Biodiversity Hotspots

  1. Biodiversity Hotspots
    have helped guide us
    for 25 years

  2. But the world and our understanding have changed

  3. More science.
    More data.
    New questions.

  4. It’s time to

One of the most influential frameworks in conservation science

Irreplaceable, threatened and still disappearing.

Biodiversity Hotspots are home to species found nowhere else on Earth. At least 70% of their natural habitat is already gone, and what remains is still being cleared. If this life is lost here, it’s lost to the world.

From places on a map to priorities in the world

The Biodiversity Hotspots framework brought these 36 regions into focus on a global map, leading to decades of attention, investment, and action. It showed that protecting a small number of places could protect a remarkable share of life on Earth.

Nearly half of Earth’s
irreplaceable speciesThe only home for over half the world’s plant species and nearly 43% of its birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.live on 2.5% of its land.The natural habitat left across all 36 hotspots covers just 2.5% of Earth’s land.

25+

years since the framework was comprehensively updated

More is at risk than when the map was drawn. More is within view, too. Habitats have been lost and extinction risk has risen. At the same time, advances in science and technology have radically transformed what we can see of life on Earth.

170,000+

species have now been assessed for extinction risk which is 10x more than when the original Hotspots paper was published

40,000

tree species have now been mapped and analysed worldwide representing 72% of all known tree species

So now, we’re looking again

  • At the science.
  • At the places.
  • At the species.

Building on 25 years of what we know,
what’s changing and what’s possible.

And today, we can go even further

The original framework mapped where biodiversity was at risk. Today, we can show where action and investment will matter most.

STAR
Connects conservation action directly to measurable impact.
GTA
Brings together assessments of more than 47,000 tree species.
EDGE
Highlights threatened species with unique evolutionary importance.

A global effort
to look again

Scientists, conservation organisations, practitioners and communities around the world have been working to protect biodiversity – generating new knowledge, gathering data and building a deeper understanding of what is happening on the ground. That work gives us the opportunity to look again.

Now a global partnership is bringing scientific expertise, data and experience from the ground together to update the framework. Alongside the science, a platform is taking shape to mobilise better knowledge into action.

Science shows us where.
Mobilisation moves us forward.

Question it.
Challenge it.
Contribute to it.

Biodiversity
Hotspots Explained

Biodiversity hotspots are regions home to unique species that are at severe risk of extinction.

Today, 36 regions around the world are defined as biodiversity hotspots, together covering just 2.5% of Earth’s land surface - from rainforests and coastal forests to island archipelagos and semi-arid shrublands spanning nearly every continent.

These regions meet two criteria:

≥1,500

Endemic plant species found

First, it must contain at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species - meaning species found nowhere else on Earth. Plants are used as a key measure because they form the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems, supporting the many species that depend on them.

≥70%

of original vegetation already lost

Second, it must have lost at least 70% of its original natural vegetation, leaving 30% or less intact.

Current biodiversity hotspots map

What 25 Years of Evidence Reveals

Since the original framework was published, global data and assessment methods have expanded dramatically.

Together, they provide a broader and more precise picture of biodiversity, its decline and where conservation action matters most.

28%

of species assessed by the IUCN are threatened with extinction.

That’s more than 49,000 species of plants, animals and fungi classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

IUCN Red List, 2026.

300M+

hectares of forest have been converted to other land uses since 2000 - an area almost the size of India.

Forests have given way to farms, roads and other uses, changing the places where species live.

FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025

73%

average decline in the size of monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2020.

The figure draws on nearly 35,000 monitored populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians worldwide, showing the scale of change in the living world.

ZSL, Living Planet Index 2024.

170,000+

species have been assessed for extinction risk - more than ten times as many as when the original Hotspots paper was published.

This is more than ten times the number assessed when the original Hotspots paper was published. The scope now includes all terrestrial vertebrates, all freshwater fishes, odonata, decapoda and all known tree species.

IUCN Red List

40,000+

tree species have been mapped in a global study - 72% of those known at the time.

By bringing together records of where trees occur, researchers can better see where tree diversity is concentrated and where it faces growing pressure.

Global Tree Assessment / Nature Communications