About the Regions |
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The Biome
© Dawit Zeleke/TNC Though it covers only 2.2% of the Earth's surface, the Mediterranean biome is home to nearly 20% of the world's known species of vascular plants. Many only exist within their native region. With such an incredible number of unique species contained in such a limited area, these regions deserve the same worldwide recognition as tropical rain forests and coral reefs. We must make the conservation of the Mediterranean biome a global imperative. |
California/Baja California
© Darin Busby The California / Baja California region supports more plant species than Canada and the central and northeastern United States combined. It also supports more human life than any other Mediterranean region: covering just 1% of the United States, it contains 10% of the population. |
Australia
© Emma Underwood / TNC Australia is home to 6,000 plant species and almost 100 animals that are found nowhere else on Earth. Throughout the 1980's, nearly one million acres of native Australian habitat was destroyed each year to make room for wheat fields. This has left Australia with the lowest proportion of remaining habitat of all the mediterranean regions. |
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Mediterranean Basin
© Tobias Plieninger The Mediterranean Basin is the largest of all the regions, and contains the most native plant species – some 25,000. Centered around the Mediterranean Sea, it spans countries in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. The cultural history and stunning natural beauty of the region is both an asset and a strain, as increasing numbers of people visit and move to the area. |
South Africa
© Dawit Zeleke / TNC Though it's the smallest of the mediterranean regions, South Africa has the highest number of native plants per square kilometer. Most of the lowlands have been converted to agricultural uses, but invasive plants (coming mainly from other mediterranean regions) pose the largest threat to biodiversity in the future. |
Chile
© Andre Silva Chile's diverse mediterranean region stretches from sparse, near-desert habitats in the north to lush forests in the south. The spread of globalization has made Chile a major supplier of the world's produce – but this agricultural growth has been devastating to Chile’s native shrublands and woodlands. With the lowest proportion of protected lands of all the regions, Chile is in urgent need of new protected areas. |
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