Beyond “Hotspots”: How to Prioritize Investments to Conserve Biodiversity in the Indo-Pacific Region

We present a conservation index based upon the interaction of the size of terrestrial protected areas, remain- ing forest habitat, deforestation rates, and biological rich- ness to identify conservation potentials; threats, and strate- gies for 23 Indo-Pacific countries. This conservation potential/threat index shows that four of the largest and most species-rich countries-China Indonesiag India and Thailand-contain 82% of the region's large reserves (more than 1000 km2) and 86% of the region's area designatedfor protection. The skewed regional distribution and small number of large reserves per country call for the expansion