Regions of Exceptional Biological Diversity: Hotspots and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
Data on Linguistic and Biological Diversity
Sub-regional Conservation Priorities: Endangered Birds, Endangered
Amphibians, Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites, and Protected Areas
Linguistic Diversity in Regions of High Biodiversity
Co-occurrence of Languages and Other Conservation Priorities in Hotspots and High
Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
Potential Reasons for Shared Geographic Space
Broadened Conservation Horizons: Non-human Species, Languages, and Cultures
Conclusions
References
Appendix A: Map and Tabular Summaries of Linguistic Diversity in Hotspots and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas and Co-occurrence with Conservation Priorities
From the Executive Summary
As we proceed through the second decade of the 21st century, our planet is witnessing an alarming decline in the diversity of life it supports.
One indicator of this decline is the mass extinction of plant and animal species currently underway, with species loss estimated at 1,000 times or more higher
than historic background rates. Another indicator of declining diversity of life on Earth involves humans, with diversity in our single species taking the form
of culture and associated characteristics. One measure of human diversity is language, and it too is under duress:
linguists predict by the end of the 21st century, 50 to 90 percent of existing languages on Earth may disappear. Recent advances in the compilation of both
biological and linguistic data provide an opportunity to examine the geographic interface of these two phenomena in much greater detail. The results of
our study indicate remarkable concordance between biological and linguistic diversity. About 70 percent of all languages currently spoken on Earth occur
in the approximately one-fourth of the planet's land area (excluding Antarctica) that is designated as a Biodiversity Hotspot or High Biodiversity Wilderness
Area. As is the case with species occurring in the biodiversity regions, many of the languages spoken in the Hotspots and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
are unique to individual regions, thereby marking the sole opportunities to maintain them. Moreover, many of the languages occurring in these regions are spoken
by small numbers of people. Our analysis uses thresholds of 10,000 and 1,000 or fewer speakers, indicating that much of the linguistic diversity (and, by
implication, cultural diversity) currently present in biodiversity regions is in danger of disappearing in the foreseeable future due to the high
vulnerability of small groups to changes in their cultural systems and environments amid rapid globalization. In many cases, conservation priorities at
sub-regional scales overlap with languages, such that key species locations or important localities for biodiversity conservation share geographic
space with one or more languages. Overall, however, the high degree of co-occurrence of biological and linguistic diversity in many regions at different geographic
scales provides a reason for collaboration of organizations interested in maintaining the planet's biological and linguistic (and cultural) heritage.
