The Himalaya, the Western Ghats, Indo-Burma and Sundaland, which cover parts of India, are:

A biodiversity hotspot is a region that is very rich in species, especially endemic species (species found nowhere else), and that is also under serious threat. The idea was introduced by the British ecologist Norman Myers in 1988. Conservation International later set two conditions for a region to be a hotspot:

It must have at least 1,500 species of endemic vascular plants (more than 0.5% of the world's total).

It must have lost at least 70% of its original natural vegetation.

There are 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world today. Together they cover only about 2.5% of the Earth's land surface, but they hold more than half of the world's endemic plant species. Four of them include parts of India:

The Himalaya: the Himalayan region of India, Nepal, Bhutan and nearby areas.

Indo-Burma: the north-eastern states of India, Myanmar, Thailand and other countries of mainland South-east Asia.

The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: the mountains along India's west coast and the island of Sri Lanka. The Western Ghats are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sundaland: the Nicobar Islands of India, along with Indonesia, Malaysia and nearby islands.

India is one of the 17 megadiverse countries of the world. With only about 2.4% of the world's land area, it has about 7-8% of all recorded species.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Biosphere reserves are areas declared under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme; India has 18, starting with the Nilgiri (1986).
• ✗Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention (1971).
• ✗Natural World Heritage Sites are places listed by UNESCO for their outstanding natural value.