**1.1 Global conservation priorities**

Globally, biodiversity levels are currently changing at an unprecedented rate due to a myriad of anthropogenically induced factors (Sala et al., 2000). Over the next century these negative trends in biodiversity are set to continue, and therefore the identification of areas for conservation prioritisation are necessary in order to best protect areas of greatest diversity (Brook et al., 2006). Though studies have used different criteria in prioritisation of areas, some studies have combined a number of criteria (Myers et al., 2000) which have led to the identification of 25 global hotspots of biodiversity and species endemicity, which only comprise 1.4% of the global land surface, but contain 44% of all known plant species and 35% of currently described vertebrates.

In this chapter I will principally dwell on three of these biodiversity hotspots, which join to form Southeast Asia (SEA). The following section details the biodiversity present through the region, followed by a brief discussion of the threats to biodiversity. To effectively conserve species present, knowledge of distributions and identification of species is essential, and thus appropriate techniques will be discussed and demonstrated. This will be followed by an analysis of methods to quantify the impacts of such threats, and thus develop the most suitable strategies to effectively conserve the maximum number of species throughout the region.

Though this chapter focuses predominantly on Southeast Asia many regions round the world currently face similar situations. The techniques and approaches discussed here will be broadly applicable to other regions, and species, than those discussed here.
