**1. Introduction**

The greatest challenge facing Caribbean biodiversity is the relative lack of knowledge and analysis. Caribbean scientists have been and continue to be heavily engaged in gathering information on regional biodiversity. However, the region is large and diverse and there is much that is still unknown. Also, there is a need to synthesize and evaluate these findings, to set goals for future research and managed utilization. The biodiversity resource of the Caribbean is very rich but under threat, so the concern is real. While increasing population densities with associated issues of agriculture and urbanization, and climate change are important, lack of knowledge trumps them. Why? Because if we do not know what the Caribbean has and the worth of it, will we protect while sustainably using this bioresource? How can we protect what we do not even know we have?

Let us start with the fundamentals. When we say 'Caribbean', where in the world are we? Actually, there are two names for this area—'West Indies' and 'Caribbean'. The West Indies was so named to differentiate this area from the East Indies and includes all the islands in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. The

#### **Figure 1.**

*Map showing the West Indies (all the islands in the Caribbean Sea), the Caribbean region (includes islands and bordering countries) and the Greater/Wider Caribbean (also includes the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Bahamas and Bermuda). Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/attachments/ images/large/central\_america-physical.jpg?1547145649.*

Caribbean region encompasses a wider area, it includes the islands and the mainland countries whose shores are washed by the Caribbean Sea (eastern coast of Central America and northern coast of South America). Another term, the Greater or Wider Caribbean, is used to include the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Bahamas and Bermuda (**Figure 1**).

What is better known is that the Caribbean is a tourist destination full of beautiful and rare plants and animals, many being unique to the region or parts thereof. Extensive work has been done to determine the biodiversity of this region. The Caribbean region comprises 229,540 km<sup>2</sup> of land (with only 10% of original forest cover remaining) and 2,754,000 km2 of ocean. In this region, there are at least 13,000 identified plant species of which 205 genera and 6500 species are endemic [1]. Cuba, for example, has 6500 vascular plants of which 40% are endemic, and Jamaica has 2888 vascular plants and 28% endemism (**Figure 2**). Vertebrates also have a high rate of endemism of between 25 and 100% [2]. Marine endemism is estimated to be 25.6% [3]. The marine area of the Caribbean is extensive, is 7686 m at its maximum depth and includes the world's second largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which runs 1000 km along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Many studies have been undertaken to determine and monitor the health of the Caribbean Sea. Multiple uses have been found for both terrestrial and marine organisms. All this information cannot be summarized in one chapter so the purpose here is to highlight the main points, to give awareness to issues of mass extinctions, biodiversity and global problems affecting this area, and to provide a SWOT analysis and valuation exercise, so as to suggest future research needs to strengthen our knowledge base for sustainable development.

#### **Figure 2.**

*Endemic plants of the Caribbean: (A) search-mi-heart, Rhytidophyllum tomentosum; (B) leaf and fruit of Chaney root, Smilax balbisiana; (C) rhizome of Chaney root; (D) black jointer, Piper amalago; (E) medina, Alysicarpus vaginalis (plant not endemic but tonic use is endemic to the Caribbean). Pictures taken by Dr. Sylvia Mitchell.*
