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Explore the Biodiversity Hotspots

CEPF grantees work in developing and transitional countries in the world's biodiversity hotspots—some of Earth's most biologically diverse yet threatened terrestrial areas. Since 2001, CEPF has funded conservation in 25 of the 36 hotspots.

Small bird on horizontal branch of large, orange flower.
Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina) in Parque Nacional Sierre de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic.
© Jorge Brocca
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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 10 hotspots:

Close-up of iguana.
Critically Endangered Ricord's iguana (Cyclura ricordi), Haiti.
© O. Langrand
Caribbean Islands
Delicate white and green flower.
Pepalanto flower (Paepalanthus speciosus), a typical plant of the Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot.
© O. Langrand
Cerrado
Very large, brown crab on tree trunk.
Coconut crab (Birgus latro), Solomon Islands.
© Piotr Naskrecki
East Melanesian Islands
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
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.
© O. Langrand
Mountains of Central Asia
Close up of green, yellow, blue bird on branch.
Blue-naped chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) in Colombia.
© O. Langrand
Tropical Andes
Man-standing-in-garden.
Villager near Riung, Flores Island, Indonesia.
© Conservation International/photo by Aulia Erlangga
Wallacea

CEPF previously invested in 15 hotspots:

Close-up of butterfly with clear and black wings on leaf.
Butterfly in Brazil.
© Will Turner
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
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
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
Aerial view of snowy mountains with smattering of clouds.
Himalayan mountain range, Nepal.
© Rod Mast
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).
© O. Langrand
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.
© Will Turner
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
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11 ADDITIONAL HOTSPOTS:

Base of two very large trees.
Endangered giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) at Yosemite National Park.
© brentawp
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.
© O. Langran
Irano-Anatolian
Close-up of monkey with light-brown fur and reddish face.
Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the "snow monkey."
© O. Langrand
Japan
Close-up of about a dozen orange/black butterflies on plant.
Monarch butterflies, Mexico.
© Rod Mast
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
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