1.2 ASEAN’s Rich Biodiversity

The lands and seas of Southeast Asia （SEA） are naturally blessed with amazing richness of life forms and home to key major ecosystems. It occupies only three percent of the world’s total land area but it is home to 18 percent of all known plant and animal species. The region has three （Indonesia，Malaysia and Philippines） of the 17 mega-diverse countries but it has four （Indo-Burma，Philippines，Sundaland and Wallacea） of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. These hotspots have exceptional levels of endemism of species but they are also facing serious losses of habitats. Accordingly，over 50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to these hotspots.

In terms of global diversity of plants and animals，Indonesia ranks second for mammals，fifth for plants，and sixth for amphibians and fifth for birds；Malaysia ranks second for plants，16^th for amphibians and 17^th for mammals；Myanmar ranks 14^th for birds；the Philippines ranks 15^th for plants；and Thailand ranks 18^th and 20^th for birds and mammals，respectively. The ASEAN region has 34 percent of the world’s coral reefs （86，025 square kilometers） but 88 percent of its coral reefs are at risk due to destructive fishing practices and coral bleaching. It is also reported that seven percent of all the threatened amphibians，12 percent of all threatened birds，18 percent of all threatened mammals and 16 percent of all threatened plants are found in the ASEAN region. Table 1-1 shows the distribution by country of threatened species in the ASEAN region and as illustrated in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1 Distribution of threatened species in the ASEAN，2012

Table 1-1 Distribution of threatened species found in the ASEAN region，2012