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B I O D I V E R S I T Y : D E L I V E R I N G R E S U LT S I N E U R O P E A N D T H E C I S
The Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (ECIS) region covers 26 countries and more than 24 million km2 (around 16 percent of the global land surface). The ECIS is located in the Palaearctic ecozone and includes in its area 26 temperate forest ecoregions, the majority of the Palaearctic’s boreal forest and tundra ecoregions, Mediterranean forests, wet grasslands and world’s largest dry steppe ecoregion. The ECIS region also includes the world’s largest enclosed sea (the Caspian), its largest brackish sea (the Baltic) and harbours globally significant freshwater ecoregions that include the rivers of Europe and the Russian far east, the deltas of the Volga, Danube and Lena, Lake Baikal (the oldest and deepest lake on the planet), and the Anatolian small lakes. Within the region, there are more than 36,750 protected areas (covering almost 8 percent of its land surface), 17 natural, and three
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mixed UNESCO World Heritage Sites1, 192 Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) and 98 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Four of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots are in the ECIS region2. The Caucasus Hotspot supports a rich diversity of coniferous, broadleaf and mixed forests, small areas of temperate rainforest, grassland steppe and semi-desert ecosystems. The Mountains of Central Asia Hotspot is a globally important storehouse of genetic diversity for wild crops, containing the unique and highly threatened walnut-fruit tree forest type. Central Asia is one of Vavilov’s eight major centres of crop domestication3 for species including almond, apricot, flax, lentil, mustard, cotton, and grapes. The Irano-Anatolian Hotspot contains many areas of unique and threatened biodiversity, with high proportions of endemic
plant and freshwater fish species4. The botanical diversity of the Mediterranean Hotspot is outstanding, with 15,000 to 25,000 species, 60 percent of which are unique to the region5. About one third of the Mediterranean fauna is also endemic. Although showing signs of decreasing in some countries, unsustainable use and exploitation (often illegal) remain the most immediate threats to biodiversity across the region, along with land conversion, habitat fragmentation and rapidly expanding recreational use. The world’s changing climate represents another growing threat, with major implications for biodiversity and ecosystems6. The following sections briefly discuss the state of the region’s major ecosystems, highlighting threats from existing or potential impacts of the changing climate.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list A ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’ is defined as ‘a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.’ See: Mittermeier, R.A., Myers, N. & Mittermeier, C.G. (2000). Hotspots: Earth’s biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions. Conservation International, Washington. Web site: www.biodiversityhotspots.org Vavilov, N.I.(1935). The phytogeographical basis for plant breeding (D. Love, transl.). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK. www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/irano_anatolian/Pages/default.aspx www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/mediterranean/Pages/default.aspx Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). www.maweb.org