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high biodiversity wilderness areas

High biodiversity wildnerness areas (HBWAs) offer a proactive rather than reactive approach to prioritization. HBWAs are greater than 1 million hectares in area, and retain an extraordinary wealth of biodiversity and more than 70% of their natural vegetation, with a human population density of less than or equal to five people per km2. These areas are at least 70%, and up to 90%, intact. The vast majority of species inhabiting Wilderness Areas are concentrated into just five: Amazonia, the Congo Forests of Central Africa, the island of New Guinea, the Miombo-Mopane Woodlands of southern Africa, and the North American desert complex of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. These cover 6.1% of the planet’s land area and hold 17% of the world’s vascular plant species and around 8% of unique vertebrates.