Eleven of Earth's Wilderness Hot Spots
1.Amazonia - Threatened by roads, dams, mining and land clearing for cattle ranching.
2.Antarctica - Threatened by mining and military developments. Needs international park agreement.
3.Indo-Malayan forests - Massive natural area deforestation due to population resettlement schemes.
4.Himalayas - Foothills threatened with continued deforestation due to population pressures.
5.Central African forests/ Zaire Basin - Population pressures and poaching erodes even existing park and game reserve protection.
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6.Borneo rainforest (Sarawak)- One of the most rapid rates of deforestation in the world due to demand for tropical hardwoods.
7.The Other Brazilian rainforest/Mata Atlantica - Only a tiny fraction is left and that is fragmented. Pressure for development is never-ending.
8.Madagascar - An island with extremely high endemism especially noted for unique lemurs and many other species.
9.West Coast North American old-growth forests - The ancient coniferous forests that remain have the greatest living biomass per hectare of any ecosystem. Vast areas are being clearcut for the highly prized softwood species.
10.Central American forests - On of Earth's crucial areas of mega- biodiversity. Protection ranges form good for Costa Rica to almost non- existent for some other countries.
11.The oceans/marine ecosystems - Unsustainable fishing practices (over harvesting) including driftnet draggers and seiners, soil erosion causing siltation of coral reefs, and general toxic pollutants threaten the Earth's marine ecosystems.
