Manipur lies at the junction of two of the world's biodiversity hotspots

Background

The Manipur Forest Department attributes the state's biological richness to its location at the junction of two of the world's hotspots of biodiversity, the Indo-Myanmar hotspot and the Himalayan hotspot. Out of 34 hotspots across the globe, India has four, and of those four Manipur has two, the Himalayan and the Indo-Burma hotspot. The department records about 4,000 angiosperms, 1200 medicinal plants, 34 species of edible fungi, about 500 orchids, 55 species of bamboo, 695 birds, 160 fish species and 21 migratory aquatic birds in the state.