Approximately 20% of the planet's vertebrate and plant species are found only in the Asean region and nowhere else in the world. Home to four biodiversity hotspots and three of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Asean has extraordinarily high levels of richness of species and endemism.
At least 100 new species – from monkeys to mussels – were found in Myanmar in a decade, according to conservationists who said discoveries during the country’s fleeting period of openness revealed “astonishing biodiversity”.