Write the importance of animals to mankind.

Hotspots are defined according to their vegetation. Plants are important because these determine the primary productivity of an ecosystem. Most, but not all, of the hotspots rely on species rich ecosystems for food, firewood, cropland, and income from timber.

i. In Madagascar, for example, about 85 per cent of the plants and animals are not only found nowhere else in the world, but its people are also among the world’s poorest and rely on slash and burn agriculture for subsistence farming. Other hotspots in wealthy countries are facing different types of pressures.

ii. The islands of Hawaii have many unique plants and animals that are threatened by introduced species and land development.

1. Efforts should be made to preserve the endangered species.

2. Prevention of extinction requires sound planning and management.

3. Varieties of food crops, forage plants, timber trees, livestock should be preserved.

4. Each country should identify habitats of wild relatives and ensure their protection.

5. Habitats where species feed, breed, nurse their youngones and rest should be safeguarded and protected.

6. International trade in wild plants and animals should be regulated.

Some of the important economic commodities that biodiversity supplies to humankind are: food crops, livestock, forestry, fish, medicinal resources, etc.