Threatened biogeographical realms

Threatened biogeographical regions
Threatened major faunal regions

Nature

Threatened biogeographical realms refer to large geographic regions distinguished by unique assemblages of plants, animals, and ecosystems that are at risk due to human activities and environmental changes. These realms face significant threats such as habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, and pollution, leading to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The problem is critical because the decline of these realms undermines global ecological stability, disrupts evolutionary processes, and diminishes natural resources essential for human well-being. Conservation efforts are urgently needed to protect and restore these threatened biogeographical realms and preserve their irreplaceable biological diversity.

Background

A biogeographical realm is the largest biogeographical division. It is a continent or continent-sized area with unifying features of geography and fauna/flora/vegetation. This rank more or less corresponds, in other classification systems, to the "kingdom" of the florist and the "region" of the faunist.

The system of biogeographic realms (or regions) integrates information on the (1) distribution of species and (2) distribution of ecosystem units. Each biogeographic region is subdivided into a subset of biogeographical provinces. Each province is characterized by a dominant ecosystem (also called a major biome or biome-complex). Provincial boundaries can subdivide the area of a biome where significant faunal or floral differences occur. Also large areas of relatively uniform faunas and/or floras are subdivided on the basis of changes in the structure of vegetation.

Incidence

Threatened biogeographical realms are experiencing unprecedented pressures due to habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, and unsustainable resource exploitation. According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), over 75% of terrestrial environments and 66% of marine environments have been significantly altered by human activity, placing entire realms such as the Indo-Malayan and Afrotropical at risk. This widespread degradation threatens global biodiversity and ecosystem services essential for human well-being.
In 2022, the Amazon Basin—part of the Neotropical realm—faced record deforestation rates, with over 13,000 square kilometers lost in Brazil alone, as reported by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

Claim

The alarming decline of threatened biogeographical realms is an urgent crisis that demands immediate global attention. These unique regions harbor irreplaceable biodiversity, and their destruction accelerates species extinction, disrupts ecosystems, and undermines human well-being. Ignoring this problem is reckless and short-sighted; we are gambling with the planet’s future. Protecting these realms is not optional—it is a moral and practical imperative for the survival of life on Earth.

Counter-claim

The so-called “threat” to biogeographical realms is vastly overstated. Nature has always adapted to change, and species have come and gone throughout history. Human progress and development are far more important than worrying about abstract boundaries in nature. Resources should be focused on real, immediate human concerns, not on preserving arbitrary ecological zones that have always been in flux. The alarmism around threatened biogeographical realms is simply not a pressing issue.