Jump to navigation

Explore the Biodiversity Hotspots

Currently Investing

Previously Invested

Preparing for investment

Other

Mesoamerica

Previous Investment

Explore This Hotspot

Spanning most of central America, the Mesoamerica biodiversity hotspot encompasses all subtropical and tropical ecosystems from central Mexico to the Panama Canal. This includes all of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvadoe, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, as well as a third of Mexico and nearly two-thirds of Panama.

CEPF is currently investing in 7 hotspots:

Close-up of iguana.

Critically Endangered Ricord's iguana (Cyclura ricordi), Haiti.

Caribbean Islands

Close up of bald head, red face and white neck of sarus crane.

The sarus crane (Grus antigone) in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.

© Conservation International/photo by Haroldo Castro

Indo-Burma

Close up of lemur's face, orange eyes.

Critically Endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata), Madagascar.

© Cristina Mittermeier

Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands

Close up of delicate, red flowers.

Papaver rhoeas L. in Morocco's Atlas Mountains.

© Inanc Tekguc, for Global Diversity Foundation

Mediterranean Basin

Stream running through snow-covered landscape.

Ala Archa National Park, Kyrgyzstan.

Mountains of Central Asia

Close up of green, yellow, blue bird on branch.

Blue-naped chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) in Colombia.

Tropical Andes

Man-standing-in-garden.

Villager near Riung, Flores Island, Indonesia.

© Conservation International/photo by Aulia Erlangga

Wallacea

CEPF previously invested in 18 hotspots:

Close-up of butterfly with clear and black wings on leaf.

Butterfly in Brazil.

Atlantic Forest

Bush of red protea with mountains in the background.

Mimetes cucullatus in South Africa's Outeniqua Mountains

© Conservation International/photo by Haroldo Castro

Cape Floristic Region

Close-up of head and beginning of torso of female goat with small horns.

An Endangered West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica).

© Adam Skalny/Flickr Creative Commons

Caucasus

Delicate white and green flower.

Pepalanto flower (Paepalanthus speciosus), a typical plant of the Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot.

Cerrado

Close-up of mother monkey with juvenile between her arms.

Endangered Kirk's red colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii) in Zanzibar's Jozani Forest.

© Conservation International/photo by Russell A. Mittermeier

Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa

Very large, brown crab on tree trunk.

Coconut crab (Birgus latro), Solomon Islands.

© Piotr Naskrecki

East Melanesian Islands

Community members in bright clothing. Woman in front is smiling and holding plant.

CEPF workshop participants use real material to 3-D map their community in Burundi.

© Resilience Now – Florence Gibert

Eastern Afromontane

Close-up of young chimpanzee swinging from branch.

Critically Endangered western chimpazee (Pan troglodytes verus), Guinea.

© Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo

Guinean Forests of West Africa

Aerial view of snowy mountains with smattering of clouds.

Himalayan mountain range, Nepal.

Himalaya

Close-up of bright green, red and blue bird with long, curving beak.

A Southern double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus).

© Scotch Macaskill

Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany

Close-up of brown and orange salamander on leaf.

Palm salamander (Bolitoglossa doflein), Guatemala.

© Robin Moore/iLCP

Mesoamerica

Portrait of woman standing outside in traditional dress.

Woman in Sichuan province.

© Piotr Naskrecki

Mountains of Southwest China

Close-up of brown, large-eyed tarsier on diagonal branch.

A Phillippine tarsier (Tarsius syriehta).

Philippines

Small sea turtle just under the water's surface, island vegetation in background.

An Endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchling off of Moorea Island.

© Photo Rodolphe Holler

Polynesia-Micronesia

Close-up of bright orange flower with orange beetle in its center.

Gazania with a monkey beetle in the center, South Africa.

© Tessa Mildenhall

Succulent Karoo

Large orangutan close up.

A Critically Endangered orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Sundaland

Close-up of curled, green snake with white markings.

Emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus), Ecuador.

© Conservation International/photo by John Martin

Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena

Striking close-up of tiger's face from slightly above.

An Endangered tiger (panthera tigris) in India.

© Conservation International/photo by Frank Hawkins

Western Ghats and Sri Lanka

See All Projects

11 ADDITIONAL HOTSPOTS:

Base of two very large trees.

Endangered giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) at Yosemite National Park.

California Floristic Province

Green landscape with snow-covered volcanic cone in the distance.

Villarrica National Park includes three volcanic cones and extends from the hills opposite Pucón Chile, to the border with Argentina.

© Javier Ignacio Acuña Ditzel/Flickr Creative Commons

Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests

Close-up of blue and green lizard.

Boyd's forest dragon (Hypsilurus boydii), a nocturnal arboreal lizard.

© Peter Nijenhuis/Flickr Creative Commons

Forests of East Australia

Close-up of small, brown antelope near spindly tree.

Generuk (Litocranius walleri) in Kenya.

© Fabiola Leyton and Carlos Castillo/Wikimedia Creative Commons

Horn of Africa

Small, rocky mountain against blue sky.

Major parts of central and eastern Turkey are part of the hotspot.

Irano-Anatolian

Close-up of monkey with light-brown fur and reddish face.

Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the "snow monkey."

Japan

Close-up of about a dozen orange/black butterflies on plant.

Monarch butterflies, Mexico.

Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands

Dark water in the foreground, lush hills in the background.

New Caledonia is the smallest of the world's hotspots.

© Conservation International/photo by François Tron

New Caledonia

View of coastline.

Nugget Point, New Zealand.

© Conservation International/photo by Russell A. Mittermeier

New Zealand

Close-up of brown and orange turtle next to tree, leaves scattered on the ground.

An Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a Maryland forest.

© Conservation International/photo by Peter Paul VanDijk

North American Coastal Plain

Close-up of grassy plant.

Kingia (Kingia australis) is endemic to the hotspot.

© Philip Bouchard/Flickr Creative Commons

Southwest Australia

See All Projects

Grants

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

New Caledonia

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

Irano-Anatolian

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

Caucasus

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

North American Coastal Plain

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

California Floristic Province

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Priority KBA

Priority Corridor

Other KBA

Other Corridor

New Zealand

Investment

Stats

Investment

:

Eligible Countries

Ecosystem Profile

Pages