (Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania) 234 West Madagascar Marine (Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte and Iles Glorieuses (France), Seychelles) ''Western Tropical Atlantic'' 235 Mesoamerican Reef (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico) 236 Greater Antillean Marine (Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States) 237 Southern Caribbean Sea (Aruba, Columbia, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela) 238 Northeast Brazil Shelf Marine (Brazil) SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |