Global hotspots in the Arabian Peninsula

The Hotspot concept was formulated to highlight areas of the world that contain concentrations of endemic species. The effectiveness of this approach applied to the two sectors of global hotspots located in the Arabian Peninsula is examined in the context of overall strategies to conserve the biodiversity of the region. Rates of vertebrate endemism in the region range from 6%-75%. Over 58% of Arabian Peninsula endemic vertebrates have distributions restricted to The Arabian Hotspot Area, compared to a global figure of 42%, and over 77% of these endemics species occur there. These figures highlight the importance of the Arabian Hotspot Area for this aspect of biodiversity conservation, hut it excludes large areas of the Arabian Peninsula containing characteristic habitats and species, including Arabian Oryx and Houbara Bustard. Additional approaches are needed to provide a fully representative and comprehensive conservation strategy.