Starbucks Coffee Company

The earth's biodiversity is not evenly distributed. Just 1.4 percent of its land contains 60 percent of the variety of its terrestrial species. Conservation International has designated 25 biodiversity hotspots where the world's variety of life is richest, yet threatened by adverse forces such as deforestation. Often these hotspots are prime areas for growing coffee, such as El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas. This is why Starbucks has joined Conservation International in an innovative partnership that helps preserve El Triunfo's cloud forest while helping local coffee farmers organize in cooperatives, receive technical assistance, and gain access to international markets. By focusing on hotspots, Conservation International is protecting the small number of fragile places where biodiversity is still robust.

Tropical Andes

Sometimes called the "global epicenter of biodiversity," the Andes is the richest and most diverse of all hotspots. It is home to 20,000 endemic plants and at least 1,500 endemic nonfish vertebrates, including a spectacular array of birds and amphibians.

Mediterranean Basin

This is the archetype of the five Mediterranean-climate hotspots and by far the largest. Best known for its 13,000 endemic plants, the basin is also home to a number of interesting vertebrates such as the Spanish ibex, an unusual ungulate.

Madagascar & Indian Ocean Islands

Often considered a mini-continent, Madagascar is famous for reptiles such as chameleons and more than 50 different kinds of lemurs-unique primates found only on these islands.

Madagascar & Indian Ocean Islands

Madagascar is thought by many to be the world’s top conservation priority due to its remarkable biodiversity and extensive deforestation.

Mesoamerica

Forming a land bridge between two continents, the Mesoamerica hotspot features species representative of North and South America as well as its own unique biota. The spider and howler monkeys, Baird’s tapir and unusual horned guan are flagship species.

Caribbean

The Caribbean hotspot has one of the highest concentrations of species per unit area on Earth. Reptiles are particularly diverse: 497 species are found here, 80 percent of which are found nowhere else. Nonfish vertebrates in this hotspot number 1,518.

Indo-Burma

Stretching from the eastern slopes of the Himalayas through Burma and Thailand to Indochina, this hotspot features the world’s highest freshwater turtle diversity-43 species-and an amazing array of mammals.

Atlantic Forest Region

Once covering an area nearly three times the size of California, the Atlantic Forest has been reduced to about 7 percent of its original extent. It is most famous for 25 different kinds of primates, 20 of which are found only in this hotspot.

Philippines

The most devastated of the hotspots, the Philippines’ forest cover has been reduced to 3 percent of its original extent. The Philippines is especially rich in endemic mammals and birds, such as the Philippine eagle.

Cape Floristic Province

This Mediterranean-type hotspot in southern Africa harbors an incredible 8,200 plant species, more than 5,500 of which are endemic, in an area roughly the size of Ireland-approximately 20 percent of its original extent.

Mountains of South-Central China

An area of extreme topography, these mountains are home to several of the world’s best-known mammals, including the giant panda, the red panda and the golden monkey. Largely unexplored, this hotspot is sure to hold many undiscovered species.

Sundaland

Featuring some of the largest islands in the world, Southeast Asia’s Sundaland hotspot is home to a number of unique species, including the endangered orangutans of Sumatra and Borneo.

Brazilian Cerrado

A vast area of savanna and dry forest, the Cerrado is Brazil’s new agricultural frontier and has been heavily impacted in the past few decades. It is home to 4,400 endemic plants and several well-known mammal species, including the giant anteater, Brazilian tapir and maned wolf.

Southwest Australia

A Mediterranean-type system, this hotspot is rich in endemic plants, reptiles and marsupials including the numbat, the honey possum and quokka, an unusual, noctural kangaroo. It also harbors some of the world’s tallest trees, among them the giant eucalyptus.

Polynesia/Micronesia

Comprised of thousands of tiny islands scattered over the vast Pacific-from Fiji and Hawaii to Easter Island-this hotspot is noteworthy for land snails, birds and reptiles.

Polynesia/Micronesia

Hawaii has suffered some of the most severe extinctions in modern history, due in part to the introduction of non-native plant and animal species.

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is one of the smallest hotspots, yet its concentration of unique plants is unmatched. Five plant families are found nowhere else on Earth.

Chocó-Darién-Western Ecuador

This hotspot features some of the world’s wettest rain forests, where amphibians, plants and birds are particularly abundant. Of the 350 amphibian species found here, an incredible 210 are endemic-one of the highest levels of endemism of any hotspot.

Western Ghats & Sri Lanka

The Western Ghats mountain chain and adjacent island of Sri Lanka harbor high concentrations of endemic reptiles; of 259 reptile species, 161 are found nowhere else on Earth.

California Floristic Province

Extending along the coast of California and into Oregon and northwestern Baja California, Mexico, this is one of five hotspots featuring a Mediterranean-type climate of hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Succulent Karoo

The only arid hotspot, the Succulent Karoo of southern Africa is renowned for unique succulent plants, as well as lizards and tortoises. The seasonal burst of bloom in Namaqualand, in the southern part of this hotspot, draws thousands of visitors each September.

New Zealand

This hotspot claims a number of world-famous bird species, including the kiwi, a nocturnal, flightless bird that is so secretive, few New Zealanders have seen it-despite the fact that it is their national emblem.

Central Chile

Bearing more resemblance to California than to other areas in the Southern Hemisphere, this hotspot features an arid region as well as a more typical Mediterranean-type zone.

Central Chile

It is best known for its incredible variety of plant species but also features unusual fauna, including one of the largest birds in the Americas, the Andean condor.

Guinean Forests of West Africa

With the highest mammal diversity of any hotspot, these forests are home to the rare pygmy hippopotamus and many other striking species, including the western chimpanzee, Diana monkey and several forest duikers.

Caucasus

Situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Caucasus habitats range from temperate forests to grasslands. Especially noteworthy is the diversity of plants: some 6,300 species have been recorded here, more than 1,600 of which are endemic.

Mountains & Forests of Tanzania and Kenya

A chain of upland and coastal forests, this hotspot claims one of the densest concentrations of unique plant and primate species in the world.

Mountains & Forests of Tanzania and Kenya

It is home to the well-known African violets and 4,000 other plant species, as well as the 1,500 remaining Kirk’s red colobus monkeys.

Wallacea

Named for the 19th century naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, this hotspot comprises the large Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the Moluccas and many smaller islands. The area is particularly rich in endemic mammals and birds.